They Make Wine in Michigan?!? (The Riesling Belt, Leelanau Peninsula, and a bunch of other stuff we bet you didn’t know!)

Show Notes

Episode 106: They Make Wine in Michigan?!?  00:00

Hello! And welcome to The Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wine, and this is my wife and my wine pairing partner in crime, Carmela. And we are The Wine Pair! 

Ok, a quick orientation for those of you who may be new to the podcast - in each episode we learn about, taste and give our honest review of three wines that are reasonably priced - meaning under $20 each -  and should be easy for you to find, and we talk about what foods to pair with that wine! And our podcast is made for people who want to learn more about wine, find new wines to enjoy, and just want someone to talk about wine in a fun way that regular people can understand. So, if that sounds like you, you are in the right place! And we are proud to say that we are recommended by the editors of Decanter Magazine who call us fun, irreverent, chatty, and entertaining

Alright, Carmela. This episode is just a perfect example of the old adage “you learn something new every day.” Or, as the kids say, TIL or “today I learned.” I know we already covered it in our introduction, but I will honestly say that I was surprised to find that they make wine in Michigan. And we are not going to talk at all about the fact that the Michigan Wolverines beat our Washington Huskies just a few weeks ago in the Natty as the kids also like to say. But maybe we’ll talk about the NFL team the Lions because those guys just won their first playoff game in like 3,000 years. But anyway!

Now, Michigan is no slouch when it comes to farms and farming. According to the USDA from 2020, Michigan ranked number 18 among all states in terms of amount of revenue that comes from farms, just two places behind our state of Washington. But, did you know that Michigan ranks number 7 or 8 in the US in terms of wine grape production? It’s true.

So that’s why we are doing another episode on a state that you may not know makes wine, but more on that - and Michigan as a wine growing state and the wines they make there - in a few minutes. But before we do that, I want to talk to you about something we are doing in this episode that we never do, or are at least doing for the first time, and I feel like it is important to discuss. I am getting serious here, Carmela. 

So you, our friends out there know, we buy our own wine for this podcast, we spend our own money, and we are not sponsored or represented by any wine makers or wine retailers and there is an important reason for that - we want to make sure that our wine reviews and tastings are reliable and unbiased and honest. We pride ourselves on that, and we think it is really important, and what makes us different from other wine reviewers because we will tell you what we think, good or bad. We do get contacted by wineries periodically who want to know if we are interested in tasting their wines, and I generally always give them the same answer. 

I tell them that we will not drink and review their wines on our podcast because we cannot guarantee we will give them a favorable review. What I do offer them is the opportunity for us to interview their winemaker, and we have done several episodes, which we call meet the (wine) maker, where we have had the awesome opportunity to interview these wine makers. We did one a few weeks ago with Duncan Shouler from Giesen Wines, and we are going to do one next week with Drew Perry from Simpson Family Estates - in Michigan. 

I love talking to the winemakers. I learn so much, and I find that all of them have super interesting stories - in fact, I think all of them have taken a relatively circuitous route to becoming winemakers and did not start out to be winemakers until winemaking found them, which I love. I love to hear about all of the things they did before they became winemakers, and I will say so far more than a couple have had backgrounds in the sciences, which makes sense to me.  

But in this episode, we are going to taste and review some wines from Aurora Cellars and Good Harbor Vineyards which are owned by Simpson Family Estates - which Drew Perry that we are interviewing in our episode next week - is the head winemaker for, and I will explain why. 

Finding wines from Michigan for sale in Washington State is really, really hard. I looked at many different sources, including wine.com, Total Wine, BevMo, a local large wine shop that carries lots of different wines called Esquin, and I could not find any wines from Michigan available. 

I did consider buying some wines from Michigan wineries and stores online, but the shipping times and costs were a little prohibitive for me. So, we are going to taste the wines that we were generously sent by Simpson Family Estates.

So, I just wanted to get that out because for me it is really important that we give honest and real reviews, and that you who  are listening to us know you can trust us.  We are going to taste and review these wines, and I promise we will give real reviews. If we don’t like the wines, we are going to tell you. I will also say that we did try one of their wines in the last couple of months, and I did like it, so I am feeling relatively confident that we are not going to talk shit about their wines. 

