California - Day 3: Amador County Fair

It was the suggestion of the folks at Crystal Valley Winery that we attend the Amador County Fair that evening. We just lucked out to be there on day the Amador County Fair Wine Tasting event. How could we resist?

We had great advice to drive there via Old 49, rather than the new highway. The old road winds through several historic mining towns on its way to Plymouth, the host of the county fair. We loved taking some time and exploring Sutter Creek. The old roads reminded me of Cobalt, in northern Ontario, near our family cabin. They're carved out of the bedrock and wind up and down, up and down, and around. The little downtown in Sutter Creek is charming! We got there after most of the shops had closed for the day, but looked in a lot of windows.

It was very educational to visit the Amador County Fair wine tasting event. We're usually on the other side of the tasting table... serving the wine. It's so much saner on that side of the table! Holly and I tried a bunch of local wines, but only managed to stay for about an hour. It was just too crowded and crazy.

So.... on to Davis and our wine tasting class tomorrow.

California - Day 3: Lodi

It was Holly's dream day. A whole day spent tasting rich, complex Zinfandels.

Day 3 of our California trip was spent visiting [mostly] small to medium wineries within the Lodi appellation. Everywhere we went we found lovely Zinfandel wines... quite a bit of Petite Syrah... and some nice Barbera....

It was extremely interesting. Many aspects of the wineries were similar to ours, but the wines they make are pretty much the opposite. With their growing conditions, they make great big reds but struggle with their whites. It's just too hot -- their white wines lack acidity and are pretty flat. And we make great acidic aromatic whites and have a harder time with our reds.

We loved:
* Chatting with the winemaker at Crystal Valley Cellars
* Learning about the upcoming wedding at Berghold Winery along with great conversation with our fellow wine tasters there
* An amazing, fresh lunch at the Farm Cafe at Michael-David Winery
* Watching the effortless grace of the tasting room staff at VanRuiten Winery as they juggled an increasingly busy tasting room
* The warm, exceptional service from Akaylia at Jessie's Grove Winery -- we felt right at home!
* Meeting the sisters... and the adorable winery dogs at Macchia Winery

Today's photos:
An ancient (100+ year old) Zinfandel vine
Gorgeous grape gate, Berghold Vineyards and Winery

California - Day 2: Napa Valley

If you only had time to visit one winery in Napa Valley, where would you go?

That's the situation we found ourselves in yesterday. We left Copia after 3:00. Most wineries close their tasting rooms at 4:00 or 5:00. What winery should we visit? Our answer might surprise you.

We decided to visit Sadie.

Sadie is one of the four Airedales featured in the Wine Dogs USA book. And, of course, Rosie is another.

After Wine Dogs USA was published, Sadie sent us a calendar featuring her and her buddies at Dutch Henry Winery in Calistoga.

It seemed like the perfect choice. And it was.

Dutch Henry Winery is very small, based on Napa Valley standards. They produce about 7,000 cases of wine per year. We tasted five or six of their wines, visited with Sadie and all the other animals (they have more than we do!), and took a tour of their newly built wine cave.

It was the perfect end to our day in Napa.

California - Day 2: Copia

Our visit to the Napa area was centered around reservations for lunch at Copia.

Located in the town of Napa, Copia is the new(ish) food and wine museum that bills itself as "The American Center for Wine, Food & The Arts." It's a grand idea and a beautiful facility.

Of course, having worked in museums AND wineries, I have an interesting perspective.

I'm aware of the financial problems Copia has been having since it opened. Like many larger new museums, it greatly over-projected annual visitation and income. And, like Cereal City in Battle Creek, there's really not that much to do once you're there.... and at Copia, almost everything costs extra.

My personal beef is with them billing themselves as "The American Center..." They are very much centered around Napa Valley, with northern California pretty much the furthest they reach. There was no wine for sale in their shop that came from outside California (except some from outside the U.S...huh?). And everything they said or did was all about northern California.

To be fair, my experience with them is pretty limited. But, as someone with museum and winery experience, those are my thoughts.

That being said, we had a really lovely time at Copia. The luncheon was delicious, the wine was even better, and I loved the program's format. We sat in a classroom/amphitheater where we were treated to a combination class on cooking, wine, and gardening. What could be better?

