Preliminary Tastings
Posted January 11, 2008 by Steve
Winter in Michigan is a special event, those of us who have experienced it form a common bond with fellow winterites. Pristine knee deep white snow, cerulean blue skies, and air that is inhaled slowly to assure a non-heart stopping shock, are remembrances of winter at its best. Floridians, woosies at best, have no clue as to these sensorial experiences. Three generations of Grossnickles, grandfather, father, and son, and best friend, visited the winery under these exact conditions. We tasted the still young wines that Shawn and David have perfected, and I must say they are spectacular. Was it the weather, the familial brotherhood, or just the wine influencing our prejudicial tasting? We all agreed, it was the wine. We tasted from the driest to the sweetest, Pinot Gris to late harvest Vignole, and in the end all saluted Shawn, the winemaker and our cellarmaster, David Hill for their efforts. They showed us all how to tap the 1500 gallon tanks, a mistake on their part, and we all being quick studies, made the best of the new found knowledge. He had to help us, however siphon sample directly from the French Oak barrel aged Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc. Prejudiced, yes, but yummy and spectacular are the adjectives we all used.
The bottling line arrives in 10 days and as the wines rest in bottles, Shawn and David will be busy with the fruit wines: cherry, apricot, apple, peach and pear. We also finalized the sparkling of several of these, the bubbles take the olfactory experience up one logarithmic unit. My son, Forty-Five North’s webmaster and newest Master of Fine Arts, Eric, created the labels and will soon begin working on our official website. Our final tally for wine varieties was eighteen give or take two depending upon the sparkling styles. They include Pinot Gris, a dry and semi-dry Riesling, Chardonnay (one aged in oak and one aged in stainless), Pinot Noir and Carbernet Franc (both oak aged), late harvest Vignole, Pinot Noir Rosé, a white blend of Cayuga, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris sold as Forty-Five White, the above mentioned fruit wines, and sparkling varieties of five of them. Shawn’s major objective, other than only the finest quality, was a wine for everyone.
Also while there, we finalized the conservation easement with the Leelanau Conservancy which mandates the maintenance of the farm for agricultural purposes only for perpetuity, in most cases a long time. I would like to thank everyone a the Conservancy, Tom Nelson, Brian Price, Carolyn Faught, the surveyors, and the whole staff, as they made the process an easy one. The invitation is open to all to visit us and make a visual memory of a part of Leelanau County that grandchildren and their grandchildren will forever see.
Steve
John Hilgenberg
January 17, 2008 at 11:29 am
Good Luck Steve Grossnickle and Team—– I am anxiously awaiting tasting some of the semi dry reisling !!
i have two questions—how can i order your wine from here in Indiana and could you give some good cheese choices that will match up with your individual wines ?
In my experience the Michigan climate is just perfect for the cabs and pinots !!!
Jason Rich
January 21, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Steve- I can’t wait to invade the winery armed with homebrew, mead, and other home-fermented treats. Good luck with your endeavor and you’d better plan on delivering in Warsaw!
Jason Rich
Bill Blaida
January 22, 2008 at 11:33 am
Steve, what a fabulous selection. I can’t decide which one to sample first!
Laura Brost, Allergan Pharmacruticals
January 30, 2008 at 11:36 am
Congratulations, Dr. Grossnickle! I am always looking for a new “favorite” Pinot Noir!! My husband and I are looking forward to visiting soon.
John Warren
January 30, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Steve, I can hear the bottles running on the line now. How can we order these wines for our enjoyment? Looking forward to Spring so we can take a road trip to the winery.
All the best !
Katie
February 4, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Hey dad!! The girls and I are very excited to me trying out the different wines…I keep talking about it and they just keep getting more and more excited! They’re jealous I already got to try some!! They also cant wait to try to fruit flavors!
Love Katie!
Lou
February 9, 2008 at 8:31 am
A glass of wine
To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine.. and those who don’t:
As Ben Franklin said: “In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.” In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia
coli, (E. coli) - bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.
However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember: Water = Poop, Wine = Health
Therefore, it’s better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of sh**.There is no need to thank me for this valuable information - I’m doing it as a public service.
Paul Mitchell
February 11, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Steve - you were kind enough to share your initial sample bottles with my fiance and I at North. We were the couple sitting by the front window. The wines we sampled with you were wonderful. Our wedding is 3/22/08 and we want to order wines for our reception tables with custom labels. I left a message on your number and hope to hear back from you soon.
Wendell Bontrager
February 11, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I can’t wait for the wine tasting! How soon can I order?
Tom Fischer, Leone Imports
April 25, 2008 at 10:19 am
To all my friends at 45 north (even the ones I haven’t met yet) Thankyou for attending our recent trade show in Traverse City, the hype on your wines couldn’t have been better. I’m very excited to begin showing your amazing products around the state, and pleased to be associated with all of you. Looking forward to representing you for a long time to come.