Category Archives: Midwestern States

Michigan Pinot Takes Giant Leap

22 Wednesday Nov 2017

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Blustone Vineyard

The Blustone tasting room sets atop a small hill on the Leelanau Peninsula.

“Wow, this Michigan Pinot Noir is great,” said almost no one ever.

I’ve been a booster of Michigan wines since first visiting in 2010. I have been back a couple times since then, the latest in 2015. Michigan, and  particularly upper state near Traverse City is the home of world-class white wines. The Riesling wines and Pinot Blanc can be matched against any found on wine store shelves.

The reds have been a different story. The Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula wineries struggle to grow enough grapes – get them ripe and make good Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir.

 

Tom Knighton

Blustone owner Tom Knighton

The vines are aging and the wines are improving. I noticed a big leap in the reds from 2010-2015. But those wines are also aging well. During the 2015 trip I purchased two bottles of Blustone Pinot Noir. Blustone has a great vineyard site and beautiful tasting room. Back in 2015 the wines were very light in flavor but varietally correct. I thought that was the first step to making great wine.

 

The drawback to the Michigan reds has been the weather. There have been a couple of years recently when weather killed off the reds with late freezes and growing seasons just too cold to properly ripen the grapes. During a couple of recent growing seasons there was essentially no red grape harvest.

That’s the background to opening a bottle of Blustone Pinot Oct. 21. I drank the first Bluestone within a year of that last visit. It tasted like Pinot. It was very thin and not very satisfying.

The second bottle was opened last night. It had totally changed – for the better. The wine had been properly stored during the last two years. I had polished off a bottle of very well-crafted Oregon Pinot Noir and my friend and I wanted one more glass. I reached for the Blustone thinking it would be super light but good enough for my acquaintance’s inexperienced palate.

I was shocked at first taste that the Pinot characteristics were more pronounced. The wine was more Burgundian than typically thin. The wine in the glass had bright red fruit like cherry and strawberry along with a wonderful hint of spice on the finish.

Maybe the Michigan reds are underestimated. Maybe this was an odd exception. I have a bottle of a red blend from  Old Mission Peninsula I bought on that same trip that I need to dig out and see how it’s aged.  But there’s no question there is a spot in the market for Michigan Pinot Noir similar to what I tasted last night.

The biggest question is whether the weather will ever allow Michigan growers to produce enough Pinot grapes to get the wines beyond the state’s tasting rooms.

Easy-Drinking Thanksgiving Wines

20 Friday Nov 2015

Posted by in Holidays, Indiana, Midwestern States, Newspaper Column 2015, Uncategorized

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Thanksgiving is just days away and holiday entertaining is about to hit in a big way.

Grape Sense LogoIn the early years of Grape Sense, I’d frequently include specific wine choices I could highly recommend. It dawned on me recently I hadn’t done that in a couple of years.

Thanksgiving Wine: The first rule is really rather simple – just match the wine to the entire dinner and not just the turkey. Think about spice, bold flavors, and how your wine choice might pair up with the entire table of goodies.

Specific and safe pics would be Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Both work well with fowl and the usual side choices. If you’re feeling more adventurous look for a white Chenin Blanc or a Spanish Tempranillo red wine. A good French Rose or Oregon Rose would be another excellent pairing.

Here are a few wines or types of wine I’ve been drinking lately. They were all purchased or are available in Indiana.

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Oliver Winery: I spent some time with Bill Oliver a few weeks ago and tasted through his Creekbend vineyard wines. Several of those wines would make outstanding Thanksgiving wine and you can brag to your guests is grown and made in Indiana. The Creekbend Vignoles is a big winner in my book. It’s soft enough for the non-wine drinker and interesting enough for the more serious wine geek.

 

The Oliver Chambourcin is light like a Pinot Noir with good earthiness for any meal.

Red Blends: There is nothing hotter in the wine world right now than red wine blends. They tend to be softer and more drinkable than many red choices. Rook Washington Red is a wine that has strong dark raspberry flavor and a smooth delivery. It’s a steal at $14.99.

Go to your wine shop and look for Washington State red wine blends and you’ll seldom be disappointed with the many choices available for under $15. Of course, you get up to $20 and that’s where the quality difference becomes more pronounced.