The luncheon was based on summer themes and local Zinfandels. The menu included lots of local foods, including some that were grown in Copia's gardens. Yum!

California - Day 1

Holly has always wanted to learn more about wine tasting. She has an amazing palate and has learned a lot in informal settings, but has always wanted formal wine tasting/sommelier training.

One of the places we've looked at is the University of California at Davis. Known as one of the finest Enology schools in the world, they offer a range of classes for winery professionals. And the nicest thing is that some of those classes take place over just a day or two -- certainly do-able for folks coming in from out of town.

One of their classes, Advanced Wine Tasting, trains and certifies judges for the California State Fair wine judging. We're not particularly interested in that certification, but the training is exactly what we'd been looking for.

Yes, "we." Holly and I (and the rest of the crew) decided that it was more beneficial to send both of us. It always works out best that way -- if one person doesn't pick up something, the other does. And you're already paying for the hotel rooms and rental car...

Yesterday was Day 1 of our trip. We decided to take a few days extra to do some winery visits. Visiting other wineries is so educational -- you always pick up great tips about what others are doing. (And it's fun too, of course!) And, honestly, we (and our sinuses) wanted to be over jet-lag before we embarked on the U.C.Davis class.

We decided to visit some smaller, more out-of-the-way wineries (yes, you can still do that in northern California!), and planned the Clarksburg AVA as the destination for our first day. It's south of Sacramento in a lush, beautiful river delta area.

The website looked great -- just what we were looking for, we thought. Unfortunately, the website seems to have been set up before all the wineries were ready.

The first winery we stopped at, California Cellars, looked open. But when we got there, we were told that it wasn't the case. It's a lovely area, pretty much right on the river, with well-tended grapes and a nice-looking facility. We mentioned that we were from a small winery in Michigan and were told that we could drive back and look at the grapes, but nothing else. With no indication on either of the websites (the winery's or Clarksburg's), it was disappointing to drive all the way out there for nothing.

The next winery, Ehrhardt Estates, was vineyards and equipment... nothing for a visitor to see.

We were thrilled to see road signs for the next wineries. Located in a renovated sugar mill, the signs said "5 Wineries, Open Wed-Sun 11-5." But when we got there, only one was open on Wednesday, Carvalho Family Wines.

We had a great visit to the Carvalho tasting room, which included a barrel tasting of their '07 Tempranillo. The tasting room staff were terrific -- warm and open, with lots of information about their wines and where to eat while in Davis. We left there with their off-dry (I'd call it semi-sweet) Muscat Canelli, 2004 Tempranillo, and a dry Pinot Noir rose'.

The renovated sugar mill is a gorgeous building. Lovely high ceilings and lots of wood.

The last stop of the day was Bogle Vineyards & Winery. The largest of the wineries in the area, we were familiar with a few of their wines that are distributed in Michigan. Located along another river in the delta area, the winery and tasting room are beautiful, with a lovely shaded picnic area along side the buildings.

We enjoyed everything we tried, but especially their Zinfandels and Petit Syrahs. Of course, we took a few of them with us to share back at home.

So what's up for Day 2? We have lunch reservations for the Zinfully Elegant Barbecue Lunch at Copia.... stay tuned!

Graphics (from the top):
California Cellars
Clarksburg AVA display
Old Sugar Mill - interior
Old Sugar Mill - exterior
Bogle Winery - interior
Bogle Winery - picnic area & Hollyhocks
Bogle Winery - river

Following Up From the Frost

Since I've been making it a practice to photograph the same grape vine and post it here, I'd thought I'd do a follow up from the last post.

It's amazing how much growth we've had since that last frost a few weeks ago. But it's too early to tell what sort of yield we'll have. There are a few tiny grape clusters, but not many.

However, around the rest of the vineyard where we didn't get hit by the frost, the grapes are in bloom. It's a special ephemeral scent of early summer -- the spicy sweet fragrance of blossoming grapes.

I Was Wrong... (It Wasn't Really Spring)

Take a look at the post below. Yep, I was wrong.

