State | VinoVerve

Meadowbrook (Michigan) Wine and Food Festival

By MTB | August 23, 2015 - 9:06 am |August 23, 2015 Cabernet Franc, Festivals, ice wine, Marechal Foch, Meadowbrook Wine and Food Festival, Merlot, Michigan, pinot noir, Riesling, Shiraz / Syrah, Vidal Blanc, wine

1 Comment

Saturday, August 22

Picture perfect weather and a gorgeous location among the lawns and gardens of the Meadowbrook Music Festival north of Detroit, the 2015 Meadowbrook Wine and Food Festival didn’t disappoint… at least not with the wines.

With five large tents housing more than 150 wines from 18 regions and featuring 9 Michigan wineries there was something for everyone.

I spent my drink tickets principally on the Michigan wines. As expected I found a few that were sweeter than I prefer but on the whole Michigan made a strong showing.

St. Julian Winery
Late Harvest Riesling
Established shortly after the repeal of Prohibition, St. Julian is one of Michigan’s oldest and most well-known wineries. The Late Harvest Riesling is a sweet wine yet crisp and very approachable even for those, like me, who prefer dryer table wines. The wine is smooth on the palate with notes of peach and honey.

Fieldstone Winery
Motor City Dry Red – Syrah
The most “local” of the local wineries pouring at the festival, Fieldstone is located in downtown Rochester Hills, about 30 minutes north of Detroit and a few miles from the festival site. A local winery in that they make their wines here in southeast Michigan, Fieldstone sources their grapes from “all over,” including bringing the syrah in from California. A new line, the Motor City Red is lovely: soft, dry and medium-bodied, with notes of black cherry and a pleasant minerally finish. Locapour purists will argue this doesn’t classify as a local wine, and I agree. But with results like this I’m more than happy to support local winemakers.

Warner Vineyards Winery
2 Cab Merlot
A Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend, this wine has nice notes of dark berries without being overly jammy. Full-bodied with medium tannins, the wine has a nice, slightly “dusty” finish.

Vidal Blanc Ice Wine
I am a sucker for a good ice wine, and Warner’s didn’t disappoint. The wine had a silky, rather than satiny, mouth feel and lovely notes of pear and honeysuckle.

Bel Lago
Pinot Noir “North”
Located in the northwest corner of the Lower Peninsula, not far from Traverse City, Bel Lago grows a number of cool climate grapes including Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Riesling and Gewurztraminer. Their Pinot Noir was my choice for pairing with lunch. Smooth, with soft notes of raspberry and cherry, medium-tannins, and a nice finish. The wine held up well against the beef brisket BBQ nachos I had for lunch, balancing the smoky sweetness of the BBQ sauce.

***

And speaking of food, for a festival advertised as a “Wine and Food Festival,” the food options were very slim. Kroger, the largest grocery chain in Michigan and a sponsor of the event, had a large tent at the entrance to the event featuring a sampling of standard grocery-store deli fare: Boar’s Head turkey or ham sandwiches, cheese and coleslaw. There were two food trucks: The Pistons Maplewood BBQ and Chick-A-Dee. The Maplewood BBQ beef brisket nachos were very good, but there’s no question this is NOT a food festival.

***

Seven Lakes Vineyard
Cappricio
I started my day with the Seven Lakes Capriccio, and at the end of the day this remained my favorite of all the wines sampled. Nice nose with light notes of cherry blossoms. In the mouth, the wine is juicy rather than jammy with bright notes of cherry. The finish has a very light pepper which balances the fruitiness, yielding a very nice wine. Looking forward to opening the bottle I brought home.

Cabernet Franc
I finished out the afternoon with samples of two grapes I had come to love during my time exploring Connecticut Wineries. Seven Lakes’ Cab Franc was surprisingly earthy – surprising to me who had grown so accustomed to the very fruit-forward cherry I found in Connecticut Cab Francs. Full-bodied with lovely notes of grass and well-balanced tannins and a smooth finish.

