Comments on: Column: Arbor Vinous

By: Tom Stockton

Tom Stockton — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:01:44 +0000

Hey, Joel! Long time no see.
We’ve some old Chateau Masterkey to finish.
Cheers!

By: Joel Goldberg

Joel Goldberg — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:25:10 +0000

Jeff, I’d be glad to help out — and do have a suggestion. The HomeGrown Festival website seems not to mention local beverages as worthy complements to local foods. Not even apple cider! That’s a significant omission, and one that should be easy to remedy.

Wine, in particular, represents a remarkable value-added agricultural product. Vintners transform a couple of grape bunches worth a buck into finished beverages people purchase for ten or twenty times that amount.

In many cases, that full added value accrues directly to the local grower / producer, rather than a middleman or processor. That’s another worthy reason to spotlight local beverages from local ingredients, as we do foods.

By: Jeff McCabe

Jeff McCabe — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:45:16 +0000

Thanks for a great primmer Joel. I am tasked with finding some local wines for the upcoming HomeGrown Festival in Ann Arbor (Sept. 12th 5-10pm at the Farmers Market) and this information is just what I need. We hope to feature as many local beers and wines as possible. This will be the second year of the festival and the first that we will be serving beer and wine. I am going to try to make the rounds Thursday. Any other ideas you have for the festival would be greatly appreciated.

By: Sally Everhardus

Sally Everhardus — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:31:37 +0000

Hey Joel,
Nice article and I’m glad you’re discovering the joys of close to home vintners. We have five wineries in Door County and some in Kewaunee County; all make wine from local ingredients AND from imported California grapes/juices. Some of the locally grown/produced wines are commendable.
I remember drinking Turkey Red every Thanksgiving with you!
Sally

By: Jim Papsdorf

Jim Papsdorf — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:16:22 +0000

Great article, Joel. I have driven by all these I-94 exits for years and was little aware, except for Sandhill, of what neat places we have so very nearby.
I was also pleased to learn that Lone Oak keeps their vines low so as to cover them with straw in the late fall against our cruel winters. As we now have some three N. Hemisphere volcanoes spouting huge amounts of Sulfur Dioxide [especially Sarychev Peak in the Russian Kurils] and the Solar Minimum is at about a 100 yr record, Lone Oak may be one of the few Michigan vineyards to safely survive the coming winter.

http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/

By: Fred Hindley!

Fred Hindley! — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:59:42 +0000

Nicely written and nicely complete. Thanks, Joel!

By: Wren

Wren — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:24:26 +0000

I stumbled upon Sandhill Crane Vineyards purely by accident and have become a big fan. I took some of their Craneberry Wine with me when I went to a birding festival and it was a big hit. I like that they support local charities and conservation causes with their sales.

By: Marylou Coe

Marylou Coe — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:39:08 +0000

Nice article, Joel. Makes me want to take a road trip down south!