Traverse City Area Wineries Participate in Passport Program to Benefit Local Charities

Wine lovers can now enjoy some of the beautiful award-winning wineries of Northern Michigan at a discount with the Old Mission & Leelanau Winery Passport. Launched by 9&10 News, Fox 32, Fekete Knaggs & Burr Agency, and Central Insurance Companies, the passport includes exclusive discounts towards purchases at 13 local wineries. The passports are valid for 2 people and can be reused at each winery as often as desired. Any passport completed before December 31, 2014, can be exchanged through 9&10 News for a complimentary wine tote.

The passports are on sale now for only $59 on milocalwinepassport.com and directly through migreatdeals.com For each passport sold $5 will be donated to each of the following organizations equally:

*Feeding America West MI Food Bank
*Father Fred
*Tip of the Mitt Watershed
*Grand Traverse Area Literacy Council
*Traverse Bay Children's Advocacy Center

“Northern Michigan is home to beautiful, award winning wineries. We wanted to create this opportunity to support our local wineries, promote tourism, and at the same time give back to the community through charitable contributions. This passport can give locals and tourists a chance to experience more for less,” says Jennifer Gingras, VP of Sales and Digital Sales Manager of 9&10 News/Fox 32.

For a list of participating wineries or for more information visit www.milocalwinepassport.com.

Art, Wine & Delectables Warm the Leelanau Peninsula Night at The Homestead Resort

The Glen Arbor Art Association, The Homestead resort and the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail will again team up to offer Art From Michigan’s Wine Country on Friday, February 7, 6-8 pm at The Homestead’s Mountain Flowers Lodge. Now in its sixth year, this fun winter event kicks off Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trails’ Taste the Passion weekend. The Friday night GAAA benefit features wine from Leelanau wineries, original art exhibit and sale by local artists and a small plates menu designed by Chef Piombo.

Ticket price is $20 per person with advance reservation. Entrance fee includes one glass of wine, food stations with delectable small plates, and coffee. Additional wine is available for $4/glass or three glasses for $10. Call The Homestead, 334-5100, by February 5 to make an advanced reservation with will call ticket pick up at Mountain Flowers. At the door price is $25 per person the night of the event.

The invitational art exhibit and sale offers recent original works by Jane Batteiger, Jane Ditri, Mary Fuscaldo, Michelle Jahraus, Harriett Mittelberger, Joan Richmond, and Rodger Skinner. The artists will be on hand to discuss their work.

A portion of each ticket and painting purchase supports the Glen Arbor Art Association class scholarships, after school art, and a summer art program for migrant children. These programs provide arts opportunities for many families who would not otherwise have them.

For more information go to: www.glenarborart.org, www.thehomesteadresort.com or www.lpwines.com. Or call the GAAA office at 231-334-6112.

The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, an area voted by viewers of ABC’s Good Morning America as the “Most Beautiful Place in America”. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting centers and the luxurious new Spa Amira throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100. “Like” The Homestead on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehomesteadmi and follow on Twitter at @TheHomesteadMI.

Northport Dog Parade & Wine Festival Planned for Saturday, August 11

Fine wine, food and fun will be the focus on August 11 in Northport when the 16th annual Northport Dog Parade’s Old Un-Salty Dog parade takes to the streets followed by the opening of the 25th annual Northport Wine Festival. The fun begins at 1 p.m. when the Northport Dog Parade takes off from the Mill Pond on Third Street in Northport. The Northport Wine Festival will begin at 2 p.m. and run until 6 p.m. in Northport’s Haserot Park, located at 105 Rose Street.

The Northport Wine Festival and the Northport Dog Parade are sponsored by the Northport-Omena Chamber of Commerce. This year the wine festival will exclusively feature the wines of the Northern Wine Loop, 11 wineries and cideries located in the northern tip of the Leelanau Peninsula.

“We’re delighted to pair with the Northern Wine Loop this year to create a new and different wine festival for Northport,” says Northport-Omena Chamber of Commerce President Lisa Drummond. “We’re excited about the great wines they offer and we’re looking to a fun day in beautiful Haserot Park listening to the music of the Windy Ridge Boys and enjoying all that Northern Michigan has to offer.

