Stain Less Tasting

After you spill a red wine on the carpet, you have a permanent reminescence of that wine, at least its color. And, completely removing wine stains is virtually an impossible task regardless of all the ShamWow!® commercials. Therefore, it is recommended to only drink white wines over carpet—they leave little if any long term stains.

Recently I barrel tasted with our winemaker, David Hill, tasting only whites from our stainless steel barrels. I truly believe this year’s pinot gris is our best vintage ever. We will also have a chenin blanc (a new variety to Forty-Five North) which I found to have a delightfully complex blend of minerality and crispness on the tongue. We then jumped over to the oak barrels where our ports, cherry dessert and Northpor, are being aged in freshly-emptied Buffalo Trace™ distillery bourbon barrels. They are dynamic wines as is our 45 Red, now also aging in oak barrels. And finally, we’re readying another new wine: apricot dessert. David, an ex-chef, has concocted this unique blend that we think tasters will really enjoy.

The previously-stated red wine stain is related to tannins and acanthocyanin chemistry within the grape. The metabolism of these large organic compounds is in competition with the sugar metabolism of the grapes. Once sugar is produced, the cooler, wetter climate, a characteristic of Leelanau Peninsula terroir, sets this flavonoid, tannin, and other polyphenol metabolism in place. This is one reason for the great similarities of Michigan and that other 45th parallel location, Bourdeaux, France. It’s also verification of a statement made to me by Napa Valley winemaker, Scott Harvey, who feels that the Michigan flavonoids and turpines concentrations are of the highest in the world. And a recent study has shown that these compounds can actually reduce the sclerosis of arterial walls and hence reduce cardiovascular pathology. This gives credence to the French Paradox; and in colloboration with another surgeon colleague, I have renamed the health benefits of Michigan wines as the Michigan “Pair of Docs”. So, increase your longevity and drink wine in moderation.