If Vines Could Talk

Tom Knighton is the founder and owner of Blustone Vineyards located on the Leelanau Peninsula northwest of Traverse City. Tom and his team have a beautiful site and equally beautiful wines. Pop open a bottle of Michigan wine and follow along. www.blustonevineyards.com

Jayme and I are sharing things we look for when we visit a tasting room. We hope this offers insight for you to consider for your next world-class experience. Pop open a bottle of Michigan wine and follow along.

Meredith George is my guest today. Meredith owns the St. Joe Wine Shoppe, located in the Market in downtown St. Joseph Michigan. Relatively new to wine, Meredith shares about her time at Dablon, her thoughts about Michigan wine, and her support of women winemakers. Listen in as we also cover a broad spectrum of other topics. www.stjoewineshoppe.com

Today's special episode is Amy Birk from Domaine Berrien Cellars returning to the podcast to share a few of her library wines. Listen in as we taste recent vintages of her Wolf’s Prairie Red, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with older versions of the same wine. Pop open a bottle of Michigan wine and listen in to this captivating discussion. www.domaineberrien.com

Kacey Wierzba and Maddie Vint are my guests today from Shady Lane Cellars located in the Leelanau Peninsula near Traverse City, Michigan. Listen in as the two remarkable winemakers talk about their passions, vineyards and wines. We’ll also hear about numerous awards, the history of the property, and two special dogs, Lola and Frankie. If you have questions for Kacey or Maddie, you can send them to...

Jayme and I discuss the four types of winemaking – and in particular, the fermentation process – for red, white, rose’ and orange wines. We also share some of our favorite varieties. Pop open of Michigan wine and follow along.

Maxx Eichberg of Stranger Wine Company is my guest today. Maxx and his partner Sidney purchased the vineyard from James Lester – known as the Avonlea vineyard – just 3 years ago. Listen in as we talk about the history, Maxx and Sidney’s unique ackground, regenerative practices and future plans for Stranger. www.strangerwineco.com .

Jayme and I are tasting three amazing Michigan Chardonnays. We have one each from Ciccone, Chateau Chantal and White Pine – each representing the three main Michigan AVAs. We also talk briefly about Riedel glassware and wild turkeys – the bird, not the drink. Pop open a bottle of Michigan wine and follow along. https://cicconevineyard.com/ , https://www.chateauchantal.com/ , https://whitepinewiner...

Welcome to podcast #32. Brent Kroll is my special guest today. Brent is the Founder and Sommelier of Maxwell Park Wine Bar in Washington DC. With strong Michigan roots, Brent brings a great perspective about Michigan wine. His wine bar recently won special recognition by Wine Enthusiast Magazine, who dubbed the place “Not your typical buttoned up wine bar.” Also, a very special thanks to Miranda F...

Today Jayme and I share our opinions about four sub-AVAs of the Lake Michigan Shore, and we highlight a few other Midwest AVAs. Pop open a bottle of Michigan wine and listen in.

Charlie Edson is the founder of Bel Lago Winery in the Leelanau Peninsula AVA. He started planting vineyards in the late 1980s and opened the tasting room in the late 1990s. A special thanks to John Heekin, the new owner of Bel Lago, for introducing Charlie to Steve. Please send inquiries to: info@bellogowine.com.

Jayme and I are conducting a blind tasting of three Pinot Gris, or Pinot Grigio. Those three come from Pasqua in Italy, Elk Cove in Oregon and Dablon, here in Baroda, Michigan. Pop open a bottle of Michigan wine and listen in.

In episode #6 I interviewed Bill Schopf, the owner of Dablon, a beautiful winery and tasting room perched on a hill overlooking acres of vineyards. Today Rudy Shafer is my guest. Rudy is the operations manager at Dablon who oversees all vineyard and winery operations. Hear more detail about what’s happening at Dablon and find out about Rudy’s special past-time passion. Pop open a bottle of Michiga...

Today we close out the series about Michigan grapes. Jayme and I talk about the important place the Concord has in our history. We also discuss other juice grapes, hybrids and vinifera varieties, including Niagara, Catawba, Delaware, Baco Noir, Vidal Blanc and Chardonnay. Follow along with your favorite bottle of Michigan wine.

Lemon Creek Winery celebrates 40 years of business this year. Listen in as Kait Lemon and Jerardo Bocanegra talk about everything from nearly two centuries of history in the area, farming operations, the winery and wines, the tasting room and some of the celebrations planned for the year. In addition to social media, you can contact the winery at lemoncreekwinery@gmail.com .

Today Jayme and I are tasting three red blends from the Lake Michigan Shore – all from the Baroda region. We have Big Chill Red from Chill Hill, Vineyard Red from Round Barn Winery and Producer’s Cut from Dablon. Pop open a bottle of Michigan wine and follow along! www.chillhill.net www.roundbarn.com www.dablon.com

Dave Miller and his wife Sandy own and operate White Pine Winery with their tasting room located in downtown St. Joseph Michigan. Dave is one of our veterans here in the Lake Michigan Shore. Join us for a deep dive into grape growing techniques and grape varieties and hear more about the great wines Dave and Sandy are serving up at their tasting room. Pop open a bottle and follow along. See their...

Jayme and I continue our conversation about grape varieties and today focus on those most commonly found in the Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula AVAs. Two points to call out. Late in the episode we discuss the vinifera variety Gewurztraminer. It is an offspring of Savagnin Blanc - not to be confused with Sauvignon Blanc. We also talk about pairing Gewurztraminer wine with pumpkin pie,...

Gunnar Olson is the owner and winemaker at Baroda Founders Winecellar. Join us as we talk about all the things going on at Baroda Founders, and as we take a trip down memory lane to talk about Gunnar’s dad, Leonard Olson, and his pioneering contributions to the Michigan Wine industry.

Today Jayme and I are tasting three Cabernet Sauvignons, one each from Domaine Berrien, Fenn Valley and Lemon Creek. https://www.domaineberrien.com/, https://www.fennvalley.com/, https://www.lemoncreekwinery.com/. To enhance your listening pleasure, we've edited out all of the long pauses between our observations, smells and sips! Enjoy.

Lauren Kniebes is one of the owners of Lazy Ballerina Winery located in beautiful downtown St. Joseph Michigan, at 321 State Street. Lauren and her partner Melanie have the distinction of being the first woman owned winery in the Lake Michigan Shore. Visit their website at www.lazyballerinawinery.com. Pop open a bottle of Michigan wine and listen in to this fun interview.

Happy Thanksgiving! This week Jayme and I discuss the grape varieties found in the Lake Michigan Shore AVA (American Viticultural Area). We discuss juice grapes, hybrids and vinifera.

Amy Birk is the operations director and co-winemaker at Domaine Berrien Cellars, arguably one of the best fine wine producers in the Baroda area. Amy and her partner Jake are purchasing Domaine Berrien from long time veterans Wally and Katie Mauer.  Amy is another prime example of how young, up-and-coming winemakers are making a huge difference in the Michigan wine scene.

Join Jayme and me as we taste three Michigan Cabernet Francs. The three wineries represented are Baroda Founders (www.founderswinecellar.com), Dablon (www.dablon.com) and Pere Marquette (www.peremarquettewinery.com). Pop open a bottle and join in the fun!

This week John Braganini is my guest. John is the Chairman of the St. Julian Wine Company in Paw Paw, Michigan - the oldest and largest winery in Michigan.