Midwest - Michigan Wine & Wineries

I have to say that I have not tried any wines from Michigan recently as way back when when I first started drinking wine, every Michigan wine I tasted seemed to be too horribly sweet.

The Chicago Tribune just had an article on the wine/winery scene in Michigan.

some websites mentioned were:

Over all MI wine info: www.michiganwines.com
Leelanau Peninsula Wine info: www.lpwines.com
Old Mission Peninsula Wine info: www.wineriesofoldmission.com
Southwest Michigan Wine Trail: www.miwinetrail.com

The closing quote of the article was:
"We don't make California Chardonnay, we make Michigan chardonnay," Ciccone said without apology, "It grows differently, it tastes different. You have to judge it on its own."

might be time to try MI wines again. Anybody have any recommendations? (Please no super sweet stuff!!)

Also curious if anybody has been to any MI wineries?

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I haven't sampled Michigan wines, but Ontario wines (same latitude) can be excellent. Since you're in ORD, a wine tour might be in order--this is the time of year to make such a trip. It's one of my favorite things to do!

Driving back from Battle Creek a couple years ago Mrs. Gargoyle and I stopped at three or four wineries to taste... we really wanted to find something good to buy, but it was all sort of thin watery soda pop.

I guess I'm too used to the local house wines in the trattoria and cafes in small Italian towns, where they serve the cheap regional stuff... deep, rich, with lots of character, and you can buy it for €3/bottle.

I never really rated any of the more affordable grape wines up there too highly, with the exception of some of the "Ice" wines. I used to work up near Traverse City during the summers, so did at least one "wine tour" a year for about 5 years. (Always better when I WASN'T driving!) Because of the unimpressive reds, and because I'm not much of a white wine person, I found entertainment in the fruit wines (and before I went there I never thought I'd say that either!) I don't buy fruit wines as a rule, and up in MI was the only time I have ever done so. Maybe I found novelty in something i couldn't get elsewhere. There are several wineries offering good fruit wines. Peninsula Cellars, Kroupa Orchard series, half way up Old Mission Peninsula (middle peninsula) offers a dry, tart cherry wine, quite unlike any of the other sweet fruit wines favored by the other producers. I don't like sweet wines too much, so I enjoyed that one. They also did an apple wine in a similar style, but a little sweeter and lighter drinking. Both are excellent for summer consumption! Of the grape varietals, their Gewurztraminer was my favorite, and I'm not usually a white wine person either.

Over on the Leelanau peninsula, in Omena, Leelanau Wine Cellars offer some interesting port style and fruit wines. The pear one was very interesting I recall.

In the last 10 years some quite pricey wineries have sprung up (you can google Traverse City wineries) and I'm sure some of their reds must be at least average by now.

For a taste of a "real" non-showy winery, Boskydel, also on the Leenalau Peninsula is worth a drive - and if Mr. Boskydel himself is still there, he pours tastes generously! Now the wine, usual grape varietals, was not that impressive 5 years ago - made good cooking wine, and for the price he sells it I could never help but buy a case!

Those would be the top three for reasons of uniqueness of the fruit wines, and Boskydel for the uniqueness of the place. But once you're up there you can ask about the more impressive imposing wineries to go to!

Have fun and report back!

I don't drink enough local wine to give any recommendations, but do keep in mind that Michigan has about twice as many wineries as compared to 5 or 10 years ago. So don't get discouraged too quickly.