“We’re also pleased to be able to continue the Northport Dog Parade, which was started by and run since 1997 by Old Mill Pond Inn owner David Chrobak,” Drummond said. “Each of these events are a unique part of Northport’s summer celebration.”

The dog parade participants – both canines and their human handlers – will take to the streets in costumes representing this year’s “Old Un-Salty Dog” theme. Prizes are available to those participants who pay the $5 pre-registration or $10 day of registration to be in the parade. Winning costumes will be judged at the parade’s start – Northport’s Mill Pond – from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Prizes will be awarded at the parade’s end – the pavilion at G.M. Dame Marina Park.

At the wine festival the Chamber is starting a new tradition with a People’s Choice award for favorite wine and food pairings. Each winery will serve wines that pair especially well with the food offerings of participating restaurants and visitors will be asked to vote on their favorite wine and food pairing.

The wineries of the Northern Wine Loop include Bluestone, Boathouse Vineyards, Circa Estate Winery, Forty-Five North Vineyard & Winery, Gill’s Pier Vineyard & Winery, Good Neighbor Organic Winery, Leelanau Cellars, Raftshol Vineyards, Silver Leaf Vineyard, Tandem Ciders and Verterra Winery.

Great food will be provided by area restaurants including The North End Eatery, knot Just a Bar, Stubb’s, Deep’s Corner Store and the Bluebird restaurant.

Leelanau Cellars, one of the first wineries in established in Leelanau County and based in Omena, is the gold sponsor of the Northport Wine Festival. Leelanau Cellars owner Mike Jacobson, a long time Northport summer resident and the founder of Leelanau Cellars in 1974, has participated in all of the 25 Northport Wine Festivals. “This is a wine festival that has been so well received by residents and visitors alike,” says Jacobson. “Focusing on wineries that are geographically located in the northern end of the county creates the opportunity for a unique tasting experience for wine lovers at a festival that is a significant local event.”

During July members of the Northern Wine Loop are raising funds for A.C. Paw through their Pours for Paws campaign. Funds raised for A.C. Paw will be presented at the Northport Wine Festival.

Northport-Omena Chamber of Commerce was organized in 2005 to help develop, enhance, sustain and serve commerce in Leelanau Township. To learn more about the Chamber and the Northport-Omena area, please visit the website at northportomenachamber.org. For more information on the wine festival, please visit http://www.northportomenaevents.com/search/label/Events%20in%202012

Circa Estate Winery Releases “Mosaic” – Michigan’s first Appassimento-style wine

Circa Estate Winery has announced the upcoming release of Michigan’s first commercially produced appassimento-style wine. Christened “Mosaic,” this dry white wine is a blend of white grape varieties that have been partially dried prior to fermentation.

“The great Amarone winemakers of Italy employ the appassimento technique,” says winemaker Margaret Bell. “Removing some of the water from the grape by partial drying leaves an amazing juice of concentrated flavors. What we have done is translate those methods to the wonderful, aromatic white wines of the Leelanau Peninsula.”

“Appassimento” involves bringing grapes inside after harvest and placing them on drying racks for a period of weeks or months, allowing moisture to slowly evaporate from the berries and producing a juice of pronounced character. The percentage of fermentable sugar in the berry is also increased.

“We used specially made white oak racks and kept the fruit in a controlled humidity environment, allowing us to control and monitor the rate and degree of evaporation. By weighing and tasting the berries weekly we were able to stop the process at the ideal time. Biting into the grapes was like a flavor dance on my tongue.” Bell says. “As with an artists’ mosaic, this wine is a piecing together of parts to create something unique and beautiful. It is a hand-crafted, unfiltered palette of flavors.”

Mosaic is the first wine being released under Circa’s new Artisan Series line of wines. These wines represent smaller production, limited release offerings which Bell will be producing in addition to Circa’s regular lineup of Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Improvisation, Requisite and Cabernet Franc. The Artisan Series wine labels will feature reproductions of local artworks that comprise the Circa tasting room collection. The Mosaic label features the painting ‘Ebullience’ by Traverse City artist Charles Murphy.

Mosaic garnered its first gold medal at the recent Michigan Wine and Spirits Competition and is being shipped this week to members of the Circa Wine Society, prior to its public release on September 2. The Bells will be pouring the new wine and answering questions at a special release party from 6-10pm on Friday, September 2 on the Circa patio. Live music and small plates will round out the festivities.