As much as it really felt like we were past the threat of frost.... we weren't. We've had 3 or 4 frosts since then. Of course, I planted most of my tomatoes. I sheltered them on nights when we had a frost warning. Unfortunately, we weren't always warned and I lost quite a few from unannounced spotty frost. So now I've filled in the holes where I lost plants and the varieties are completely mixed up...

The grapes held up through all of the frosts until the most recent one (last week). That frost hit several of the grape varieties pretty hard... as you can see. We'll have to see how well they come back. The only good news it that it hit varieties that we don't count on -- most of the ones in the vineyard area east of the tasting room are old hobbyist varieties planted by my dad long before we were a commercial winery.

Ok, it's now June. Are we finally safe?

Ah, the pleasures of agriculture.

It's Really, Truly Spring (knock on wood)

I tend to be a bit of realist (some might say pessimist) about Michigan winters. As a home gardener, I've had my heart broken numerous times. I think it's spring.... then winter reappears.

But... dare I say it? ... I think spring has finally come.

We had a lovely spell of warm weather early in April, following by some cooler temperatures. That's good -- you don't want the spring blossoms to open and fall too quickly. But, of course, you don't want the temperatures to be too cool!

It's been a beautiful spring.

Right now, the little clusters of grapes are popping out. Soon the vineyards will be green.

The final question remains.... do I dare plant my tomatoes at home? Is it really, truly spring?

Where did April go?

April was a blur.

It's the third year Governor Granholm has designated April "Michigan Wine Month," and certainly the busiest. At one point, I had 6 events (mostly off-site) in 7 days!

With the Johnny Cash song in mind... I've been to Clarkston, Livonia, Warren, Berkley, Grand Rapids (several times), Coopersville, Charlotte, Coldwater, Kalamazoo, Jackson, Chelsea, Lansing.... and I can't remember where else...

It's been a great (but tiring) month. We participated in a number of larger wine tasting events, along with two wonderful little events that benefited nonprofit organizations. And our wine is available in several new shops.

Now maybe I'll be able to breathe again.

Greetings from Ohio

For the past three days Holly and I have been attending "License to Steal," a wine marketing conference in eastern Ohio. The venue is nice -- The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake -- and right in the middle of one of Ohio's winemaking regions.

We attended the last conference in November 2006 and got some good information from it.

You know, you always pick up good ideas when you get a bunch of wine marketers together. But generally, I was a bit disappointed in the conference. It was slapped together at the last minute, didn't have a good sense of its audience, and was too basic.

However, one great session was entitled "Varietals." We didn't know what to expect -- normally a varietal session would include wine tasting. But this session was all about three different regions that are promoting (or have plans to promote) three different wines: Riesling, Norton, and Traminette.

Of course, that's great for us because we make two out of the three.

Norton is a grape grown in Missouri and surrounding states. It's the only grape (out of the three featured) we don't use. It requires warmer temperatures than what we have here in south-central Michigan. Norton is a native grape, but without the foxiness of most natives. It reminds me of Chancellor, one of the nicest of the red French Hybrids. They're making fabulous Norton wines in Missouri and have made it their official state wine. Visit nortonsays.com, a website they've developed as part of a comprehensive branding project.

The Riesling presentation was based on the new International Riesling Foundation. I've heard bits and pieces about it, but was happy to get the whole story. We'll have to get involved...

And Indiana is starting to work on making Traminette its official state grape and do something similar to what Missouri is doing. Of course, that's great news for us. We have lots of friends in Indiana. And any publicity/education about Traminette is bound to help us. The more people who know the grape and like the wines, the better!

Back From Crystal Mountain

We spent most of last week at the Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council annual meeting at Crystal Mountain. It's always a fun, educational experience.

The conference is always planned for a quiet time in the wineries, and that coincides with the "shoulder season" at Crystal... so the accommodations are quite affordable.

This year we stayed at the new "Cottages at Water's Edge" -- little 2 and 3 bedroom bungalows across the street from the conference center. Of course, I'm a bungalow fan (my house is a bigger bungalow) so, for me, these charming little cottages were perfect! Ours was a 2-bedroom named "Wild Rose." Perfect again, since we have a wild winery hostess dog named Rosie.