We also feel like part of what we are doing on this podcast is providing you with real value and something new and different and educational and fun - we want to give you good information about wines, and exposure to wines that you may not normally drink because the wine business in the US is so overloaded with Cabernet Sauvignon and oaky Chardonnay from big wineries from California. I know this sounds like a bit of a soapbox, and we haven’t talked about this for a while, but part of why I wanted to do this episode is also because where the hell else would most of you hear about Michigan wines? And between this episode and our next episode, we are going to give you a little one - two punch on Michigan wines. 

So, on that note. 

But first . . . we have to do our shameless plug.

First, we want to thank you for listening to us and for supporting our show, and if you have not had the chance to do so yet, now would be the perfect time to subscribe to our podcast  - it is a free way to support us, and then you never have to miss a show!  - and a huge thank you to all of you who have subscribed already! 

And, another great way to support is to leave a nice rating and review on our website or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or other podcast service so we can continue to grow our listeners.

You can also follow us and see pictures of the wines we are tasting and trying today on Instagram  at thewinepairpodcast, and you can contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com, and you can sign up for our email newsletter there and get news and food and wine pairing ideas and more!

And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should tell about The Wine Pair Podcast. This week, we want you to tell anyone you know who lives in Michigan, is from Michigan, or who has a connection with Michigan. And, if you don’t know anyone who has a connection with Michigan, then just tell whoever in your life is a wine enthusiast and ask them if they know about Michigan wine. Then just send them this episode which is a celebration of Michigan wine!

ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdard/documents/business-development/mi_ag_facts_figures.pdf?rev=880dd023f529407cb2580b90503d7d7d#:~:text=The%20state%20leads%20the%20nation,states%20in%20the%20United%20States.
• https://www.michiganbusiness.org/news/2022/03/michigan-the-hands-that-feed-you/
• https://beef2live.com/story-states-produce-food-value-0-107252
• https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/wine-production-by-state 

Topic: They Make Wine in Michigan?!? 12:18

On that note, let’s talk about wine in Michigan. I’ll be honest, before about a year ago, I really didn’t even know they made wine in Michigan. I mean, I guess I figured there was some wine being made in Michigan, but I didn’t think they would really have a thriving wine industry like we do in Washington or Oregon or California or even New York.

Well, here are some facts, Carmela. Michigan has over 200 wineries making over 3 million gallons of wine a year. For comparison, Washington state where we are, makes 40 million gallons of wine a year - and we are number two - while California makes more than 680 million gallons. So, Michigan is up and coming, but they are not yet at the volume of the biggest wine regions in the US, which is why you may not see wines from Michigan unless you are close to the state. 

Michigan has five AVAs - that is the designation in the US for recognized and commercially protected wine regions and stands for American Viticultural Areas. The five are Fennville, Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula, Old Mission Peninsula, and Tip of the Mitt. Today, all of the wines we are going to be trying are from the Leelanau Peninsula.

Michigan has actually been making wine for hundreds of years, and let’s be frank, any place where you have people you are going to find people making wine. But for much of its history, Michigan was known for sweet wines. As we said, Michigan produces a lot of grapes, in fact, it is the 4th largest producer of grapes - including wine and non-wine grapes - in the country. However the majority of those have been table and juice grapes like concord. Even today, less than 20% of their total grape production is for wine.

All of the Michigan AVAs have some things in common. First, basically all of them are within 25 miles of Lake Michigan, one of the Great Lakes. This helps to moderate the temperature so that the swings in weather, which can be extreme in Michigan, are less extreme for grape production. 

According to an article from the Wine Economist that I have a link to in our show notes, and is written by a local professor from the University of Puget Sound - which is right in our backyard - named Mike Veseth, Michigan is in what he calls the North American Riesling Belt, which goes across Washington State, British Columbia, Idaho, Michigan, Canada’s Niagara Peninsula, and New York’s Finger Lakes.  This area is at the top end of the latitude of wine grape growing regions in North America, and the best growing areas are a bit elevated, have hot summers, and are tempered by larger bodies of water like lakes and large rivers. 

The variety of grapes grown in Michigan seems well suited to the climate in the state. Unlike a lot of smaller wineries that have sort of forced themselves to create Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay because that is what the wine industry has tuned the American palate to - which, by the way, often ends up in them creating wines that are crappy, hot, and flabby while they try and chase what is popular - Michigan is focusing on wines that are often found in German, Austrian, and Alsace regions of Europe, which makes sense. 