Spanish Reds: There are few categories which over-deliver like Spanish red wine. Most Spanish wines will be predominantly the native Tempranillo grape. If you think of a light mouth feel, but full flavored-wine you’ve started a good description of most Spanish wines. Spain ages its wines before release so many are ready to drink right off the shelf.

Black Slate Porrera Piorat and Cogolludo Guadalajra Tempranillo-Syrah are great wines I purchased in state. If you want something really tasty go for the Tocs Priorat which is 100 percent Garnacha (or Grenache) for $20.

Tasty Whites: Alsatian Pinot Blanc from France, Rousanne from France or California’s Central Coast, Stoller Estate Chardonnay from Oregon, or a Grenache Blanc from southern France would be great pics for Thanksgiving or a holiday party.

These wines are meant to be crowd pleasers. The wines here should appeal to most any palate.

If you have specific wine questions, don’t hesitate to write.

Two Hoosier Wineries Visited, 40 To Go!

07 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by in Indiana, Midwestern States, Newspaper Column 2015

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Indiana wine producers now boast 80 wineries with more opening their doors annually. Most important, Indiana wine quality has significantly improved over the past 5-10 years.

Grape Sense LogoA real emphasis on quality has no doubt driven sales and brought more people to Hoosier tasting rooms. The state’s wineries fall into a few different categories. There are a few which make truly great wine, a few that really should re-consider corn and beans, a few who grow grapes and many who don’t grow anything.

But it seems there is a vast emerging middle of the pack producing very consumer friendly, if not arguably boring, wine. Now, there is not anything wrong with that approach. If you make a soft easy-to-drink wine, you’re probably going to sell a lot of it.

Two such wineries, located in central and south-central Indiana, are Mallow Run and Cedar Creek. Recent visits on a rainy Saturday found both tasting rooms bustling with activity and brisk sales.

Mallow Run, just south of Indianapolis on Whiteland Road near Highway 37, has been around for about 10 years. Mallow Run has made a name for itself with event marketing. The winery grounds feature eight acres of vineyard and a huge outdoor entertainment venue.

Mallow Run Winery on Indy's southside.

Mallow Run Winery on Indy’s southside.

Mallow Run hosts all sorts of music, movie nights, and many other special events. It’s close to Indianapolis and packs in the visitors. The wines are definitely well made if not remarkable. I started with the semi-sweet Traminette which was just that. The Rose’ of Corot Noir was nice with just a hint of sweetness. The Chambourcin poured had clearly gone bad. The attendant quickly and politely popped open a fresh bottle. The wine was light on the palate and light on fruit but nicely balanced.

The best of the lot was the dry Traminette. It seems more Hoosier winemakers are moving to the drier versions. The prominent grapefruit-like flavor was very tasty with the dry approach.

There isn’t much variance in Mallow Run’s prices. All wines are in the $11-$19 range. Nothing on the tasting list sampled disappointed. But none stood out beyond the dry white.

Cedar Creek Winery just off 37 near Martinsville.

Cedar Creek Winery just off 37 near Martinsville.

Cedar Creek Winery & Brewery is also just off Highway 37 near Martinsville. Despite attempts, there are no grapes grown near the scenic creek turned into wine. All of the fruit comes from California for this Hoosier winery – but frankly, that’s not unusual.

The wines fall into a similar category with Mallow Run, but not as well made. I tasted a Pinot Gris that had nice honey suckle hints on the palate but a musty, unpleasantness on the nose. The Pinot Noir was also a bottle which had gone bad. The busy person in the tasting room said she would check it out later but didn’t offer to open a bottle for another pour.

The Merlot might have been the best wine of the visit. It was very light in the mouth and I couldn’t detect much oak, if any at all. It would be a great wine for beginners trying to move beyond the sweets. I was intrigued that the winery offered a Valpolicella. The Italian grape can be magical. The California version was disappointing and not varietally correct.

The best pour at Cedar Creek was the Harvest Moon desert wine made with Cabernet Franc showing flavors of honey, currants and strawberries. Though a bit sweeter than I would have liked, the spicy characteristics came through strong for a pleasant sip.

Prices at Cedar Creek run $12-$14 with its dessert wines priced $25-$28.

Two stops on one Saturday afternoon show overall quality continues to improve but consistency is still an issue for the Indiana wine industry.

Oliver Sources High-End Grapes

31 Saturday Oct 2015

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BLOOMINGTON, In, – Any discussion of Indiana wine has to always include Oliver Winery. The iconic Hoosier winery, synonymous with sweet wines, is Indiana’s biggest player on a big stage. Oliver is one of the nation’s biggest producers not located on the West Coast.