The sessions were very interesting and useful, we got to meet with lots of old friends, and (of course) try some great new wine. What's a winery conference without wine?

Thursday morning I got word that I had been appointed by Governor Granholm to the Wine Council. I've been working with the council for several years -- on their Promotions Committee and on a strategic planning task force. The Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council is an incredibly helpful, professional organization and I'm honored to be a part of it.

Port in a Storm

We released our first official port, Port in a Storm, about 6 weeks ago or so. It's a lovely port -- made from estate-grown Frontenac and Chambourcin grapes.

But the bottle gets as much attention as the lovely wine inside. We saw this bottle about a year ago and knew we had to use it at some point. It leans about 15 degrees to starboard (or port, perhaps?), has a gorgeous thick bottom and a wooden T-top so it becomes a decanter after opening.

When we made the decision to use it, we knew we needed to go all out. So the name of the wine, the label, and the bottle all suggest a boat in a storm. In addition, we individually dipped the top of each bottle in wax and added a message-in-a-bottle tied around the neck.

Fun bottle, great wine. What more could you ask?

A Blanket of Snow

It often seems like we get extreme weather on New Year's Eve. Ice storms, freezing rain, snow. Last night was no exception -- we accumulated about 8 or 10 inches of snow in a 6 hour period.

It started out as very wet snow and clung to everything -- trees, power lines, the grape vines. The snow came down quickly and mounded on every surface like frosting. It's a Christmas-card-fairy-land outside.

Hello 2008

In many ways, 2007 was an eventful, crazy year. There were lots of good things -- the winery is certainly doing well -- but quite a few unpleasant things as well. A lot of changes..... both highs and lows.

We lost some dear friends -- some forever, another just until we see immigration reform or can find the right loophole in the law.

For a while it felt like the universe was plotting against us. And I've heard similar feelings from other folks.

So, I'm ready to start a brand new year. Let's drink a toast to 2008. Some Sassy Rosé, perhaps? To a year with less drama and more sweet contentment. Cheers.

The Perfect Gift

I've been know to dream up a lot of [scathingly brilliant, I think] ideas, but I can't take any credit for this one. The creator of this masterpiece is Scott Blakemore, owner of Gilbert's Chocolates. Gilbert's is a Jackson institution -- in business since 1900.

What you're looking at in the photo (left) are two bottles lovingly enveloped in Gilbert's chocolate.

A while back, Scott saw a similar chocolate extravaganza at a food show and decided to try recreating it. We gave him the "go ahead" and a couple of bottles of wine for experimentation. It took him a while to figure it all out, but, oh, was it worth it!

A little earlier this fall, Scott brought the completed bottles to show to us. We loved them! He had covered bottles of our Raspberry and Rhapsody in Red wine with food-grade shrink-wrap plastic. The chocolate goes over the top of that -- primarily dark chocolate with some squiggles of white for decoration. To eat it, you just tear the shrink-wrap plastic and break off pieces of chocolate to enjoy with your wine.

This creation is the most amazing gift! It's perfect for someone who loves wine and chocolate. And the packaging is gorgeous and decadent. Since we began selling them, we've kept the little elves at Gilbert's very busy!

(Almost) The End of the Harvest Season

The 2007 harvest season began early and is just about over... finally.

We started about two weeks early. The warm weather this summer and fall sped up the ripening of the grapes. And the warm weather kept on coming. We really didn't have a heavy frost until late October. And the last of the grapes -- for ice wine, of course -- were harvested about 10 days ago.

Harvesting is a crazy time of the year for us. Because farming and wine making are two separate (but connected) operations, each has its own chores related to the harvest. Once the grapes are picked (or picked UP, as in many instances), it gets very busy in the cellar. During the peak of the harvest season, there are many, many batches of wine fermenting at the same time.

Currently we're down to two batches that are fermenting -- both ice wines. In addition to our usual Vidal Blanc ice wine, we're also making a very small batch of Chambourcin ice wine this year.

2007 harvest photos:
Top - Holly stirring yeast into a container of grapes
Middle - Angelo and Michael moving a tote filled with juice
Lower - Unloading a truck we rented to pick up grapes from the SW side of the state

Doin' Dexter

This is our 2nd year in the Dexter Cider Mill and we just love it. Now that we've gotten past the liquor licensing tribulations (I don't think it's EVER easy!) of last year, this year has been such a pleasure.