That includes well-known wines like Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Gris, and Riesling, but also less well-known varieties like Blaufrankisch and Grüner Veltliner as well as sparkling wines. This makes me happy, and shows that the winemakers in Michigan are choosing to make wines they can make well rather than trying to make what is popular. In the long run, this will serve them well. 

There are lots of great articles in the show notes that go into more detail on the wine industry in Michigan, so we won’t drain the subject here. The more important thing to know is that there are some very good quality wines being made in Michigan. 

I have a link to an article from Wine Enthusiast of ratings for Michigan wines, and there are pages and pages of wine reviews that are 88 and above. And, according to an articles from The Detroit News, in 2019, Wine Enthusiast rated nearly 100 wines from Michigan and 65 of those wines received ratings between 87-91 points, which is excellent. That same article, published in 2021, noted that Wine Enthusiast rated 9 Michigan sparkling wines between 88 and 91, including one we are going to drink today. 

I will also say it seems that there are a lot of high quality wines coming from the Leelanau Peninsula, so if you are going to look for a Michigan wine to try for the first time, I might suggest you focus on a white or sparkling wine from the Leelanau Peninsula.

And, that is what we are going to do today. All of the wines we are going to be tasting and reviewing today are from the Leelanau Peninsula, so I think it is time to learn a bit more about them. 

ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_wine
• https://wineeconomist.com/2023/08/01/michigan/ 
• https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2021/august/24/how-does-geography-affect-a-wine-s-style/#:~:text=Optimal%20conditions%20are%20generally%20found,vineyard%20from%20getting%20too%20hot. 
• https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/history-of-michigans-wine-and-grape-industry-part-1 
• https://www.wineenthusiast.com/region/michigan/ 
• https://www.detroitnews.com/story/life/food/wine/2021/08/27/wine-enthusiast-gives-michigan-wineries-high-marks/5623500001/ 

Michigan Wines Wines We Chose for This Episode 20:00

Unlike our usual approach to the wines we choose, none of these wines is under $20 - in fact two of these wines are well over our usual $20 range - and they are not easy to find. Carmela challenged me on this a bit, so and again, I will say there are a few reasons why I went down this path.

First, we are going to sharing the interview we did with Drew Perry from Simpson Family Estates next week, and I thought it would be a great 1-2 series of episodes to stay on the theme of Michigan wines.

Second, as I have been alluding to, on this podcast we want to expose you to different wines and expand your - and our - wine horizons, and wines from Michigan is a great way to do that. First, because most people are not really aware of Michigan wines, so that is fun and educational. Second, they are purposely not making a ton of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, which I absolutely love. If there is one thing I really, really want to do on this podcast is to find good wines that are reasonably priced and get people past the hegemony of big wine and their over focus on Cabernet and Chardonnay. 

Staying on my soapbox for just a minute, I think the American consumer has been hoodwinked to believe that those are the best wines available, and that those are the most reliable wines available. And they are just not. Again, I find most of them pretty crappy. But I digress.

The first wine we are going to try is from Aurora Cellars, and is the 2021 Dry Riesling, which received a 90 rating from our friends at Decanter. When I went to the website to find the wine, it looks like they are now just selling the 2022 vintage, so we can only comment on the 2021 obviously. 

I can’t tell you too much more about this wine because there was not a ton of other information about it that I could find, and I was totally torn about whether or not we should try their Sauvignon Blanc - because we love Sauvignon Blanc - or the Dry Riesling, but I chose the Dry Riesling because this is supposed to be from the Riesling belt and because it had a good professional rating. so that’s what we are going to do.

The second wine we are going to try is the Good Harbor Vineyards 2020 Pinot Noir Zweigelt blend. This was another tough choice because I wanted to do a white a red and a sparkling and one of the wines they sent us was a Blaufrankisch from Aurora Cellars which is a wine varietal I have really wanted to try, but then I have never had it before, so I wanted to save it for a time when we do a Blaufrankisch episode, which we will do.

We love Pinot Noir and we liked the Zweigelts we have tried in the past, so I was very intrigued to see what a blend would taste like. This wine also received a 90 rating from Decanter, so it is no slouch. But a few interesting things about this wine that I want to call out. 

First, it is a 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Zweigelt. So there’s that. Second, the wine is aged for 18 months in new French Oak. So, I am very curious how the new French Oak affects the taste. New oak can be, well, oaky, but French oak is more mellow than American Oak, so we’ll see what we think. 

