Indiana Scores at S.F. Chronicle Wine Contest

It's always great news when Midwestern wineries can enter the really big wine competitions and come home with honors.

Mark Easley, who runs the family-owned Easley Winery in downtown Indianapolis, has to be elated! He buys some of those great Michigan Riesling grapes and makes a Riesling that just won a gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Congratulations to Mark for being a part of the ever-growing movement to improve Hoosier state wines!

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Something Different? Try a Cab Franc from Loire Valley

A little exploring with Cabernet Franc has provided satisfying results in recent weeks. I have read in national publications and blogs about the merits of Cab Franc from France's Loire Valley.

I've bought a couple and so far like most of them. My best experience to date was Cab Franc - from all places - upper state Michigan. My previous tastes of Cab Franc were mostly disappointing to down right awful.

So I've been buying some French Cab Franc and enjoying it. The Loire Valley is known mostly for it's white wines - Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. But it's also known for its bottlings of 100 percent Cabernet Franc.

Chinon is the Loire region for Cab Franc and about the only part of the region known for red wine grapes. The wines are known for acidity and spiced fruit flavors. I agree with the spiced fruit flavors but haven't found most of the Cab Francs I've consumed to be over-the-topic acidic.

Tonight I opened a bottle of Domaine du Grand Bouqueteau 2006 Chinon. It had the classic stinky nose of French Burgundy or Beaujolais - which I love. It was quite acidic and out-of-whack on opening but softened considerably with just a little bit of time.

It has pronounced fruit and an herbal quality I found pleasing. After decanting, or simply being open a while, it would be a fine sipper without food. I had the wine with a salt-n-peppered Ribeye and some veggies. It was quite nice. It was even better with the couple pieces of dark chocolate afterwards.

You can find many of these wines around the $15 price point in better wine shops. Cabernet Franc should not be thought of as just a blending grape. Pick up a bottle and you might be surprised how easy a good Cab Franc drinks with food or alone.

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Visiting An Iconic Figure in Michigan Wines

Doug Welsch immediately seems like the kind of guy who would never call himself an icon or pioneer but there are few who would argue he has been a key force in Michigan wines.

Welsch's Fenn Valley Vineyards is one of the oldest wineries in Michigan. The winery sits just southeast of Grand Rapids near Fennville (pop. 1500).

Doug started the winery with his father and has watched the operation grow until today. He produces about 40,000 case of wine annually, half of which is done for other growers and labels. Of his 20,000 Fenn Valley cases , about 95 percent is sold from the spacious tasting room.

Welsch is a self-taught winemaker and leader in southwest Michigan's circle of wineries. He talked comfortably about how he and the other winemakers get together to taste each other's wines several times a year. Sometimes other topics, like marketing, come up but its mostly about the wine.

Doug has strong opinions about the industry and how agriculture is the basis for all they do. He admits he could sell even more wine if he had the right grapes to do it.

Indeed, on a Tuesday morning before noon there were about a dozen people in the tasting room already.

The wine list is extensive and you can go to the Fenn Valley website for lots of detail. The biggest sellers are the Riesling, Traminette, a white blend called Lakeshore Demi-Sec, and Select Harvest Vignoles.

He also makes a tasty dry Riesling that sells for just $12. The biggest selling red is a Chambourcin blend called Capriccio, also $12.

The knock-it-out of the park wine for me was a 2008 Cabernet Franc ($22). A very nicely balanced Cab Franc with a fantastic finish with just enough tannins for some 'wow' factor.

One of the unique things about Fenn Valley Vineyards is that it's probably the largest tasting room in the world! Doug had his entire property designated as a tasting room. That allows him to take guests out among the grapes to talk about the vineyards and simultaneously taste his wines. What a great idea.

Take a look at this video and he'll explain why he uses his vineyards as part tasting room:



I'm visiting several winemakers and wineries this week for a feature on Palate Press and a newspaper column or two. I hope to be posting tomorrow night on three more wine visits.

In photos: Top right, the entrance to the winery and tasting room. At center left, Doug talks about his years in the wine industry. Lower right, the big tasting room was starting to fill up early.

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Michigan Wine Adventure Begins Tuesday

Michigan wine is getting noticed for its quality, tourism impact, and growing number of wineries.

I had pondered making a two-day trip into Michigan to see a few wineries then was able to combine that with some stops for work so I'll be in the state through much of Friday.

I kick things off tomorrow with a wine and business stop. Tuesday morning I will visit one of the real iconic figures in Michigan wine - Doug Welsch at Fenn Valley Vineyards. For Indiana readers, think of Bill Oliver at Oliver Wines in Bloomington.

Welsch's family has been in the winery business since the 1970s. So he has seen the changes in Michigan from a handful of small family farm wineries to today's booming 70-plus winery industry.

Doug does some unique things at his winery and has a lot of opinions about the Michigan wine business.

I will post each day about my stops and will be crafting a story for Palate Press, a newspaper column for my 11 Indiana newspapers, and more material for this blog.

Things kick into high gear Wednesday. After a night in Traverse City, I'll be stopping at Shady Lane Cellars, Black Star Farms, and Leelanau Cellars all along the Grand Traverse Bay in the most upper northwest part of the state.

Thursday will feature visits to the Old Mission Peninsula and a couple of winery stops there. I'll make my way back down state later Thursday and hope to pick up a few more Michigan wineries then and on my way back to Indiana Friday later morning and afternoon.

I have really been impressed with what I've read while researching Michigan wines. I have some interviews lined up with some really key people in the Michigan wine industry.

Come back Tuesday-Friday nights for an update!

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