Bill Oliver, who took over from his pioneering father in the 1980s, has grown the winery and expanded the operation’s wine footprint beyond Soft Red and White wines. I spent a couple of hours Friday morning with Bill Oliver at the winery. He was cordial, excited about the future, and enthused about a new higher-end venture that might surprise a few wine purists.

Oliver chatting, tasting Chambourcin in the tasting room.

Oliver chatting, tasting Chambourcin in the tasting room.

Anyone dismissing Oliver Winery as ‘that sweet stuff’ is missing the mark. Yes, Oliver is a leader in sweet Concord red and Niagara white wines on a regional level and perhaps a national level in the next decade. But Oliver Winery is also producing very well-made wines from its nearby Creekbend Vineyard. Traminette, Vignoles, Chambourcin and more are featured at wineries across the state. But few, if any, are making those wines any better than Oliver.

The initial purpose of my visit was to talk to Oliver about his “Flight” series of wines featuring carefully sourced fruit from California vineyards. The current release getting lots of deserved attention is a 2013 Pinot Noir from the legendary Bien Nacido vineyard on California’s central coast. That name may not mean much to many wine drinkers but to real wine geeks Bien Nacido is one of the most sought-after vineyard designate wines in the Santa Barbara area.

Bill and I tasted wines with winemaker Dennis Dunham. We tasted the 2015 which had not even made it to the barrels yet. We sipped the 2014 which has seen its time in oak and now rests in stainless steel before bottling. And we tasted the mid-summer release of the 2013. I had previously tasted the 2013 and thought it was outstanding. The 2014 is going to be even better with a more extracted fruit flavor. It’s too early to tell on the 2015 juice.

The Oliver Bien Nacido Pinot sells almost exclusively in the Oliver tasting room for $45. That’s a big price jump for a winery known for the under-$10 sweet wines. But the solid Creekbend entries sell in the high-teen to mid-20s range. Oliver said one of the reasons to make the Pinot was to show people what his team could do with really great fruit.

An aside for the wine geeks, buying California fruit for Hoosier-made wine is nothing new for Oliver or many others. Oliver has access to some great California Central coast fruit and scored with his catch of Bien Nacido Pinot. It’s an expensive experiment but one the winemaker and owner clearly are enjoying.

At the other end of the spectrum is Oliver’s new Bubblecraft red and white wines. The $9 “fizz” is in the traditional Concord and Niagara grapes and in grocery stores already. Oliver produced and expects to sell about 10,000 cases this year with an expectation of nearly 25,000 cases in sales next year.

I have several story ideas from my time at Oliver today. Most of those will be posted or promoted here. There is even some bigger news coming from Bill Oliver not mentioned here.

Stay tuned.

Carmel Wants Share of Spotlight

29 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Food & Travel, Indiana, Midwestern States

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CARMEL, IN. – This affluent Indianapolis suburb certainly raises the connotation, and rightfully so, of an affluent and growing community. Its progressive Republican mayor is constantly grabbing the headlines with big ideas.

Carmel conjures up a lot of images – but as a foodie destination? Indianapolis’ dining scene has claimed all the headlines in recent years but Carmel wants to step out of the big city’s shadow with its own eclectic dining options.

Hamilton County’s Tourism office sponsored a foodie tour for Midwest food writers, and one wine writer Thursday evening. The tour was hosted by Small Potatoes Catering. The company not only caters but leads private foodie tours of Carmel, Indy, Mass Ave, and soon Fountain Square.

I was joined by two area Chicago food writers, the Indy Star food writer, and Cincinnati’s Food Hussy. Heather, aka the Food Hussy, is one of Cincy’s top food writers and was lots of fun. It helps when your press contingent has an adventurous and congenial attitude.

We made four stops Thursday night – Peace Water Winery, Divvy Restaurant, Uplands Brewery, and Chocolate for the Spirit. Most of us stayed over for breakfast at Eggshell the next morning. Each of the fives stops helped the tourism pros illustrate how unique and local can make any suburb or small town a food/beverage destination.

Peace Water Owner Scott Burton

Winery Owner Scott Burton

Peace Water is certainly the most unique of Indiana’s 80 wineries. Owner Scott Burton owns a winery in California, buys his grapes from California vineyards, and employs a winemaker in California. His tasting room is in Carmel. His wines are not even sold in California.