I like the way the winery describes the wine: Pinot Noir is often referred to as the wine maker’s variety. It is adored by many wine makers because it is incredibly difficult to grow as it is very sensitive to climate changes. Zweigelt is a grape variety grown and adored throughout Austria and has many characteristics that make it a sensational compliment to Pinot Noir.  This wine is one of a kind.  The varieties were harvested in a field blend, crushed and fermented together, and then aged for 18 months in new French Oak. 

So I am super, super curious about this wine. 

The last wine is a sparkling wine from the sister winery of Aurora Cellars called Good Harbor Vineyards, and this is their Blanc de Noirs which received a rating of 90 from Wine Enthusiast and a 91 from Decanter. Now, it is always a little challenging to manage reviews for sparkling wines because they are non-vintage, but I think we can assume the quality of the wine is good based on these two reviews.

Like most Blanc de Noirs, the sparkling is made from Pinot Noir, but it is not a rosé, but rather a white sparkling wine, which is created when they remove the juice from the grapes and don’t allow it to spend time on the skins.

The winery says that they make this wine using the Charmat method, also known as cuvee close, which is the way Prosecco is made rather than the way that Champagne is made. In the Charmat method, the second fermentation takes place in a pressurized tank instead of in the bottle, and this is a faster and easier way to make sparkling wine. But that does not mean that people - including us - do not love sparkling wines made in this way.

This is a brut wine, which again for sparkling means dry and where dry means semi-sweet, and it is 12% alcohol, so about what we would expect for a drier sparkling wine. In the article from The Detroit News, a sommelier from Michigan named Cortney Casey notes that the cooler climate of the region means that Michigan wineries can grow grapes with higher acidity, and that is a cornerstone of making a good sparkling wine. 

Again, I don’t have a ton of other information for this wine, so I think we are just going to get to tasting and reviewing. How about that?

Ok, we are going to take a quick break and we’ll be right back to try these Michigan wines, and I am excited to find out what we think!


ARTICLES and LINKS

• https://www.goodharbor.com/product/Pinot-Noir-Zweigelt 
• https://www.decanter.com/wine-reviews/usa/michigan/good-harbor-vineyards-pinot-noir-zweigelt-leelanau-70291 
• https://www.auroracellars.com/aurora-cellars-earns-high-marks-from-decanter/
• https://shop.auroracellars.com/product/Dry-Riesling
• https://www.goodharbor.com/product/Blanc-de-Noirs 
• https://atlas-scientific.com/blog/co2-in-wine/ 
• https://www.winespectator.com/glossary/index/word/charmat#:~:text=Charmat%3A%20A%20less%20expensive%2C%20mass,filtered%20under%20pressure%20and%20bottled
• https://www.goodharbor.com/blog/Good-Harbor-Vineyards-Makes-Debut-with-International-Wine-Media-Brand 

Michigan Wine Pairing Tasting and Reviews 27:14

Wine: Aurora Cellars Dry Riesling
Region: Michigan, Leelanau Peninsula
Year: 2021
Price: $24.99
Retailer: Aurora Cellars
Alcohol: 12.3%
Grapes: Riesling
Professional Rating: Decanter 90

What we tasted and smelled in this Aurora Cellars Dry Riesling:

• On the nose: Honey, peach, apple, gasoline, pear, rich, complex
• In the mouth: Tart apple, sweet, fruity, fresh apple, a bit syrupy, stewed fruit, Granny Smith with the skin, fresh lemon juice, a good sipper

Food to pair with this Aurora Cellars Dry Riesling: White flaky fish with butter sauce, french fries, fish and chips, mozzarella sticks, potato chips, a good football wine, lemon chicken, seafood pasta

As a reminder on our rating scale, we rate on a scale of 1-10, where 7 and above means that we would buy it, and 4 and below means that we are likely to pour it down the sink, and a 5 or 6 means we are likely to drink it and finish it, but we are probably not going to buy it.

