The real enlightenment came as it all did come together and fit squarely in place as we pounded in the beam pegs. Watching 120-year-old hand ax hewn beams dovetail together producing a structure as sound as it was when new, I quickly realized that the corner convenience stores of today will not be resurrected 120 years from now. In fact, the oldest structure in my town of Warsaw, Indiana, is the courthouse. I felt a real sense of accomplishment and feel that many of our tasters will recall, as I have, the nostalgia of a barn remembrance, and perhaps a grandparent or parent owner. Come visit.

Ah, but in the meantime our production facility at 8580 E. Horn Rd. has doubled as tasting room de facto since July 4, our first official tasting day. We are open for tasting Friday 12:00 to 5:00, Saturday 12:00 to 6:00, and Sunday 12:00 to 5:00; for a map, see the sidebar on the home page. Official, the critical word, required Ag Dept. inspection and Michigan Liquor Control Commission approval, both acquired through the diligence of our tasting room manager, Cindy Curley, and her able bodied assistant intern, Katie Grossnickle. They are to be commended for daily updates, necessary paper work, and hundreds of phone calls wading through the myriad onerous regulations. Again, it is better to be lucky than good, finding Cindy has moved us forward as a working winery. Her vast tasting room experience will navigate Lori, Katie, and myself into the world of retail reality. The four of us have worked the tasting room with help from Deb Peplinksi, Steve Curley, and John and Carol Clay. What a team to help sample our newest wines:

Peach Crémant — Our 45 White table wine with peach essence from local orchards, sparkled to help drive the bouquet into one’s nostrils. Fabulous on a hot day as it’s both refreshing and tingling.

Cherry Dessert — Dry-fermented Balaton cherry wine, aged in freshly emptied bourbon barrels from the Buffalo Trace Distillery and fortified with cherry brandy. It’s a brandied cherry with a turbo boost that was nicknamed “Cherry Bomb” by my son, Brian, although I thought it best described as “Forty-Fied Forty-Five” or cherry essence raised to the 45th power.

Sparkling Pinot Noir Rosé — Our ‘Best of Class’ Rosé at the Pacific Rim Competition, sparkled to intensify the bouquet and bone-dry the long taste.

Icebox Pinot Gris — Our answer to ice wine, made from late harvest pinot gris grapes bursting with juice, starting 46° brix fermented to 23° brix and residual sugar of 20% that is tamed by it’s very high acidity. Truly the whip cream for dessert.

Cherry Wine — Of classic up-north style, the sweetest of Balaton cherries fermented leaving a residual sugar of 4% with both still and sparkling products. Simply opening it will conjure up remembrances of northern Michigan.

Apple Wine — Made with organic apples from the orchard of Northern Naturals, organic makes this truly a health drink.

Sparkling Hard Apple Cider — Made from organic antique heirloom apples and, editorially speaking, a favorite of the author. At 6% alcohol even the heartiest beer drinker can savor this.

Peach-Apricot Mead — Northern Michigan honey, peaches, and apricots fermented together to blend another memory building taste experience.

Thanks for bearing with me.

Steve a.k.a. Sevé

Winemaker Shawn Walters & Forty-Five North Vineyard Snatch Up 3 Double-Golds This Week at Annual Pacific Rim Competition

(Lake Leelanau, MI) — Forty-Five North—one of Michigan’s newest wineries—has barreled onto the viticultural scene having garnered three “Double Gold – Best of Class” medals and a “Best of Show” distinction this week at the 2008 Pacific Rim International Wine Competition in California. “Double Gold” is awarded to only those wines that receive “Gold” ranking from every single judge in its respective category.

“Double Gold” medals were presented for the Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir Rosé and Dry Riesling—which also placed second overall in the competition of 2800 judged wines, earning it the distinction of “Best Pacific Rim White Wine.” Five Michigan wineries received medals in a variety of categories; only one other Michigan winery—out of 41 total wineries–was named to the “Double Gold” list. Forty-Five North also received Silver Medals for its Pinot Gris, 45 White and Late Harvest Vignoles, while its Pinot Noir received a Bronze Medal.

“It is a feat of Biblical proportions for winemaker Shawn Walters, his abilities and a first-year winery,” says Forty-Five North Owner Steve Grossnickle. “Since this was a totally blind tasting in which judges tasted completely without knowledge of make, winemaker, or vintage, it seems there was more than just subjectivity to the results.”