For Burton, it’s all about giving back to community after an obviously successful career as a corporate lawyer. He has a unique approach to giving back – when you buy a bottle of wine in the downtown Carmel tasting room you are given a token. Then you decide which of seven charities shares in Burton’s philanthropy. The winery earmarks 50 percent of all profits to the seven charities.

The wines were pretty solid too! He poured four of his several wines during our brief visit. His Sauvignon Blanc was pleasant enough, crisp, but definitely on the acidic side. A Sonoma County Rose had pronounced strawberry flavors and was an easy sipper. His red blend and Cabernet were the really quality winners for my palate. While both saw substantial time in oak, the tannins on the reds were smooth. The wine is definitely in the ‘fruit-forward’ style popular with so many consumers.

His price points range $20-$40. Through his winemaker’s family winery on Howell Mountain, Burton acquires a limited amount of fruit from one of the regions considered holy grail in wine circles. His Howell Mountain cab, which we did not taste, sells for $120 for the real wine aficionado.

Owner Woody Rider

Woody Rider

Divvy restaurant was our second stop inside Carmel’s City Center Complex on Rangeline Road. The best way to explain the concept is the old adage “divvy it up.” The staff explained that we not think of their restaurant as “appetizer, entrée, and dessert” but that everything on the menu was an appetizer, entrée and dessert.

It’s a fascinating concept that is essentially small bites as a meal. I loved the beer cheese with an assortment of breads and the bacon bites which was pork belly, maple bourbon gastrique with Applewood smoked sea salt. The porterhouse steak bites were tender and juicy.

According to staff, their most popular dish is a corn crème brulee with romano, jalapenos and red sea salt. I am adverse to heat/spice and took just a small bite of the corn which was yummy. The bites range from $6 to $16. Our Small Potatoes’ staff hosts said an order for two people is usually 4-5 of the bites.

Owner Woody Rider joined us briefly to talk about the restaurant. He also owns the popular Woody’s Library in downtown Carmel on Main Street.

champagne veleveUplands Tap House Brewery, which has several Indiana locations, was our third stop for a taste of some Hoosier brewed beer.

Our hosts served up their historic Champagne Velvet and popular Dragon Fly IPA. I’m a wine guy and seldom a beer drinker but really enjoyed the Champagne Velvet.

The Uplands staff soffered some creamy Mac-n-Cheese made with wheat beer. That was accompanied by one of the best, rich-tasting pulled pork sandwiches I’ve ever had.

Julie Bolejack

Julie Bolejack

Our final stop of Thursday night was with old friend Julie Bolejack and her Carmel Chocolate for the Spirit location on Carmel Dr., just off Rangeline.

Julie educated and entertained as always. She talked about the different chocolates she uses in her creations and gave us a taste of three different chocolates. Julie has access to the world’s rarest chocolate – Pure Nacional.

We toured the kitchen where Julie makes her beautiful creations and bought some take-home chocolate as well. Julie sent each of us on our way with a box of three truffles.

Eggshell Bistro, also in City Center, was our Friday morning and final stop of the foodie tour. Chef Larry Hanes wowed us with his breakfast creations. Now I’ve read the word “wowed” in far too many food/restaurant reviews for years. I can honestly say this might be the first time I felt confident using the jargon.

Hanes is not just a chef at all. He designed the small bistro space, picked out the art, collected numerous kitchen antiques and pieces with interesting history to stock his café. Click on the restaurant link above and go to the “About” section to read more about this remarkable man.

Our brunch started with Blue Bottle coffee that was one of the best cups I’ve had in years. I have to admit that I had never heard of Blue Bottle but a couple of the food writers were quite impressed.

Larry Hanes

Larry Hanes

Chef Hanes wowed us with dish after dish he served up family style so we could get a taste of many different breakfast entree’s. We had frittata’s, quiche, a Morocan inspired dish, and more.

My two favorites were a rosemary/ham frittata and fish and grits with a soft boiled egg on top.

This restaurant has received accolades but remains a bit of a hidden gem in my estimation. The small dining room was only half full on a Friday morning at about 10 a.m. It’s one of the most remarkable dining experiences you’ll find in the city.

It should also be noted that Chef Hanes cooks everything. He is the only person in the kitchen and does it all himself. The antique equipment, art, and atmosphere are worth the drive if you’re elsewhere in the city.

