Jenny and I have a strong interest in wines from lesser known wine producing states. They vary greatly in quality and variety but some have been outstanding. We have visited or plan to visit wineries in several states and I will group the reports of our visits here.

A word about varietals is in order. Most but not all Midwestern wineries depend upon American/French Hybrids. We found only one appellation, the Old Mission Peninsula in Michigan, in which no hybrids were grown. Red varietals include Baco Noir, Chancellor, Chambourcin, Marechal Foch, and de Chaunac. Many wineries blend several of these together. Chancellor makes big brawny wines that need a lot of aging, 5-10 years. It also makes some outstanding ports. Chambourcin is, in my rarely humble opinion, the varietal with the greatest potential. It too needs a lot of aging to tame the high acidity but when well made, it is perfumy and silky in the mouth. The Norton AKA Cynthiana is not a hybrid. It is an American variety V. aestavalis that has tremendous potential. In the 19th century this one won competitions in Europe against V. vinifera wines. It is best known from Missouri (where it usually goes by Cynthiana) and Virginia (especially by Horton which ought to use Cynthiana but instead uses Norton to give the unfortunately named Horton Norton. Ouch!)

White varietals include Vignoles, Aurora, Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc. Most of these are vinted in a variety of styles from auslese sweet to bone dry. Seyval is somewhat lighter bodied but is often blended with Vidal to make some very good wines. Many hybrids, red and white, really seem to shine when blended with about 15-20 % vinifera.

Cotton Creek (near Montrose)

We did not actually visit this one. There was a small sign along the road but its poor directions left us wandering around the countryside for an hour before we gave up. We did try one of their merlots. The wine needed years of aging more, but held a lot of promise. Maybe you should call for directions and give them a try?

Grande River, Palisade.

Tucked away in what looks like a corner of the desert, this winery has some outstanding wines. We really like their merlot, syrah, and a white Meritage (Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend). Staff was help and knowledgeable. Prices were in the $10-$20 range.

Rocky Hill, Montrose.

This place is small, and tucked away on the southern edge of the town. His (sorry, I forget the proprietor's name,) wines are excellent. In particular, I recommend a bone-dry Gewürtztraminer, a fruity and balanced Pinot Noir and a very nice Chardonnay, of which, we were honored to taste a barrel sample. Prices are quite reasonable, in the $10-$15 range.

Huber, Starlight

Huber's is one of Indiana's largest winery. Our visit to Huber's coincided with some sort of local celebration. The place was packed with people there to visit the winery, the cheese shop, the bakeries, the farm market, and the petting zoo! This place charges for tastings. We paid $5 for 10 wines and a complimentary glass. We had to insist upon choosing the wines we wanted to taste. This place is very tourist oriented and they assume (probably correctly) that their customers want their wines sweet and fruity. Those criticisms aside, we were very impressed with the quality. Their chambourcin (called Heritage) was the best I have tasted of that varietal and will need less aging than most. They have two very good Seyval Blancs, a nice semi-dry and an excellent dry (called White Blossom). They have a pretty good sparkler in their Brut Prestige. We did try some of their fruit and sweet wines. I especially recommend the following; Catawba Rosé, Raspberry, Peach (dry and delicious), and St. John's Red. Definitely worth a visit if you are near Louisville but make sure you let them know if you know what you are doing. Prices range from $8-$15 for most wines with a $20 Ice Wine (375ml.) topping the list.

Smoky Hill

This winery has wines with names like 'Claret', 'Auslese', and 'Icewein' (sic). Most of their whites are based upon vignoles and the 'claret' is a Norton. There wines were all simple, but relatively tasty. They have made a good start and we wish them further success.

The summer of 1997 saw us taking a Grand Tour of Michigan's wineries. Michigan is no Napa Valley or Sonoma but we found some outstanding wines at excellent prices. We did not visit all of them but here is a little report on the ones we did get to.