Walters–the man with the magic touch—has honed his skills over the last six years at Leelanau Cellars in Omena and with Longview Winery in Cedar, generating an impressive list of awards and accolades. This spring, he also began making Leelanau Riesling under the Jana Label for California vintner Scott Harvey. In all, 350 cases of the “Made in Michigan” wine will be distributed at tasting rooms in Napa and Amador County. Already considered to be one of the premier winemakers in the state, Walters is poised for continued success and recognition on both a national and international level.

The Pacific Rim International Wine Competition is one of the largest and most respected judgings in the world, featuring submissions from North and South America, as well as New Zealand, Australia and other recognized wine-making regions.

Earlier this year, Forty-Five North brought home seven medals (out of more than 2400 wines judged) from the esteemed Finger Lakes International Wine Competition where Walters was presented with Silver Medals for his Cabernet Franc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling, with Bronze Medals going to the Vignoles, 45 White and Pinot Noir.

“I am extremely pleased with Shawn’s efforts on behalf of Forty-Five North and am proud of these results,” Grossnickle says. “I, for one, will raise my glass to Shawn for his present and future accomplishments.”

Grossnickle, an Indiana ophthalmologist and Lasik surgeon with a passion for wine and the landscape of Northern Michigan, purchased a 100 acre cherry farm near Lake Leelanau in 2006 for Forty-Five North. Vineyard Manager Doug Matthies of Big Paw Vineyard Services (son of Dan and Lucie Matthies, owners of nearby Chateau Fontaine) supervised the initial planting of 15 acres of vines–with Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio being the first in the ground. Nearly half of the property is expected to be planted with vines in the future–at a rate of about 10 acres a year, for the next three years.

The 8000-square foot state-of-the-art winery began production last fall and will have an eventual capacity of 30,000 cases of wine per year. As one of the largest wineries in the area, it will be able to handle a significant amount of outside work as well.

The tasting room has its own unique story. “The 120 year old barn was rescued from Kent County and moved some 170 miles north to be rebuilt on the property,” says Cindy Curley, Tasting Room Manger. “It has taken four truck loads to get it all here.” The reconstruction is expected to be complete in time for a Fourth of July weekend grand opening.

Forty-Five North is located on the 45th Parallel, 8580 E. Horn Road in Lake Leelanau, in the heart of the Leelanau Peninsula—one of four federally-recognized viticultural appellations in the State of Michigan. You can also find them online at fortyfivenorth.com.

In a phone call this week, [Don] was ecstatic — and that’s the right word — about this rookie Michigan winery and said if the competition had given a “Best Winery” award, it would have won.

Wow! Once again, my hat goes off to Shawn for producing some truly exceptional wines.

Read the entire article.

More photos →

I tasted not good but great Rieslings, Syrahs, Pinot Grigios (Pinot Gris), Cabernet Francs, Pinot Noirs, Gewurtztraminers and Chardonnays. Wines that would easily stand up to California’s best. I also tasted great fruit wines and sparkling wines and wines made from French Hybrids and Native American Varieties.

Another surprise was how ripe the grape growers could get their grapes. This year, probably Michigan’s greatest year for winegrowing, saw Vinifera sugars reaching the 25 Brix levels. Unlike California, these levels were attained with low pH’s and high acids. The wines of Leelanau have a rich mouth feel and come across as slightly sweet when, in fact, they are nearly bone dry. The low pH’s and high acids give a liveliness that one doesn’t see in California wines, especially the whites.

The Rieslings are really special. They can be and often are dry yet have a richness and minerality that you don’t see in Rieslings from California (except for the wines coming out of the Anderson Valley in the northern part of the state). The Leelanau dry Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers don’t have a bitter finish like the dry Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers do when made in California. To overcome this bitterness, California nearly always has to finish these wines with some residual sugar. Also, the sweet wines made from Gewurtztraminer and Riesling are not cloying like the California ones often are. The Leelanau sweet Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers have a freshness, crispness and tartness that are missing from California’s similar wines. The Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers remind me of great German, Austrian and Alsatian wines made of the same grapes. I’ve alluded to the minerality of the Leelanau white wines. This is what you find in the German, Austrian and Alsatian white wines as well. Washington State, New York, Australia, and New Zealand are famous for their Rieslings. I have tasted many Australian and Washington Rieslings but they disappoint. They remind me more of California Rieslings than German ones. The German ones are the ones that I like the most and that character is what most winemakers are striving for when they make Rieslings. Leelanau makes German-style Rieslings with a richness, acidity, balance and minerality that is only rarely found.

