The "Coastal" Wine Hunt

Much to catch up on these days as I begin my quest for "coastal" inspired wines for a new restaurant project opening later this year in DC's Penn Quarter.

As of late, I have been sampling a myriad of wines from "Coastal" regions unknown to most wine consumers--like Michigan's Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas in Northern Michigan, which lie at roughly the same latitude as Burgundy in France. Both wine regions are heavily influenced by Lake Michigan (get it--Coastal?), which helps to moderate the climate for the production of vinifera grapes.

I've uncovered a handful of amazing methode champenoise sparklers and some pretty darn good Pinot Noir--and who knows, if our global temperatures continue to rise, Michigan might just be the next great spot for Pinot Noir and more. Could it be the next Oregon?

If you can get your hands on any of these wines, whether via a retail shop in Michigan or via the wineries direct, you are in for a treat.

L. Mawby 'Cremant' Brut NV, Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan--L. Mawby only produces sparkling wines, both methode champenoise and charmat method. This is one of their best produced from the Vignoles grape. Soft with nut and yeast aromas followed by honey and truffles. Crisp with fine bubbles.

L. Mawby 'Conservancy' Extra Brut NV, Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan--just a touch fruitier than than Cremant with 1.5% sweetness. Fresh with floral and candied fruit aromas, honeysuckle and lemon-citrus zing on the finish. A hint of sweetness. For each bottle sold, the winery contributes $2 to the Farmland Preservation Fund of the Leelanau Conservancy, a fund dedicated to the preservation of farmland in perpetuity. Nice.

L. Mawby 'Consort' Sec NV, Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan--Blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. Fresh and ripe with luscious peach and mango notes plus a hint of toast on the finish. Just a touch sweet with 2% sweetness.

Shady Lane Cellars Pinot Noir 2005, Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan--lighter style of Pinot with floral and cherry notes, tad bit earthy with a hint of spice. Smooth. Light body.

Black Star Farms 'Arcturos' Pinot Noir 2005, Leelanau Peninsula/Old Mission Peninsula, Michigan--a little subdued on the nose with cherry, truffles and a hint of spice. Not overly expressive. Smooth. Light body.



Isidor's Choice Pinot Noir 2003, Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan--bit more meaty that the others with black cherry aromas followed by earth and truffles plus a whiff of spice. Smooth with a fresh finish. Light/medium body.


Pelee Island Winery Pinot Noir 2005, Pelee Island, Ontario, Canada--from another "coastal" region, this small island is situated in Lake Erie between Ohio and Ontario, Canada. This was by far the favorite of the lot of Pinots--intense earth and black cherry aromas followed by truffles, tobacco and a touch of spice. Smooth and crisp finish. Light bodied.




Brys Estate'Signature' Red 2005, Old Mission Peninsula, Michigan--blend of 50% Cab Fran, 45% Merlot and 5% Pinot Noir. Smooth and silky with layers of vanilla, wild red berries and pepper spice. Soft tannins with a touch of chocolate on the finish. Medium bodied.

Last but not least, I tasted an amazing Zinfandel from Australia--yes, AUSTRALIA.

Groom 'Bush Block' Zinfandel, Barossa Valley, Australia--This one definitely rivals the best in California Zin--loads of juicy red fruit aromas with the standard candied red fruit flavors and spice plus a whiff of vanilla. Smooth and silky with soft tannins. Medium bodied.

Where to Go Next

Planning your summer jaunt for '07?

Add BC (as in British Columbia, Canada) to the list of wine-friendly escapes. BC's Okanagan Valley is an undiscovered gem just North of the U.S. border with picturesque hills, orchards, vineyards and the impressive 68-mile long Okanagan Lake. The area offers a wide range of activities beyond wine tasting and gourmet eats: golf, waterskiing, cycling, hiking, camping, horseback riding, fishing plus skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling in the winter. There are some 65 wineries located throughout the Valley with many receiving international acclaim. The region reminds me California's Napa Valley but without the mass wine tasting crowds.

To get there:

Kelowna, the region's main commercial center, is just a short flight from either Vancouver or Seattle or roughly 4 hours via car from Vancouver.

Wines to taste:

Of the over 75 wines tasted on a recent trip, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Syrah stand out among the pack. A few great Bordeaux style blends were also notable.

Spots not to miss:

Quail's Gate Estate Winery and the Old Vines Patio Restaurant with breathtaking water views. Try the Chesselas-Pinot Blanc blend with notes of fresh honeydew melon, fresh grass and a lemon citrus finish or the Family Reserve Pinot Noir with dried cranberries, toasted cedar notes and a fresh finish.


Mission Hill Family Estate--one of BC's largest wineries set atop a hill overlooking Okanagan Lake with seasonal terrace dining. Don't miss the Gewurztraminer with passion fruit, guava and lychee notes or the Pinor Noir Reserve with sweet cherry and raspberry notes, hints of clove and vanilla, light tannins and a lingering cherry spice finish.


Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery--just down the road from Mission Hill and Quail's Gate, this small family-owned winery produces a killer Semillon with intense herbal and citrus aromas and a creamy mouthfeel plus a show-stopping Pinot Noir Ice Wine with baked apple, dried cherry and caramel notes.

Nk'Mip Cellars--North America's first Aboriginal owned and operated winery overlooking Osoyoos Lake at the southern end of the Valley. Sample their stellar Pinot Blanc with its explosion of tropical fruit, pineapple and crisp, racy finish and the delicate fruit-driven Qwam Qwmt Pinot Noir with cherry, strawberry and vanilla notes.