Most of Michigan's wineries are grouped along the Western coast and within a few miles of Lake Michigan. There are a few in the Eastern and Central parts of the state but we didn't visit them on this trip. These are tourist wineries, make no mistake about it, and most are not used to having knowledgable wine people in their rooms. Very few of these wines will be sold out of state and any given varietal is usually produced in small lots, rarely reaching the 1000 case mark. Most produce fruit wines and many, but by no means all, of their whites are sweet and simple.

I have grouped the wineries by their Appellation and then alphabetically. I have no connection with any of them and absolutely no financial interest in their promotion or detraction for that matter. For better descriptions of many of the wines, see my tasting notes on my wine page.

Lake Michigan Shore
This is the probably the biggest appellation since it runs along most of the Southwestern shore. There are a lot of wineries in the very Southwestern corner of the state that we will visit on another trip.

Fenn Valley

Fenn Valley has a lovely tasting room but unfortunately limits you to tasting only 5 wines. I really liked their Chambourcin and their Classic Port. The Chancellor was also good. I was less impressed with their Seyval and Chardonel. We also liked their Soliloquy, a blend of Seyval and Vidal but in more controlled conditions, found it to be rather thin and watery. Prices range from $6-$17.

St. Julian, Paw Paw.

This is the biggest winerie in the state and for better or worse, is kind of the Gallo of Michigan. Their tasting room is large and crowded. St. Julian has the worst tasting glasses of any winerie we have visited in Michigan, simply 1 oz. plastic cups. No nosing allowed! It also has 5 other tasting rooms around the state. Several of St. Julian's wines are available in Indiana so I had tasted some before. I can recommend their Port, Sherry, Chambourcin (age it 5-10 years) and Chancellor (age it too.) The vignoles wasn't bad and we bought a bottle. Their vinifera varietals were stemmy but if they get the right summer might be pretty good. They charge a dollar to taste them and their Delaware Ice Wine. The latter was very tasty, very sweet and very expensive. Prices generally range from $6-$20.

Warner, Paw Paw.

Warner is right next door to St. Julians. It has a beautiful picnic area a stream and mini-waterfall. It was also just about deserted when we visited. The clerk handling the tasting tried to be helpful but really didn't seem to know much about what she was selling. We liked their Chancellor, Ruby Red, and their port but wound up buying their wonderful Solera Cream Sherry and Mello Red. The latter is a very port-like wine that is great with spicy foods. Prices range from $7-$20.

Leelenau Peninsula
North and west of Traverse City, this a pretty, hilly area. Maps tend to be terrible and wayfinding interesting. Get gas before you start out, there aren't many gas stations and they are all hard to get into and out of. This area grows mostly hybrids and just a few vinifera. Several of the wineries here now require appointments and since we didn't have any, did not get visited this time.

Boskydell, Lake Leelenau.

Well, its run by a gruff old man who didn't seem to have much to say and it looks like a converted garage, but the wines aren't bad and the views are great. We liked the Aurora and Vignoles but the Vidal was good too. I don't recall the price range but I think most wines were about $10.

Good Harbor, Lake Leelenau.

Good Harbor produces about a dozen wines, many of which are blends of hybrids and vinifera. Their tasting room is very irritating and poorly laid out. They have a long counter but since most of it is taken up with merchandise, only enough space is left for 3-4 people to taste at a time. We literally stood in line here. We recommend the Trillium and Fishtown White, both blends of hybrids and vinifera, the first with Riesling and the latter with Chardonnay. We really like their Coastal Red Lot 93, which is a blend of 60% Chambourcin, 20% Chancellor, and 20% Merlot. Also good was the Harbor Red, a Marechal Foch blend. Prices range from $5-$20.

Leelenau Cellars, Omena.