Don’t be in a rush at Eggshell, the service can be a bit slow based on our experience and a few Yelp reviews I read after visiting. Go anyway, Eggshell is a treasure.

NOTE: I plan on writing more on a couple of these businesses. Those posts will go up in the coming week or two. We didn’t have the time on a tour to stop and interview the owners. Our hosts did provide some notes that I will use to tell you more about a couple of these businesses. And I’ll note appropriately that the material was provided.

The Making of a Great Hoosier Wine

22 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Indiana, Midwestern States, Newspaper Column 2015

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As Indiana wine quality continues to improve and get noticed around the Midwest, a few efforts have reached the pinnacle of success.

River City Winery and Huber Winery won top honors with their Vignoles at the annual Indy International Wine Competition in 2012-2013. Easley Winery, in downtown Indianapolis, claimed the top prize this year with Indiana’s signature Traminette.

Grape Sense LogoMaking a great wine starts in the vineyard and carries throughout the winemaking process. Traminette is sold by half of Indiana’s 80 wineries. And it seems every new winery in the state plants some of the signature white grape. Unfortunately, there are occasions when the grapes are made into wine and sold before they’re ready for commercial production. It’s no surprise when the very best wines come from producers like Huber and Easley.

“Our Traminette varietal program is a culmination of several years of trial and research both by our vineyard team and wine making team,” said Mark Easley. “We have learned over the last eight years, through several research projects, some of the very key features to making great, world-class Traminette. Our winemaker Jeff Martin and cellar master Nathan Schaffer have taken the lead. They have coordinated field experiments in our vineyards in conjunction with wine making practices in our cellar.”

Easley explained the keys to his Traminette is controling the crop load to 5-7 tons per acres, keep the vines well drained, and make sure the fruit gets plenty of direct sunlight just before harvest. “In red wine making, we like to run the temperatures up in the high 70s and 80s for color and tannin extraction, no to sin fruit aromatic white wine make. We like to make our Traminette in a semi dry style that is food friendly.

Traminette being delivered to winery in 2014.

Traminette being delivered to winery in 2014.

“After getting the perfect grapes from our vineyard the work begins at the winery crush pad,” the second-generation winery owner said.  “We like to see four to 12 hours of cold soak for the grapes in the large boxes we pick them in. This gets the juice in contact with the sun-exposed skins. We then destem and press the grapes in bladder grape presses. The press uses very low pressure in a gentle way.

Keeping the juice cold throughout the process maintains the wine’s aroma and flavor. “We treat it like fresh fruit,” Easley said. “We like to make our Traminette in a semi-dry style so that it is food friendly.”

The Easley Traminette is widely distributed through Meijer stores. I liked the wine a lot because it was done in a dry style. The signature floral bouquet in Easley’s wine is present without being over-powering. The wine is a great representation of what Indiana can do right.

Easley’s Traminette Tops Indy Competition

08 Saturday Aug 2015

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Approximately half of Indiana’s wineries sell a Traminette wine. Wine lovers can find the very sweet to bone dry examples of floral wine in stores and tasting rooms from north to south.

Grape Sense LogoThe hybrid wine grape may have won its crowning achievement in early August at Purdue University when Easley Winery’s 2014 Traminette was named the competition’s 2015 Wine of the Year.

Before writing off the honor as just another ribbon or contest understand the Indy competition is one of the nation’s largest. Wines arrive from 40 states and 12 countries. More than 2,100 wines are tasted during the event.

Indiana recorded 316 medals during the competition. Huber Winery, Starlight, In., was again the Governor’s Cup winner for most awards. Ted Huber was the 2014 Winemaker of the Year. But others had a big showing as well. Country Heritage and Vineyards, near Fort Wayne, took home more than 20 ribbons along with the Indiana Farm Winery of the Year award. French Lick Winery won 19 awards. Turtle Run had its best showing with two ‘Best of Class” winners, two double golds, and two golds. You can find a link for all Indiana awards here.

But after all the awards judges taste the best of the best and selected the Easley Traminette as the show’s best-made wine. The downtown Indianapolis-based winery has been on a roll with the state’s signature grape.

Ryan Robertson, cellar crew, Blake Loudermilk, grower relations, Jeff Martin, winemaker, Mark Easley, Nathan Schaefer, production manager.