Dizzy Daisy
Marechal Foch
Dizzy Daisy’s Marechal Foch, like the Cab Franc which I sampled shortly afterward, came as a surprise – in this case a shock… it was sweet! I had my first encounter with Marechal Foch almost seven years ago when I first started traveling the CT Wine Trail. Finding the grape to come across as very young and green, it took me quite a few samplings before I came to appreciate it, and even longer before I became a fan. Like so many other CT reds it was very fruit forward, but it was always a dry wine. As a semi-sweet wine, the fruit notes were much stronger and also smoother than in other Marechal Foch’s I’ve tried. The additional sugars balanced out the “greenness” I often detected, and as a result I suspect Dizzy Daisy’s is more approachable to a majority of wine drinkers. But as my preference leans towards dry wines, I found this to be less interesting.

It’s hard to glean a lot about wines and winemakers from 1 oz samples, especially when you are sampling across a range of wineries. With people lined up behind you, there’s not much time to chat. But as a small introduction to the wines of my new home state it was a great afternoon.

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Cherry Creek Winery @ The Old Schoolhouse – Brooklyn, MI

By MTB | July 26, 2015 - 8:00 am |July 26, 2015 cabernet sauvignon, Chancellor, Frontenac, Gewurtztraminer, local wines, Marguerite Barrett, Merlot, Michigan, Riesling, Southeast Michigan, Wineding Roads

1 Comment

After seven years in New England, I relocated to southeast Michigan in December 2014. Despite having been born and raised in Detroit (proud graduate of Cass Tech High School!), Michigan hasn’t been home for more years than I am willing to admit to.

Relocating in winter while also working 100% from home is not conducive to exploration – my first several months’ experiences were limited to weekly grocery store runs, babysitting for my sister, and an occasional weekend movie with cousins.

So with a few days vacation in late May I decided it was time to learn my new home state of Michigan the way I learned my last – one winery at a time. With a full tank of gas and a randomly chosen winery on Michigan’s Pioneer Wine Trail, I headed out for what turned out to be an auspicious start to my latest Win(e)ding Roads adventures.

Cherry Creek Winery @ the Old Schoolhouse, Brooklyn, MI

Housed in a beautifully restored 1870s schoolhouse in the heart of the Irish Hills, only a few short miles from the Michigan International Speedway, Cherry Creek Winery and Vineyards is a great find – neither the winery nor the wines disappoint.

Founded more than 15 years ago by Denise and John Burtkas, Cherry Creek Winery has two locations, the original in Albion, MI and the Old Schoolhouse, which opened about 10 years ago. All wines are 100% Michigan grapes sourced from the Burtkas’s vineyards in southeast Michigan and through partnerships with vineyards along the Lake Michigan coastline.

With a menu that includes reds, whites, rosés and a fruit wine (Michigan Cherry, of course), picking only five for this first tasting was the hard part…

Wood Duck White (Dry Riesling)
I’ve found myself more interested in Rieslings recently, particularly as I’m finding more local wineries making a dry Riesling, instead of the often too sweet versions that seemed to be everywhere only a few short years ago.

The Wood Duck White is a really nice wine. Light, crisp, with just a hint of grapefruit on the finish, I found it soft in the mouth and very drinkable. The fruit and acid are nicely balanced, and the wine has a nice full body which gives it structure. A great wine for a lazy summer afternoon.

It was one of the bottles I brought home with me, and we uncorked it last night pairing it with grilled Lake Superior whitefish and fresh Michigan corn. The wine complimented the fish beautifully, and the corn’s sweetness brought out some of the wine’s lightly floral notes.

Gewürztraminer
I loved the nose on this wine – notes of citrus, honeysuckle (perhaps? I am not as good differentiating florals as I should be), the nose evoked light spring breezes. In the mouth, the wine was sharp, but not tart, with citrus notes that hit the edges of my tongue. The wine also evolved in the mouth, starting out smooth and somewhat quiet in the front of the mouth only to open up on the finish.

Tasting Room bar was made from reclaimed wood from the original structure. Jenna, my host for the afternoon, is an enthusiastic ambassador for the winery.

Merlot
Moving on to the Reds, I started with the Merlot, which came highly recommended by my tasting room host, Jenna, as one of her personal favorites. The nose was fruity, predominately cherry, very reminiscent of the red wines I found in Connecticut (in fact, I once participated in a blind tasting of Merlots at McLaughlin Vineyards in Connecticut and was the only person to correctly identify the McLaughlin Merlot, which I did solely from the nose).