The Leelanau Chardonnays remind me of the Chardonnays made in Chablis: crisp, fresh, well balanced with an apple/lemon underlying aroma. Leelanau’s Chardonnays don’t need oak to become something special. They can stand on their own without oak just like the great Chablis do.

Another thing that impressed me about Leelanau and its wines was the deep color that the red wines attained. The Cabernet Francs, Syrahs and Pinot Noirs were especially impressive. The aromas and flavors of these wines were as rich and flavorful as similar wines made in France, Australia, California and other parts of the world.

Like Europe and most of the United States, except for the West, Leelanau is subject to a lot of vagarities of weather. 2005 was a great year, only surpassed by the 2007 vintage. 2006 was very challenging. The winemakers I met were able to fashion good wines from not so good vintages. The style in the ‘off’ years was different but was generally a very drinkable style. In California we are spoiled. All years are vintage ones with some being more vintage than others. I think that the variation in the growing seasons in Michigan, and other states in challenged areas, brings out the best in winemakers. They are more innovative and resourceful that their counterparts from the ’spoiled’ areas of the world. This I think is a good thing.

The 45th parallel goes through Leelanau County and Forty-Five North’s vineyard. This is the same latitude as Washington’s Columbia Valley and France’s Southern Rhone. Leelanau is in great winemaking company in this regard. If asked, most people would say that Michigan and especially, Leelanau, is too far north to make wine at all, let alone great wine. Looking at Leelanau’s ‘neighbors’ would seem to prove them wrong.

Two more visits to Leelanau in September and October of 2007, confirmed what I learned in 2006; but two other things really brought things into perspective: 1) tasting the unfermented juice, tasting the fermenting juice, tasting the fermented juice, and tasting the nearly finished wines (as well as those in barrel) of the wines made at Forty-Five North made by Shawn and David. There had to be at least 20-30 different lots being made at the winery from vineyards from all over the county and they were all good and most were special; and 2) I’m involved in a winery that is here in California. The winemaker is very talented and very well known. He was trained in Germany and has been making wine for close to 35-40 years. Before Steve Grossnickle started his winery, this winemaker, who in 2005 made a Riesling from the Finger Lakes Region of New York, and who has been making a Napa Valley Riesling for a number of years, and who judges at the Michigan State Fair Wine judging, stated that he was impressed with the Rieslings coming out of Leelanau. He also expressed a desire to make a Riesling from Leelanau in 2007 and then bring it to California. That has been done and it was done at Forty-Five North. It will be bottled soon with a March, 2007, release date. I’ve tasted that wine and the Forty-Five North version, as have many others. All agree, but especially the respective winemakers, that these two wines are nothing short of outstanding.

The topography of Leelanau with its rolling hills, besides being beautiful, is an obvious place to grow great wines. These rolling hills along with the varying distances to Lake Michigan make for the development of many microclimates. It will takes years to identify these varying microclimates and to find out what grapes grow best where. As this discovery moves along, (along with the wine and grape growers moving along their learning curve) the wines can only get better. I do not know much about the soils of the area. I know there is obviously a lot of Sandy soil which is unique to this area and is a soil for great drainage. There is Sandy Loam as well. Add the soils to the elevation variations, the proximity to the ‘Big Lake’, and other factors and this makes for some interesting challenges for finding the right spot to plant that perfect grape. If winegrowing were easy, it wouldn’t be any fun.

— Maynard

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

Although I was not there at the time, Shawn sent pictures as the chardonnay and pinot noir were racked into the new French oak barrels. Obviously the photos don’t show the tremendous sensual rush and resultant goose bumps. All totaled, I was involved with the crushing of 21 tons of grapes while Shawn and David have now crushed twice that much with almost 15 more coming in. What fun, and, all the individuals we have talked to have said this will be the number one vintage year for Leelanau grapes, and this was confirmed by Doug Matthies and Shawn who feel that the dry summer and extremely long extension of summer into October, yet with the cool nights, will make this a vintage year to measure with those yet to come. Oh, we’ll have to get some of this product into glass — stop moaning — another blog awaits.

More photos →

Steve

More photos →     

Wet your lips!
Steve