Ryan Robertson, cellar crew, Blake Loudermilk, grower relations, Jeff Martin, winemaker, Mark Easley, Nathan Schaefer, production manager.

The 2014 wine won a gold medal at the 2015 Mid-American Wine Competition in Iowa, a double gold at the 2015 Tasters Guild International in Michigan, and a gold at the Great Lakes Great Wine competition in Michigan.

“Back in 2009 we really got behind growing and making Traminette wines,” said second generation winemaker and owner Mark Easley. “Our first Traminette grapes came out of the Kauffman Vineyards in Posey County. The vineyard was owned by our winemaker Jeff Martin’s grandfather, Harley Kauffman. When we saw how well it grew in Indiana, and the fact it was going to become the signature grape of Indiana, it was a no brainer.”

Today the Traminette grapes come from four vineyards all within 300 miles of downtown Indianapolis. “All of our grapes are planted on at least two farms so that we always have grapes even in a frost year,” Easley explained. The farms are located in Harmony, Indiana, Jennings County, Berrien County, Michigan, and Yates County in New York.

Easley produces approximately 2,500 cases of Traminette annually. Some wine or juice is sold off to eight Indiana wineries. Traminette has done so well for Easley he continues to plant. “We’ve been planting one to five acres of Traminette at three of our four farms each year over the last five years.”

Ribbons and medals help sell wine. Easley’s wife Meredith heads up marketing efforts. “Wines that are presented in a tasting room with gold medals typically get tasted more often than those with a lesser medal or none at all,” she said. She explained wine drinkers realize medals come from judges with expertise and background to determine well-made wines.

Meredith Easley said awards validate quality in the vineyard and winemaking. But the goal in the tasting room is to always find the wine a taster likes.

The Easley name is familiar in Hoosier supermarkets like Kroger, Marsh and Mejier particularly with their Raggae line of sweet wines. Their award winning Traminette can be found in many of the same stores.

In the next Grape Sense, Easley will talk about what it takes in the vineyard and winery to make his award winning Traminette.

wine-tramHoward’s take on Easley Traminette: The wine is known for its floral nose and taste with apricot and even honey on the palate. For wine purists, it’s most often compared to Gewurztraminer. While too many Indiana wineries let the grapes stay on the sweet to very-sweet style, Easley’s award winning wine is far more restrained. The approach makes the wine more drinkable for those without a palate for sweet wines. (SRP $13.95)

Rain Impacts Indiana Vineyards

24 Friday Jul 2015

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Indiana’s corn and soybean crops have sustained $475 million in rain and flood damage this summer according to Purdue University agriculture economists. Indiana’s grape crop and vineyards haven’t escaped the soggy summer woes either.

Grape Sense LogoThe rains have hurt vineyards most in Central Indiana while southern vines have been spared. “All the rain this year has made it especially difficult to control diseases,” said Bruce Bordelon, Purdue Professor of Horticulture and specialist in commercial grape and wine production. He said many vineyards avoided disease problems thanks to a dry month of May.

Purdue's Bruce Bordelon

Purdue’s Bruce Bordelon

“But, I’ve seen a tremendous amount of anthracnose (leaf spots and blotches) and black rot. Shocking to see it so bad,” Bordelon said. “In some cases, it is due to a poor spray program, but in others, it is due to high disease pressure. We’ve had too many rains too close together to maintain adequate fungicide coverage.”

Purdue’s grape expert said many of the problems could still be overcome with the most critical weeks of veraison (grape ripening) still ahead.

Don Pampel, owner of Whyte Horse Winery near Monticello, owns one of those vineyards impacted by the downpours. “The heavy rainfall has made some of our vineyards extremely wet and holding water in the rows for extended period of time,” he said. “This has caused stress on the vines and depleted some of the nutrients that they depend on and we are having to spray nutrients where we have not had to in the past. The frequency of the rain has caused challenges to keep the vines protected from fungus that the rain spreads.

“We will not know the damage until it gets closer to harvest and then it is too late.”

Oliver's Parker

Oliver’s Parker

A big challenge with the heavy rainfall is vineyard management. There is the obvious cost of additional spraying and loss of crop but fighting the rainfall’s effect increases labor cost. Bernie Parker, Vineyard Manager for Oliver Winery, said his crews have tried to stay ahead of the heavy rainfall by working the vines.