In the mouth, the wine is more subtle than I expected – I think the nose misled me, and I expected a more fruit-forward wine such as the ones I had been drinking in Connecticut. I found this wine to be more herbaceous than fruity, medium-bodied with mineral notes and an interesting slight chalky finish.

Montage
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chancellor Noir, this was my favorite of the afternoon. Deeper nose than the Merlot but with similar notes of cherry, the wine is smooth and rich. In the mouth, the wine has notes of stone fruits but not so strong that the wine becomes “jammy.” Brought a bottle of this home as well, and am looking forward to opening it later this summer, perhaps paired with grilled steaks or lamb chops.

Frontenac
100% estate grown at the Old Schoolhouse location, the Frontenac was the most interesting wine of my visit. Served chilled, the wine had strong notes of cranberry – which I admit, I don’t come across often. Fruit forward with a strong but smooth finish. The wine wasn’t available for sale the day I was there, but it’s definitely worth a return visit later in the year for another taste.

In addition to the wines, Cherry Creek also has a small gift shop featuring locally made sauces, jams and jellies and a Michigan cherry salsa which is highly addictive! The winery hosts local musicians from 5-8pm Saturdays through mid-September and will be opening a cafe sometime this summer. The Burtkas have also recently launched the Grand River Brewery, in Jackson, Michigan featuring local craft beers, handcrafted spirits, and Cherry Creek wines.

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Moon Mountain District Sonoma County

By GMN | July 23, 2015 - 2:05 pm |July 23, 2015 American, California, Moon Mountain District Sonoma, Sonoma, wine, zinfandel

Comments Off

Frontispiece of Jack London’s, “Valley of the Moon”, 1913, The Macmillan Company, Ny

Now that I am out and about again, I wasted no time high tailing it out of town to visit some new wineries. The first on the list was Repris Wines in the Moon Mountain District. This post will explore this eerie landscape and I will discuss the winery in the next.

Moon Mountain District is located within Sonoma Valley across the eastern ridge from the Mt. Veeder AVA (or the Sonoma-Napa border, if you will…). The name of the area is based on the mistaken belief that the local indigenous peoples referred to Sonoma Valley as the “Valley of the Moon”. At least the last Mexican governor of the area did, as well as Jack London, who wrote a book with that title. While there was a “valley” of the moon, there was no associated mountain. That has all changed. After asking the USGS nicely to designate a “Moon Mountain”, the people were finally rewarded (57 years later). The peak is located east of Mt. Pisgah and south of Bismark Knob.

The appellation ranges from 400-2,200 feet above sea level and is known for its series of medium sloped hills that build upon one another. This leaves the terrain with little pockets of terroir that receive different amounts of sunlight and different airflows. The majority of the region faces the west to maximize the amount of sunlight that the vines receive as well as maximizing the intensity. Cool day time temperatures from the Pacific have warmed up by the time they reach Moon Mountain and night time fogs roll down the mountain to keep the vines from freezing. The temperatures in the area provide almost double the growing degree days in the area making it a perfect location for growing Zinfandel and other long hanging grapes.

image of lava outcrop, Moon Mountain The geology of the area is a mixture of andesite and basalt lava flows from the Sonoma volcanics that have been mixed with gravels. The resulting soils are brown and shallow and very well drained allowing the grapes to grow deeply into the hillside. This gives the area a sometimes eerie look from these flows that are visible in places at the surface (thus the name Moon Mountain, perhaps?). The brown soils are largely of the Goulding series are volcanic and very well drained.

There are currently 11 bonded wineries and 40 commercial vineyards operating around Moon Mountain.

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Update

By admin | July 14, 2015 - 1:24 pm |July 14, 2015 Adventures, family, Gretchen Neuman, Oregon, Sophie-bear, Willamette Valley, wine

1 Comment

Where has VinoVerve been the last year?

Well, the answer is long. After posting about a road trip to Arkansas last year, we were getting ready to send my daughter, Sophie off to college. Some of you may recognize her as the girl who can sabre a bottle of champagne, make and bottle wine, identify floral elements when she smells a glass and generally has acted as my personal sommelier for a good portion of her 18 years.

Our plan was to get her off to college (University of Oregon) and then I would get back into the swing of writing.

Well, as Robert Burns stated, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray”.

And astray would be an understatement.