Borrowing Owl Vineyards and Sonora Room Restaurant with outdoor terrace dining overlooking the vineayrds and nearby Osoyoos Lake. Sample the Pinot Gris with bright citrus notes and the Pinot Noir with dried stawberry, raspberry and spice flavors.



Blasted Church Vineyards--a small and unpretentious winery set in a log cabin overlooking Skaha Lake. Don't miss the Chardonnay Musque with tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple notes and a clean, crisp finish or Hatfield's Fuse white blend with floral aromas, tropical fruit, green melon and a crisp finish.

Where to Eat:

While in Kelowna, don't miss Waterfront Wines, a newish retail shop stocked with BC wines with adjoining bar/bistro featuring creative Pacific Northwest fare. Also notable is The Rotten Grape along Kelowna's waterfront with small plates inspired for wine pairing. 231 Bernard Avenue, 250-717-8466.

Where to Stay:

The area boasts a number of small boutique hotels, travel lodge motels, and an interesting array of bed and breakfasts. My top pick: Accounting for Tatse Bed and Breakfast on the western side of Lake Okanagan and rooms with lake-view vistas. Owned and operated by husband-wife team Rosemary and Michael Botner, Accounting for Tatse offers tastefully wine-inspired rooms minutes from Quail's Gate and Mission Hill Family Estate. The Botner's will also customize a wine tasting tour during your visit.




For more information and to plan your Okanagan escape, visit Tourism Kelowna.

Osoyoos What? Wine of the Week

So what do we think of when someone mentions Canada? Cold weather? Snow? Maple Leaves? Hockey? That silly Canadian 'eh' thrown in during conversation? Who thinks of wine? Well...maybe icewine, especially those tasty little numbers that pop out of the Niagara Peninsula. But have you ever had a Canadian red wine?

Better run out and grab this one folks: The 2001 Osoyoos Larose Grand Vin. A killer blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The wine is a partnership between the Canadian wine giant Vincor and the French company, Groupe Taillan, which owns the Bordeaux Château Gruaud Larose.

The wine hails from the Osoyoos region in the south of British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, very close to the U.S. border with Washington state. The area is pratically a desert and is earning a name for producing rich, complex red wines. The Osoyoos Larose is an example.

This wine is no joke: full of big, rich, sweet black fruits (think plum, blackberry, a hint of cherry), vanilla spice and a hint of chocolate. Complex, yet balanced, with silky tannins and a medium finish. Comparable to some of the big California Mertiage blends but half the price, coming in at roughly $35 a bottle.

Bottle image courtesy of www.northwest-wine.com

An Interesting Wine Affair

Ok. So by now everyone should know I am a major cork dork and I like WEIRD wines. The WEIRDER the better. My wine-gal Laura is much the same. So, we decided to try a few WERID wines over dinner tonight...wines from Canada, the Savoie/Jura region of France, and Brazil..sounds like a GOOD time, eh?

The evening began with a taste of the 2000 Pierre Morin Arbois from the Savoie region of France. Savoie is located in far Eastern France, right up against the French Alps near Switzerland. The wines in this region are usually produced from very rustic grape varieties not known to the masses. Many of these wines never reach the shelves here in the U.S. as they are consumed in France by the locals and tourists to the area.

The Arbois was interesting to say the least: made from the obscure Savagnin grape, it reminded me a bit of Chardonnay. Rich mineral notes completmented with toasted oak and a bit of apple and nuts on the finish. A great alternative to Chardonnay!

Next we uncorked a bottle of L'Orpailleur Vin Blanc from Quebec...a little something I brought back from a trip to Montreal sometime last year. L'Orpailleur is the largest winery in Quebec and produces and amazing number of wines. The Vin Blanc is made from the Seyval Blanc grape, a hybrid varietal which can withstand the bone-chilling winters up North. Slighly off-dry, the wine featured crisp, racing acidity, apple and tropical fruit notes. It paired nicely with our goat cheese crostini and crispy-fried sage leaves.

After the amuse-bouche, we cracked open another wine from the Savoie region: the Domaine Marc Portaz Vin de Savoie from the village of Apremont. Made from the Jacquère grape, Vin de Savoie is traditionally used to made cheese fondue in this region of France. Light and crisp, with notes of apple, peach, apricot, it was quite tasty with our Shallot Custard.

Now we are feeling very adventurous: time to crack open the 2004 Domaine de Montrieux Coteaux du Vendômois Rose from the Loire Valley of France. THIS STUFF IS WEIRD! Made from an almost extinct grape variteal, Pineau d'Aunis, which is thought to be a distant cousin to Chenin Blanc, this wine definitely has character. First off, it is slightly effervescent and we cannot figure out why. The taste is odd: notes of toast and burnt caramel corn with slight cherry and hazlenut flavors. But I enjoyed it nonetheless and drank up without missing a drop.

We then move on to the 2003 Arbois Pinot Noir, which I thought might be interesting. Hmmmm...not as interesting as I thought when I purchased the bottle at Arrowine over in Arlington, VA. Definitely NOT worth the $27 price tag. Basic red Burdgundies often have more character than this wine. It did carry with it the typical cherry/berry notes Pinot is known for, with light tannins and smokey notes.

Last but not least...and oh boy...at this point, I think we were all pushing the envelope on wine consumption for the evening. POP! The Chandon Rouge Brut Tinto NV had arrived from Brazil. I picked this up at Chandon's Brazilian winery back in May during a visit. Made from Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, this is the PERFECT companion to dark chocolate. Light and fruity, with notes of red berries, yeast and coffee, I could not help but suck down several glasses while we munched on some 72% cacao chocolate from France. Too bad I cannot get more of this wine here in the U.S.