Aside from having the 2nd worst tasting glasses of our trip, this place was very customer friendly with a knowledgable and helpful staff. They produce mostly hybrid blends and fruit wines but also a few hybrid/vinifera blends. Whites tend to be sweet. We liked Spring Splendor, Winter White, Summer Sunset, and their Chardonnay in that order. I was left very unimpressed with their Tall Ship Chardonnay. Their Port, made from Baco Noir was outstanding as was an unusual Raspberry port. Prices ranged from $6-$20.

Old Mission Peninsula.
This area seems to want to be the Napa Valley of Michigan. The peninsula is a narrow finger of land due north from Traverse City. Several of the wineries are perched atop the central ridge with spectacular views. This area does not produce any hybrid wines that I am aware of. Many Old Mission Peninsula wines seem to have a very nice, floral nose.

Bower's Harbor, Traverse City.

Don't look for a harbor, there isn't one but there is a very pretty home and tasting room. We sampled Riesling, Chardonnay, Grenache and Cherry wine. They have a sparkling Riesling that sounded intriguing but we didn't get to taste. Prices ranged from $6-$16.

Chateau Chantal, Traverse City.

This winery is also a B and B. Many very good wines here but I really recommend the Cabernet Franc and the Pinot Gris. Both are better than many West Coast wines from big name vineyards. Staff is knowledgable and the views are great. I don't recall the price range but we paid $15 for the Cabernet Franc. A return visit in 1998 brought some new surprises. A couple of very good dessert wines including a late harvest Gewürtztraminer and an excellent non-vintage sparkling wine called Carpe Diem!

Chateau Grand Traverse, Traverse City.

Beautiful, huge tasting room. This place does best with Rieslings and Gamay Noir. Their chardonnays were interesting but not great and I was not impressed with the Pinot Noir. Their dessert wines were all very good Rieslings. Interesting side note, we took the tour and our guide informed us that wine barrels improve with use so they use them over and over, hmmmm. Prices ranged from $6-$65 (for an Ice Wine.) Our 1998 trip saw a much improved Pinor Noir, a good Reserve Gamay Noir and any number of good rieslings including a late-harvest bottling that reminded me of a mid-range Auslese.

Peninsula Cellars, Traverse City.

The 'tasting room' is an adjunct to a country grocery and un- air-conditioned to boot. They produce some fair wines but I was really wowed by their Reserve Chardonnay. Very rich, the apparently typical Old Mission Peninsula floral nose, and very well balanced. Prices were less than $20 but I don't recall the range.

Michigan
The catch all designation for the rest of the state. We only visited two wineries that fall under this classification.

Le Montueux, Grand Rapids.

Rather stark, but clean and business like and real wine glasses for tasting. I really liked their Chancellor and Baco Noir. We didn't try any of their vinifera varietals but they offered several, including Cabernet Sauvignon. We liked a bone dry Vignoles with a delightful apple nose. Most wines were about $10.

Tartan Hill, New Era.

Michigan's smallest winery. The tasting room is small and simple and also has real wine glasses. The owner served us and was very friendly and helpful. This guy only produces a few wines, but he does a good job with his hybrids. We really liked the Tartan White and Tartan Mist. He has an outstanding dessert wine in his Tartan Gold. All are blends. Prices ranged from $6-$12.

We haven't made an extensive tour of Missouri wineries yet but plan to do so. Missouri was once a major wine producing state and may be yet again. They produce a lot of vinifera as well as American-French Hybrids and native species. Of the latter, be especially watchful for Norton (AKA Cynthiana). They can be delicious, complex, and have a wonderful nose. We visited only one winery on our way through Missouri while returning from Colorado.

Mt. Pleasant, Augusta.

Mt. Pleasant is a lovely place. The day we visited they had a small band playing live music and the winery was packed. The staff did not seem all that glad to see us but we were looking road weary. They had a very nice Cynthiana for $30.00 and several interesting whites. I liked their J.R.L. Barrel Select Port which was tasty, if simple. Prices, if I recall correctly, were between $10.00 and $30.00 for a wide variety of wines. This was a quick and informal visit for us.

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Revised: March 23, 1998

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