Just a few weeks from our drive out to the Willamette Valley, we discovered there was a mass on Sophie’s spine. And that mass was cancer. Brain cancer. (the spine is made of the same stuff as the brain… this is how that is possible).

We spent the better part of the last year fighting this cancer. But it won.

My Sophie died.

**************

A picture of my Sophie

She had a love/hate relationship with this blog. She was proud of what she knew about wine. More than most adults. But she sometimes hated the time I devoted to it. This is pretty typical for adolescents.

But the last get together that she hosted here at the house, she tapped into my wine collection. She used the good Reidel wine glasses though she needed to use a straw. For her friends she opened a Provençal rosé, a Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio and an Oregon Pinot Noir. I should, I guess be appalled that she was drinking my wine, but really? Why bother.

She packed as much as she could into her 18 years and that included wine.

So, if you please, next time you have a glass, raise a toast to my Sophie. She would appreciate it. And I would as well.

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Know Your Local Wine Shop ~ Arkansas Edition

By admin | July 15, 2014 - 9:57 am |July 15, 2014 American, Arkansas, Gretchen Neuman, liquor store, Local Wine, local wine stores, local wines, Locapour, stupid laws, VinoVerve, wine, Wineding Roads

Comments Off

The Arkansas state flag was designed by Willie Kavanaugh Hocker.

I love to visit wineries when I am traveling. But sometimes, you can’t get away when you are away. How do I solve the problem? Check out the local wine shop or liquor store.

But, first a word about Arkansas liquor laws.

Confusing is too simple a word. As is arcane.

First off, you can’t buy wine over the internet and have it shipped to you in Arkansas. Well, technically you probably could but because Arkansas won’t ship its liquor to you the other states won’t allow the reverse. You can go into a winery or store buy your liquor and have it shipped to your residence only. You have to have a special label from the ABC (alcoholic beverage control) agency or the special label from Fed Ex or UPS. But the winery has to pay all the taxes to Arkansas and pay for a permit. So naturally most places won’t do it. oh. And you can only have a single case.

Whew. Complicated. But it gets worse. Like if you live there worse.

Some counties are wet. Some are dry. Some are wet and have dry towns. Some are dry and have wet towns. In wet places you can get beer and wine in a grocery store. And in most wet places you can’t buy on Sunday. Because God.

You will find team spirit everywhere! Photo by Gretchen Neuman for VinoVerve

The best way to figure out what is going on in your area is to drive around on Sunday and find out which stores have full parking lots. That’s how my dad figured it out. Luckily as a retiree, he could pick where they could move. Which is why they don’t live in Conway, Arkansas. They originally were really set on the place. And then they went to dinner at nice steak house and found out that their beverage options were Coca-Cola and sweet tea. Ugh.

So they opted for a place in Benton County.

And while they found a place that is open on Sundays (after 11am of course so the baby Jesus doesn’t weep) that wasn’t the place that they took us to during our inaugural trip to Arkansas. We went to Guess Who?. An odd name, I agree, but a great shop, super friendly and busy too.

Organized into four sections, the store has a separated entrance for those buying liquor by the case. And I mean a case of Tito’s Vodka. I think this spot is mostly for the restaurants or clubs, but the lady running it was super friendly. The other entrance is for the regular customers. Broken down into beer, wine and liquor sections. The beer section includes a cooler with a large section of craft brews. Much to Kevin’s excitement it also sells Boulevard Brewing Company beers. Technically not a craft brew anymore after being sold to the folks at Duval, it hasn’t become as accessible as Sam Adams or Budweiser, but we can’t get it at home. As as extra special plus for Kevin, this store carries the special brews usually only available in the tasting room. The liquor section is probably the smallest part of the store. Found in front of the registers found by type on short black metal shelves.. Liquors are organized by type. Pretty standard stuff.

Duck Dynasty wine. Fake as the Show… which is probably also a product of California…Photo by Gretchen Neuman for VinoVerve.

The last part of the store is the wine section. This is probably the largest section and is bright and airy with wines organized in wooden cases by location or varietal. There is a good mixture of options with popular and bulk wines being found in the front. Guess Who? Offers a variety of classes for customers, private wine lockers and wine tasting opportunities. Oh, and a section for local wines of which I took advantage (and will be discussed later). The one downside? Finding this obnoxious Duck Dynasty wine. The wines are being produced in California and have no other connection with the family other than the labeling. The press release from Trinchero Family Wines says that the family “Share(s) the same values,” with the Robertsons. Not all of them I hope. But as my mother has always said, “If it looks like a duck, talks like a duck and acts like a duck…. Well, it’s a duck.”

Over all, I was impressed with impressed with Guess Who and expect that I will be shopping there occasionally while visiting the folks. If you are in the Bentonville area and need some wine, I suggest you visit them too.

Guess Who?
214 SE Walton Blvd.
Bentonville AR, 72712
Phone:479-268-4169
Fax:479-268-4648
Email:office@guesswhobentonville.com

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Alexandria Lakes

Image

By admin | March 27, 2014 - 7:00 pm |March 27, 2014 Alexandria Lakes, AVA, Gretchen Neuman, Minnesota, VinoVerve, wine, Wineding Roads

Comments Off

Do you think that wine is only made in California? Well Skippy, you would be wrong about that. American’s don’t live by those kinds of rules. We make wine where we want. For instance? Minnesota. Land ‘o 10,000 lakes. And this viticultural area is surrounded by several.

Fast facts for the wino set?

Located in Douglas County, Minnesota
Established July 1, 2005
10,800 Acres
There is only one winery in the appellation: Carlos Creek (visited by your VinoVerve!)
Soil Type is Nebish-Beltrami
Elevation 1404 feet above sea level
Grapes produced: Brianna, Frontenac, Frontenac Gris, King of the North, Marquette, Petit Pearl, Prairie Star, Sabrevois, Valiant
Weirdest nearby attraction: Kensington Runestone – a 200lb slab of greywacke covered in alleged 14th century runes that is generally considered to be a hoax. Wine lovers please note that greywacke is generally thought of as a soil base for wines in Germany, New Zealand and South Africa.

by: Gretchen Miller Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

It’s All About Wine – Alexander Valley Edition

Image

By admin | March 17, 2014 - 12:42 pm |March 27, 2014 Alexander Valley, American, AVA, California, Gretchen Neuman, history, local wines, State, VinoVerve, wine

Comments Off

I admit it has been a while since I have posted here.

But that is because I have been learning. About one of my favorite things. Besides wine.

Maps.

Naturally, I have made maps about wine too. (It is almost like you can hear one of my teens complaining)

So over the next couple of weeks expect to see maps of the American Viticultural Areas made with ArcMap.

I am starting today with the Alexander Valley. First some quick facts:

Settled: 1840 by Cyrus Alexander. Property was part of Henry D. Fitch and Josefa Carrillo Fitch’s Rancho Sotoyome. Alexander was granted two leagues of property as a reward for managing the Rancho for the Fitch Family
Established: October 24, 1984
Location: Sonoma County, California
Size: 32,536 acres; 15,000 acres under vine
Wineries: 45 – including Clos du Bois, Francis Ford Coppola, Geyser Peak, Jordan (a friend of the blog!), Kendall-Jackson, Murphy Goode, Silver Oak and many more!
Elevation: 128-2573 feet above sea level.
Grape Varieties Produced: Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignane, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Grenache, Malbec, Merlot, Muscat Canelli, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon Syrah, Tempranillo, Viognier, Zinfandel

by Gretchen Miller Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

What To Drink During a Winter Storm

By admin | January 14, 2014 - 9:49 pm |January 14, 2014 Gretchen Neuman, local wines, North Dakota, VinoVerve, wine, Wineding Roads

Comments Off

I saw a Facebook post from Maple River Winery.

They got an inch of snow today and are expection snow, sleet and freezing rain tomorrow. Along with 50 mph winds.

They are suggesting Rhubarb or Raspberry wines to get them through a nasty North Dakota storm.

What do you drink when you are hunkered down?

(btw, I suggested one bottle per type of precipitation… )

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Geology Term of the Day: Terrane

By admin | October 18, 2013 - 1:23 pm |October 18, 2013 Ben Lomond, California, Geology, Science

Comments Off

Terrane, not Terrain. More specifically a tectonostratigraphic terrane

In geology terrane is a block of the Earth’s crust from one tectonic plate that get attaches (accretes) to another plate. A piece of the earth’s crust that differs from the surrounding material, and is separated from it by faults.

Where are they found?

All over California, dude. All over.