Circa is located at 7788 East Horn Road in Lake Leelanau on the Leelanau Peninsula.

www.CircaWinery.com
www.facebook.com/CircaEstate

Explore Leelanau in Fall During The Homestead’s Autumn Wine Tour Weekend

Celebrate the fall color show during an elegant weekend exploring the vineyards and wineries of Leelanau Peninsula with The Homestead – America’s Freshwater Resort. This year’s annual Autumn in the Vineyards weekend is set for October 29-31.

Located within a half hour’s drive of more than a dozen vineyards and winery tasting rooms, The Homestead has become Northwest Michigan’s premier wine country destination, working closely with the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association (LPVA) to offer seasonal wine tours and dinners.

This season’s tour includes visits to four of Leelanau county’s finest wineries – Circa Estate Winery, 45 North, Bel Lago and Chateau Fontaine. Brunch will be served at The Homestead on Saturday morning, prior to leaving for the tour, which departs at approximately noon and returns at approximately 4 pm. Then, guests will gather at The Homestead at 6pm for a decadent five-course winemaker dinner prepared by Executive Chef John Piombo.

Weekend packages for Autumn in the Vineyards, including two nights’ lodging, wine tour with transportation, Saturday brunch, winemaker dinner and Sunday breakfast, as well as welcome gift basket including a logo wine key, is $531 per couple, based on double occupancy (plus applicable tariff/taxes).

The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community, located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – a unit of the National Park Service. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting centers and the luxurious new Spa Amira throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100. Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehomesteadmi.

Celebrate Spring in Bloom with The Homestead's Wine Tour Weekend (May 14-16)

There’s no better way to welcome spring to Northern Michigan than with a tour of the award-winning wineries of Leelanau Peninsula. The Homestead Resort’s annual “Spring in Bloom Wine Tour Weekend,” May 14-16, this year will visit three wineries on the east coast of the peninsula: Chateau de Leelanau, L. Mawby Vineyards and Shady Lane Cellars.

The package includes two nights’ lodging (in Fiddler’s Pond, Little Belle or The Inn), continental breakfast each morning, and a tasting tour of the three Leelanau Peninsula wineries on Saturday – with transportation and to-go lunch. On Saturday evening, guests will enjoy an exquisite five-course winemaker dinner – featuring local wines – prepared by The Homestead’s Executive Chef, John Piombo. Packages start at $238 per couple, per night.

The Leelanau Peninsula, flanked by Lake Michigan to the west and Grand Traverse Bay to the east, is an ideal grape-growing region – one of four federally recognized American Viticultural Areas in Michigan. The waters of Lake Michigan help with the warming and cooling of the land – a “lake effect” that pairs well with the area’s placement along the 45th Parallel to create a “cool climate” region like no other. Throw in the rolling hills, sprawling vineyards and orchards and quaint charm, and you have the premier scenic destination.

The wineries, all located in Suttons Bay, include:

• Chateau de Leelanau – Experience the fresh allure of Leelanau Peninsula estate wine, handcrafted for your enjoyment – where a love for the vines, a desire to let the grapes speak for themselves and a passion for expressing over a dozen styles of wines, makes this the perfect place to experience award-winning vintages of cold-climate varietals. (www.chateaudeleelanau.com)

• L. Mawby – The first vines were planted here in the spring of 1973. The emphasis is on sparkling wines, both methode champenoise and cuve close. The current annual production is about 8,000 cases, and the winemaking style remains pure – small lots, made with minimal handling. (www.lmawby.com)

• Shady Lane Cellars – Located on a historic 150-acre farm between Traverse City and Suttons Bay on the Leelanau Peninsula and strategically situated to benefit from the meso climate created by Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay, this is a prime vineyard site. (www.shadylanecellars.com)

The Homestead is Northern Michigan’s largest waterfront resort community, located in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – a unit of the National Park Service. Along with its unmatched natural setting and miles of frontage on Lake Michigan and the Crystal River, the resort offers guest pools, tennis and golf in the summer; downhill and cross country skiing in the winter; and shops, restaurants, meeting centers and the luxurious new Spa Amira throughout all four seasons.

For more information, visit www.thehomesteadresort.com or call 231.334.5100. Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehomesteadmi.