Michigan Wine Month - Michigan Wineries Support Local Growers

April is Michigan Wine month and to kick it off, I attended the Michigan International Wine Expo held at Rock Financial Showplace in Novi.  To top it off, I saw Claudia Tyagi, Master Sommelier and followed her around to find out what she knows about wine.  What I learned is that a Master Sommelier knows a lot about wine and knows a lot of local people in the wine world.  So I got a glimpse of what she knows, felt like a celebrity and discovered several Michigan wineries-and not too far from Metro Detroit.  What stood out is their commitment to support local growers. 

While there were four major Michigan wineries represented at the Expo, I had interviews with three, learned about the southeast Michigan Pioneer Wine Trail and tasted . . . I won't say how many.

Burgdorf's Winery was my first stop. Located in Haslett, Dave & Deb Burgdorf promote their boutique winery as "A Moment in Wine" offering the opportunity for you to make a batch of your own customized wine.  What started more as a hobby has turned into a Federal and State approved bonded winery.

Pentamere Winery is an "urban" winery because they are located in the historic downtown of Tecumseh in a renovated building over 100 years old.  Also a ‘Boutique" winery-code for itty-bitty micro-winery-their space is extremely limited-half the floor is missing to house the large tanks. Named for the "five seas", they get their fruit from the orchards of the Great Lakes.

Sandhill Crane Vineyards (video #2) is a small-scale family-owned vineyard and winery in rural Jackson County featuring estate-bottled wines. The winery was named after the large, vocal birds which feed in the cornfields next door. It's located only a few minutes away from the Haehnle Bird Sanctuary where each fall thousands of cranes gather before heading south.

The Begin family, Robert, Nadine and daughter Marie-Chantal, opened the doors in 1993 upon the completion of a French style three room B&B, winery and vineyard estates.  Chateau Chantal is located on a 65-acre estate on Old Mission Peninsula, in one of the most scenic areas of the Great Lakes.  The B&B combines vineyards and winery, a bed & breakfast views of East and West Grand Traverse Bays, Power Island, and rolling vineyards from each window. 

One of the more interesting things I heard was in a conversation between Claudia Tyagi and Lee Hershey who is a wine consultant/educator at Schoolcraft college.  I found out that buying the right wine for around $50, can years later turn into a significant investment worth over $16,000. 

As you saw in the video, the age of the grape vines can make a huge difference in the tasting experience of wines.  XYZin offered wines to taste from 10 year old vines, 50 year old vines and 100 year old vines.  Called their "Vine Age Series", I was impressed with the relationship of vine age to the taste.  Their brochure states that "of the thousands of acres planted to Zinfandel in California, less than one percent is more than a century old."  Upon reading more, I had no idea that vines could have different canopy of leaves, permitting the right amount of sunlight and slower, even ripening.  From my experience as a food & beverage waitress, I have been to tastings and experienced the complexity of grape varietals, oak aged wine and so much more-this was a new experience.

Finally, with drinking wine, there are always those empty bottles.  Counter Creations, a local Michigan company, had an attractive display of softly lit bottles.  They create the lights to decorate a bar, counter or even to be used as night lights-perfect for a wine expo.

It was definitely a day well spent.  I learned about the Pioneer Wine Trail consisting of six southeast Michigan Wineries within driving distance to Metro Detroit.  They have different events throughout the year and a tour of the wineries is definitely on my list for this year.  

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