Example? Part of Ben Lomond Mountain in California is part of the Salinian Block that is found parts of Santa Cruz County, the Monterrey Peninsula, Bodega Head, Point Reyes and the Farallon Islands. The source of these rocks? The Sierra Nevada Mountains… at least 150 miles to the southeast of the Bodega Bay. How did they get there? After being sliced off the Sierra Nevadas they moved along the San Andreas Fault guided in part by the Big Pine and Nacimiento Faults.

Farallon Islands photo by NOAA

Why does this matter? Ben Lomond Mountain is an AVA which is located on this geological intrusion. Kinda makes the area different from the surrounding terrain, doesn’t it?

The Big Woods

By admin | July 30, 2013 - 3:18 pm |July 30, 2013 cider, Cranberry, cranberry, Frontenac, Frontenac Gris, Fruit in Wine, Gretchen Neuman, local wines, Marquette, St. Pepin, Upper Mississippi River Valley, VinoVerve, WBC13, WBC13, wine, Wineding Roads, Wisconsin

Comments Off

Little House on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.... Where are the big woods? Well, they really aren’t there anymore. Heck, the Little House isn’t really there anymore. Just a wayside on a hill near where the house used to be. In all fairness? It hasn’t been there in over 100 years.

What happened to the woods? I blame bears. So I went to look at the site. It took a bit longer to find than I anticipated. Sigh. Typical. The cabin was tiny. A loft, a big hearth, a table. But it reminded me of being a girl and imagining what it was like. And the it was the sounds. Wind through the trees and the grass. Birds and insects chirping away….The description of what sounds surrounded the Ingalls family was always pretty descriptive in the Little House books. So I listened. and recorded. I ate lunch at a table on the grounds and watched people come and go.. Mostly people my age or older. In Jazzy’s and wheel chairs, some wandering around the site, others just in and out of the cabin. We all acknowledged each other sheepishly, but didn’t speak to each other…

That's a lake? well, maybe if you are 6 Then I went down and took a look at Lake Pepin. I remember reading about Laura taking a trip into the town of Pepin. In the book it is seven miles drive to town and the horses periodically get bogged down in the spring mud. The going is easier now. The roads are paved… It still is seven miles (or so). Laura experienced awe when she saw the lake and the town. For me, Pepin isn’t the biggest place I have seen. Even at age five. Lake Pepin is less a lake and more of wide spot in the Mississippi River. But the lake glistened in the sun and I tried to imagine what it must have been like for Laura and Mary to run along the beach. I imagined that the location of the local Laura Museum was the the store.

That is Holly Hobbie, amirite? By the way? Museum people? Your Laura looks like Holly Hobbie…. imma just saying…

Villa Bellezza Now the original plan was to stop at wineries along the way, This is part of the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA after all, but… I killed too much time dealing with construction and getting lost and I still needed to make my way to Minnesota. So, I wandered along the town and noticed that there was a winery there. Villa Bellezza is a bit grand a space for Pepin, Wisconsin and very Italian looking but they were growing Foch, Frontenac, Frontenac Blanc, Frontenac Gris, LaCrescent, Marquette, Prairie Star and St. Pepin on twelve acres of vineyard located in and around the region. Interesting…. It was Saturday afternoon though and late at that. Ugh. Same deal with the Maiden Rock Cidery that I had looked up. So I resolved to avoid the tasting room crowds and stock at an area liquor store.

Wisconsin is the leading producer of cranberries in the United States!!! You know what happened. Nothing from those places were being sold. But there was Wisconsin wine there. Cranberry wine from Spurgeon Vineyards which is in Western Wisconsin but more than 150 miles away. sigh again. Not about the wine being made from Wisconsin. That makes sense as Wisconsin produces more cranberries than any other state in the U.S. (The More You Know!!!). Still. I was expecting something a little more local. Perhaps tomorrow.

Category Archives: State

Meadowbrook (Michigan) Wine and Food Festival

Cherry Creek Winery @ The Old Schoolhouse – Brooklyn, MI

Moon Mountain District Sonoma County

Update

Know Your Local Wine Shop ~ Arkansas Edition

Alexandria Lakes

Image

It’s All About Wine – Alexander Valley Edition

Image

What To Drink During a Winter Storm

Geology Term of the Day: Terrane

The Big Woods

About VinoVerve