“Mildews have been a problem but we have had a lot more midseason growth that requires more manpower to manage,” Parker said. “We are shoot positioning and leaf pulling to open the canopy.  This allows for good air flow which helps with drying the clusters and canopy, also reducing the mildew problems.”

Oliver’s Creekbend Vineyard, just north of Bloomington, is on glently rolling slopes allowing excess rainfall to run off preventing flooding. But Parker notes the heavy rains cause a proliferation of weeds to be pulled.

Creekbend was one of many Indiana vineyards to take a hit in 2014 and 2013 from extremely cold winter and spring weather. But Bordelon noted new vines and retrained vines should be benefiting from the additional moisture. Parker agreed that his re-trained vines were looking strong.

Jim Butler

Jim Butler

The rainfall’s impact lessens in the south. At Butler Vineyards, not far from Oliver, things are looking pretty good. “If we get drier weather starting around the first of August we will have a good year,” Jim Butler said. “We have a large crop set on the vines. We have run a tight spray schedule, by that I mean timely sprays of the right materials to prevent the start of fungal infections.”

Butler said normal August weather should deliver a strong crop despite all of the early rains. Rains have been mostly normal in the Ohio River Valley region.

”In Southern Indiana we have been very lucky in missing all of the large rain events and as a result we have remained very disease free,” said Ted Huber, Huber Orchard and Winery. “Vine growth has been very good plus we continue to remain warmer and sunnier than other parts of the state.

“Therefore, many of our varieties are already in veraison and picking up sugars quickly. We estimate that our harvest will being on August 15.”

Huber has the state’s largest vineyard with more than 20 varietals planted. Just down the road at Turtle Run Winery owner Jim Pfeiffer said the rainfall had not caused any problems for his vines.

Bordelon said the heavy rain and resulting challenges means some Central Indiana vineyards are likely to see a reduced harvest. A sunny and warm month of August could boost the crop as ripening gets underway.

Legislature Right – For a Change

22 Friday May 2015

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Indiana’s legislature showed a small bit of sanity in getting a shipping law passed for Hoosier Wineries before closing the most recent session. Governor Pence signed the bill into law.

Phil Boots

Phil Boots

Grape Sense LogoSen. Phil Boots, R-Crawfordsville, gudied the legislation removing the face-­to-­face requirement for Indiana wineries to ship wine to their customers. At one point, the licensing fee went from $100 annually to $500. That was plain and simple another case of the legislators bowing to the powerful liquor lobby, funded largely by alcohol distributors.

He urged supporters to keep the foot on the gas and in the end the fee structure was set up on a graduating scale depending on production and alcohol shipped. A fair, if not arguably unnecessary, solution.

Kim Doty, standing center, with husband John and family.

Kim Doty, standing center, with husband John and family.

Indiana wineries could not be happier.

“When the law requiring an initial face to face transaction became effective, it literally destroyed our shipments to wine customers,” said Kim Doty, owner of French Lick Winery.

“We lost 95 percent of our wine shipping sales. Our wine sold and shipped to customers in 2004 was about 10 percent of our total sales. Today with the face to face requirement, our shipping sales are less than one tenth of 1 percent of our total sales. This requirement has also had a negative impact on the growth of our wine club with 99 percent of our wine club sales are shipped directly to the home.”

Again, that face­-to-­face requirement was added to legislation in 2008 as a token to the alcohol lobby but crippling, in particular, to small wineries.

Wineries like French Lick were forced to play along but at a steep price. “We have accumulated over 5400 completed verification forms to date. We would have sold and shipped at least twice that if not for the requirement.”

The new law requires age verification but all shipping laws generally do. Wineries can meet the requirement by using an age verification delivery service like FedEx or UPS.

“We are thrilled with having the requirement rescinded,” Doty said. “Age verification will still be performed by the delivery company and we will pay additional fees for this service. We are confident that our wine shipments are properly handled in accordance with Indiana’s age requirement for liquor.”

Jim Butler

Jim Butler

Jim Butler, Butler Vineyards near Bloomington, has long been one of the industries leading spokespersons and advocate for sanity in wine shipping laws and more.

“We are basically back to where we were 9 or 10 years ago,” Butler said. “With the face to face requirement we l lost 90 percent of our shipping business. Perhaps now we can build it back. This is a nice step forward. It is always a battle of the titans at the statehouse about alcohol issues, big money. big players. We are just little guys. It is one small step toward sanity.”