The Dexter Cider Mill is the oldest continuously operating cider mill in Michigan. It was built in the 1880s and sits on the banks of the Huron River, just north of downtown Dexter. As you might expect, the mill originally operated with power from the river. Other than electricity now powering the mill, the cider is pressed as it always was, in oak. Most cider mills now press in stainless steel -- the old oak gives the cider a wonderful flavor. It's super-fresh and unpasteurized, so drink it quickly and enjoy the lovely, deep, sweet, complex flavors.

Nancy Steinhauer and her family run the mill. Just like us, they're a three-generation farm family.

We're located in the oldest part of the building. Last year we built a little tasting room, using old apple crates for wine storage. We carry the entire wine list for tasting and purchase. Stop by and visit us soon!

Summer in the vineyards

The days are long and hot. The grapes seem to grow so fast you can practically watch them get bigger and you stand among them. It's summer in the vineyards.

I took this photo about 3 weeks ago, intending to write about it then (dream on...). The grapes were just formed. Now they're nearly the size of full-grown grapes.

There are lots of chores in the vineyard at this time of year: spraying, up the vines, cluster thinning. The vines are growing madly around us. Next door, the corn is shoulder-height. And everything around us is green, green, green.

Time to Bottle

Everyone know about harvesting season. You harvest then process the grapes on their schedule -- once they reach a certain brix (sugar level) it's time to work. It's a crazy time with our vineyards and, of course, the other grapes coming in from other Michigan farmers as well. Holly goes for weeks and weeks without a break, sometimes working late into the night to process newly harvested grapes.

We're now in the midst of bottling season. Not so romantic. But not quite so hectic either. However, it still can be pretty crazy. We're madly ordering thousands of labels and bottles. And Holly has every Sunday (plus some other days) scheduled for the bottling of various vintages. I think of it as the equivalent of buying gas for your car. Boring. Expensive. Somewhat tedious. But you've gotta do it. The exciting part is introducing new wines or new vintages of old favorites.

We are exceedingly lucky that so many friends of the winery volunteer their time to help bottle. Sometimes folks who have volunteered don't get called (sorry - let us know if you haven't heard from us for a while). But we always appreciate eveyone's offers of help! The photo on the left shows Leo, Sue, and Diane bottling Serenade, our sweet Vignoles.

Wine Competition Season

Because it's considered a down time in the winery business (personally, I'm not sure there's ever a down time :::sigh:::), most of the wine competitions are held during the late winter and spring. We've heard results from a few, have recently entered a few more, and have a several more coming up in the next few months.

When I came on board full time, I made a commitment to enter more competitions. They're great marketing tools and a lot of folks enjoy seeing their favorites win recognition. But they can be very expensive for a small winery (often over $500 between entry fees, cost of wine sent, and FedEx charges). It's too bad no one ever thinks about charging fees based on winery size... we currently pay the same as Gallo and Mondavi! And they take quite a bit of time to pull everything together. But a winery that is ignoring wine competitions is like an ostrich with its head in the sand. They can't be ignored or it really just hurts the winery doing the ignoring.

Anyway, recently we heard good news from two competitions we entered just before we left for Albuquerque. It was just the first year for the National Women's Wine Competition but they received over 1800 wine entries. Over 130 wineries that entered won no medals, with over 65% of the medals going to California wineries. We were extremely pleased to receive four medals: Silver for CraneBerry and Miel Amour (our new Spiced Asian Pear Mead) and Bronze for Serenade and Rhapsody in Red. And at the recent Finger Lakes International Wine Competition we received a Silver medal for Serenade and Bronze medals for CraneBerry, Rhapsody in Red, Raspberry, Dry Vignoles, and Staccato.

Earlier this week we sent just a few wines to the International Eastern Wine Competition and more to the Taster's Guild International Wine Judging (they're in Michigan -- it seems right to really support them). It's always interesting to see what happens. After helping out at a competition we know how much it means to luck into the right judge for the right wine. But Holly makes great wines so we always have faith in the system, and are always rewarded for that faith.