Aurora Cellars Dry Riesling Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 7/10
• Carmela: 8/10

Wine: Good Harbor Vineyards Pinot Noir Zweigelt
Region: Michigan, Leelanau Peninsula
Year: 2020
Price: $45.00
Retailer: Good Harbor
Alcohol: 12%
Grapes: 50% Pinot Noir 50% Zweigelt
Professional Rating: D 90

What we tasted and smelled in this Good Harbor Vineyards Pinot Noir Zweigelt:

• On the nose: Smoky, bright sweet candied cherry, tart cherry, vanilla, cinamon, fruity and fragrant
• In the mouth: Tart cherry, drift wood, campfire, delicate, pine tree sap

Food to pair with this Good Harbor Vineyards Pinot Noir Zweigelt: Good versatile food wine, burger, steak, lamb and rosemary, formal dinner party, spring wine, chicken, pork tenderloin, spicy Asian food
 
Good Harbor Vineyards Pinot Noir Zweigelt Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 8/10
• Carmela: 8/10

Wine: Good Harbor Vineyards Blanc de Noirs
Region: Michigan, Leelanau Peninsula
Year: NV
Price: $32
Retailer: Good Harbor
Alcohol: 12%
Grapes: Pinot Noir
Professional Rating: WE 90, Decanter 91

What we tasted and smelled in this Good Harbor Vineyards Blanc de Noirs:

• On the nose: Fine bubbles, Martinelli’s Apple Cider, fresh fruit, apple juice, citrus, lemon candy, cotton candy, marshmallow 
• In the mouth: Apple juice, citrus, very easy to drink, juicy, fresh, fruity, fizzy

Food to pair with this Good Harbor Vineyards Blanc de Noirs: French fries, spicy food, spicy fried chicken burger, grilled hot dog


Good Harbor Vineyards Blanc de Noirs Wine Rating: 

• Joe: 8/10
• Carmela: 9/10

Which one of these are you finishing tonight?

• Carmela: Good Harbor Vineyards Blanc de Noirs Wine Rating
• Joe: Good Harbor Vineyards Pinot Noir Zweigelt

Taste profiles expected from Michigan Dry Riesling, Pinot Noir Zweigelt, Blanc de Noirs   44:35

• Aurora Cellars Dry Riesling
  • Winery: Delicate white peach aromatics and a mouth watering finish
  • Decanter: Effusive aromatics of lemon curd grilled peach flesh and white flowers. There is ample texture, framed by grilled lemon peel, cardamom, and spiced pear flavours. Fresh and complex
• Good Harbor Vineyards Pinot Noir Zweigelt
  • Winery:Aromas of bright Bing cherry with a backdrop of early season strawberries. A subtle aroma of vanilla from the time spent in the new French Oak is present as well.  The medium palate and the medium to long finish are typical of warmer growing seasons. The cherry aromatics found on the nose follow through on the palate along with flavors of raspberry jam.
  • Decanter: Aromas of fresh, tart cranberry, raspberry and fresh mint, and faint notes of savoury dried herbs are evocative of old-world cool climate red wines. The palate is lively, fresh and full of verve. Fresh strawberries, basil, turned earth, smoke, and Montmorency cherries mark a fresh, vibrant, long-lived finish.
• Good Harbor Vineyards Blanc de Noirs
  • WE: The nose is pungently floral, scented with candied apple slices in rosewater. The palate shows ripe Golden Delicious apple and Bosc pear alongside ginger and pie crust. Tame bubbles and acidity provide the anchor to it all.
  • Decanter: This wine is wildly aromatic, and though done in the Charmat method it offers great depth and richness in its aromatics. Honey, beeswax and rich pollen, along with ripe stone fruit jump forward. The palate is surprisingly opulent, with candied ginger, honeycomb and grilled peach flavours. A real delight

What’s the verdict on Michigan wines?

And just a plug and a reminder that we will be interviewing the dude who makes these wines next week, which is super cool.

Outro and how to find The Wine Pair Podcast 47:02

Ok, so, Carmela, it is just about time for us to go, but before we do, we want to thank you very much for listening to us - and if you haven’t done so yet, now would be the perfect time to subscribe to our podcast and also a fantastic time to leave us a nice rating and review on our website or Apple podcasts or other podcast service - and it is an awesome and free way to support us and help us grow listeners.

We would also love to hear from you about a wine you would like us to taste and review. You can, leave a message for us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com and you can join our email newsletter there, too, or you can just email us at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com and tell us about a wine you are curious about, or curious what we think of it. And, follow us on Instagram and Threads so you can see pictures of all of these wines we are tasting and reviewing. 

And, next time you listen to an episode, drink along with us and see if you are tasting and experiencing the same things we are - it’s like a date night! And if you do that, we’d love to hear what you think!

Alright, with that, we are going to sign off, so thanks again, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.