Sanity? That seldom happens with the legislature and liquor laws. Just look at what happened this year with Sunday sales. A simple law was mangled with requirements that would have retailers build walls in existing stores to sell alcohol on Sundays.

Fortunately, the legislature got it right for Indiana wineries, big and small, in 2015.

Saturday on North Wine Loop

11 Saturday Apr 2015

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Leland's historic Fishtown on Lake Michigan.

Leland’s historic Fishtown on Lake Michigan.

LELAND, MI. – Charming fishing village and wine country don’t always seem to go hand in hand but this small town along Lake Michigan achieves both.

Leland has a historic fishing village still intact and a very small charming downtown. It’s more summer home to the well off and summer vacation spot than fishing village but nonetheless still worth a visit.

Leland also is at the heart of Leelanau wine country. It’s my third visit to this far northwest corner of the state. I’m here as a guest of the Leelanau Northern Wine Loop. I’ll be visiting four or five wineries today and tasting the 2014 new releases. Tonight, I’ll confer with other visiting judges to pick the best of the best then join a big release party tonight at the small town’s historic Bluebird restaurant.

See photo album here from my Saturday visit.

Michigan wine? You’re not familiar? In short, particularly northern Michigan, produces white wines as good as any label you’ll find. Because of the short growing season, the area struggles in reaching a red wine identity. I expect to taste Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc,  and Merlot as the winemakers continue to search for a signature red. The Resiling and Pinot Blanc are outstanding usually.

My intent is to add a paragraph or two here throughout the day as I make those four or five stops. I’ll try to add an iPhone pic or two along the way but will add a full album later today or in the next day or so.

Paul Hamelin, owner of Verterra Winery in Leland, Michigan.

Paul Hamelin, owner of Verterra Winery in Leland, Michigan.

Verterra Winery, Leland Mi. – A great start to my day tasting Paul Hamelin’s wines at Verterra Winery. His dry Rose rocks. He sold out of his 2013 – 100 percent Pinot Noir – I bought six bottles last year. The big winner today was his killer Pinot Blanc – very pronounced fruit with big acidity in a tough growing year for Northern Michigan vintners.

Boathouse Vineyards, Lake Leelanau – Beautiful tasting room in a small village which – yes, indeed – looks a bit like a boathouse. Nice wines across the board. I really enjoyed the 2012 Pinot Noir. It was varietally correct, nice pinot taste – light on palate as you’d expect from cool climate red wine. But the real winner was Dry Dock Reisling, a dry and crisp citrus mouthful of goodness. This is type of white wine that puts Michigan on the map – at least for their whites.

Fresh carved roast beef, swiss and a very tasty cole slaw.

Fresh carved roast beef, swiss and a very tasty cole slaw.

Next on my day’s agenda was a quick sandwich in Lake Leelanau. I’m gobbling down a very nice roastbeef, swiss cheese Sammy with great cole slaw on top at The Thunderbird.

Blustone Vineyards, near Lake Leelanau – This was my second visit in two years to Blustone which is fast becoming one of my Michigan favorites. Owner Tom Knighton found a great hilltop piece of property and built a beautiful, modern tasing room in the midst of vineyard and cherry trees.

Like most others, they’re white wines are great. I tasted an unreleased Pinot Blanc that was among the three best wines I tasted all day. Blustone also is at or near the top of any Pinot Noir on the Northern Loop. They’re getting there. The vines are only 10 years old and they need age. But the Pinot is varietally correct and gaining a little bit of character each year.

The busy April 11 tasting room at 45 North.

The busy April 11 tasting room at 45 North.

45 North Vineyards – Apparently no one got hit harder from last growing season’s killer frost than 45 North. During my April 11 visit they were the only one of five stops not even pouring a red wine though there were a few on the shelves. Nonetheless, 45 did have one of the best wines I tasted all weekend and that was a Pinot Gris fermented in the now-popular cement egg. The cement egg – and that’s exactly what it looks like – gives the already outstanding wine a crazy creamy mid-palate. It’s unique and well worth the mid-$20 price point. It won’t be released until May.

Aurora Cellars – Just up the road, literally, from 45 north is an older winery under new management. Their standout bottles were the whites with a semi-sweet Reisling best of what I tasted. They’re not afraid of cooking up some unique blends and are on to something with a mid-teen red and white sure to please the masses.