Michigan Wine Guy

Happy Independence Day to everyone!

Whether your wine be Red, White or you figured out a way to make Blue wine, I hope you are enjoying it!  I look forward to giving you more great Michigan Wine content soon!

See you in the vineyard for fireworks!

What's that you see?  A "Mirage" perhaps?  No, this "Mirage" is very real!  The 2016 Chambourcin Reserve Red Dessert wine from White Pine Winery bursts with sweet berry flavors.  It makes a hot day cooler and a cold day warmer.  It definitely warmed me up when I had it last night.  It is still pretty chilly, around 25 last night, brrrrrr.  At this time of year the temps are usually in the 50s.

This port style dessert wine is great on its own, with any dessert like cheesecake and chocolate, and blue cheese.  The smooth drinking of this wine is indicative of the Chambourcin grape.  This is the perfect dessert.  "Mirage" is a great option for your guests, they'll keep coming back for more.  However, with the higher alcohol content you need to be careful.

If you are wondering where you can get this wine?  You may have to ask your local wine shop to see if they could order it for you.  But I would go to the White Pine Winery's tasting room in St. Joseph instead.  It'll be a great place to sample some award-winning Michigan wine and enjoy the Lake Michigan Shoreline. Why don't you make a day of it there are many cool restaurants, shops, dunes, beaches and of course other wineries.  There will be more on those other wineries in the area in later posts.

I wrote an article on the other wines that White Pine Winery has in a previous post.  Just follow the link here.

Until Next week!  And as always keep sampling.

Have you ever wondered what your wine was rated when picking it out?  Ever wanted to review the wine you were tasting?  Vivino makes this possible.  This wine review app is one of the best out there.  You simply take a picture of the bottle's label and boom!  It'll pull up a rating out of 5 stars with a description, pricing and other people's reviews.

You can think of it as the Instagram of wine.  You can connect with other wine enthusiasts, check out upcoming events and get alerts of similar wines that you enjoy tasting.  The app will also give you recommendations on similar wines that you may like.  This is a free app that you can download from the app stores on iPhone and Android.

Vivino has many Michigan wines in their database but there are still a lot that need to be uploaded to their system.  So if your bottle doesn't match a wine already rated, you can be the first to rate that wine.  It's a great feeling to rate a wine for the first time!  I've done that with many different wines, some from Michigan and some from other locations around the world.  All you have to do is enter the name on the bottle, grape type, year, winery or vineyard, price you paid for the bottle and your rating.  Don't worry if you aren't a wine expert, ratings can vary from person to person.  Some wine drinkers enjoy one wine more than another.

If you have a Vivino account please let me know, I would love to follow you on the app.  Check out the wine I've tried and reviewed, or just review your own tasting experience and share them with me.  I know you'll enjoy the app and I can't wait to hear what your experience is with this incredible app.

I am working on the next phase of my blog, what do you want to see more of?  What do you want to see less of?  How can I improve the user experience?  Please let me know in the comments section.

Until Friday!

"Michigan Wine Wants To Be Yours!"

Happy Valentine's Day!   Did you get flowers?  You got a box of chocolate? Yum!  How about a bottle of wine? Even better!  Will you go to dinner?  Or how about a heart-shaped pizza?  Those are so exciting!  When it comes down to it, the day is really about spending quality time with the one you love.

Whoa dude, this blog is supposed to be about wine, what's your point?  Today, I'll tell you all about wine etiquette to impress your special someone.  While on a cruise last year my wife and I learned from the head sommelier about proper wine etiquette.

Who has put wine in a solo cup, a regular kitchen glass or drank right out of the bottle?  "Raises Hand," Sometimes we have limited resources, it's ok, however when you are are trying to impress a date or at a fancy gathering a proper wine glass is your best bet.  Stemless or with a stem.  The rounded bottom helps bring out the full flavor of the wine.  to enhance the flavor of the wine swirl it in the glass, make sure it doesn't slosh over.

After the bouquet of the wine has been fully released it's time to take a sniff sip.  That's where you inhale while taking a tiny taste on your tongue to neutralize your palette.  This step is important so you can thoroughly enjoy every subsequent sip, gulp or glug.

Looks like you finished your glass.  Want any more?  Yes, of course!  It's common practice if you notice an empty glass to fill it.  There is no asking necessary at that point unless you've completely ran out.  If you run out head over to your favorite Michigan winery to buy a case or 2.  You can always hit up your local wine shop to indulge in a variety of domestic and international wine.

Don't want to go to the store?  Go to wine.com for a huge selection of wine from all over the world.  Sorry, I'm breaking my rule of Michigan wine all the time.  Sometimes there are particular varietals that they don't grow in Michigan.  I also break the rules sometimes and drink beer!  Either way I want to represent the wonderful state of Michigan, my home.

If you had a Michigan wine for Valentine's Day, what did you have and did you enjoy it?  I would love to hear what you were drinking.  Next year I'll have a list of Valentine's Day wine that people have enjoyed to help you make that selection process easier.

If you love wine and want to impress your lover pull out a bottle of Michigan wine and follow the tips explained in wine etiquette.  If you are unsure of the flavor of a wine, a romantic trip to a winery may be in your future.  Just search "Wineries near me" to discover Michigan's wine culture.

Until Friday peeps!  Stay thirsty and keep trying wine.  As always drink responsibly and share with those you love.

Much love to all of my loyal readers and followers.  May your glasses never run dry.

I apologize for not having a post this Wednesday.  I am attending a conference that will help me improve my blog, content, marketing, outreach and much more for "Michigan Wine Guy" and my other endeavors.

Be sure to check out Friday's post for an exotic Michigan wine!

Until then, sit back and relax with your favorite Michigan wine.

After your New Year's celebration you probably do not want to hear about another Vineyard or Winery, let's talk about why we love Michigan besides the wine.

In addition to wine, Michigan has been on a microbrewery and hard cider craze.  Many places can monetize on either a portion of their crop to grow hops and fruit for these drinks.  You can probably find a Michigan microbrew or a Michigan hard cider blog.  Michigan is known for much more other than alcohol.

Number one over all is the natural resources, Great Lakes, rivers, smaller inland lakes, trails, recreation, National and State Parks, hunting, fishing, wildlife and all of these adding to the states tourism economy.  You are never far from an adventure in Michigan.  The beaches and vastness of the Great Lakes make you feel like you are at the ocean, especially during the hot summer.  Great news about the Great Lakes is there are no sharks and you won't get that salty taste in your mouth when you get hit by a wave.

There is so much history in Michigan, starting with the prehistoric fault zones, volcanos, lava flows, glaciers, mastodons, Native American tribes, European fur traders, missionaries, settlement by farmers and pilgrims,  Revolutionary War bases, iron ore and copper boom, industrial revolution with Ford, Chevy, Dodge, soon to pair with Chrysler making cars, to transitioning to making B-52 Bombers during World War II.  After the war they transitioned back to making cars and Michigan started bringing more and more business to the state.  Music legends like Ted Nugent, Bob Seger, Kid Rock, Eminem hail from the state.  Michigan is home to the NFL team Detroit Lions, MLB Detroit Tigers, NHL Detroit Red Wings, NBA Detroit Pistons, Also some top notch Big Ten college teams like University of Michigan, Michigan State University, plus tons of great academic colleges and universities like Northern Michigan University, Grand Valley State University, Central Michigan University, Western Michigan University, Michigan Tech University, Wayne State University, Oakland University, Albion College, Kalamazoo College, Alma College and many more stellar academic institutions.

The next phase of Michigan's economy is headed towards renewable energy.  There are already wind farms and solar fields being installed and even more are planned due to the crosswinds off of the lakes and vast fields.  Michigan has the world's largest amount of fresh water in the Great Lakes and groundwater, which may need to be exported to other states and countries that are running out of this resource or do not have clean water.

Michigan is home to so many great things and one of the best states.  What is your favorite attribute about Michigan?  Your opinion matters and I look forward to your responses.  You can look forward to my next post Friday.

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