Short Takes
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Short Take on the 45th
Short Takes
August 2008
'Tis the Season… For Competition
by Jason Smith
t isn’t just Olympic athletes taking home medals this summer. Our nationally known local wineries are always winning awards in wine competitions against both domestic and foreign labels, and every year, new medals are hung around bottles in all of Northern Michigan’s wineries.
One noteworthy competition -- the 32nd Annual International Eastern Wine Competition held in the Finger Lakes Region of New York, in May of 2008 -- saw several of our local wineries bring home medals. And two of them captured prestigious "Double Golds" for their selections. Even nationally renowned wine expert Richard Leahy, on his website Richard Leahy’s Wine Report singled out one in his blog, in the entry for July 20th of this year:
"The New World wine landscape is littered with the failed dreams of passionate people struck with pinot envy; they wanted to replicate Burgundy somewhere else and failed, either from an inappropriate climate, overenthusiastic use of oak, or both. To date, a track record for consistent success in the New World for pinot noir is rare…. However there are continual attempts to join the ranks of the successful few. This year, the top-scoring pinot noir in the International Eastern Wine Competition was a 2005 pinot noir from Bowers Harbor on Michigan’s Old Mission Peninsula…." -- from the blog at Richard Leahy’s Wine Report
Spencer Stegenga, proprietor and winegrower at Bowers Harbor Vineyards, is understandably proud of the 2005 pinot noir, which sells for $25. "The thing about this competition is that it’s a global competition -- there were twenty-three countries involved, and no Michigan red wine had ever placed a best of show or double gold in any international competition. I was told that this wine stole the show. This area of northern Michigan is most known for its white wine, but we are very happy to know that we have a red wine that puts us on a level playing field with the rest of the country and the world."
And what is it about the Bowers Harbor pinot noir that separates it from the pack? "Our wines from this area are truly dynamically expressive," says Stegenga, "we do not lay a heavy hand on them in the cellar, and only use French oak barrels to enhance the full potential of the grape."
Another Double Gold winner at the International Eastern was Chate Chateau Grand Traverse's 2005 Riesling Ice Wine. Vice president Sean O’Keefe was very enthusiastic about their award. "The IEWC is widely regarded as one of the top three competitions in the country (the others being The San Francisco International Wine Competition and the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition). As an emerging wine region, it is important for Northern Michigan wineries to have their wines compared and judged against the best the world has to offer." He singled out other competitions in which the 2005 Riesling Ice Wine has captured a Double Gold: 2007 Michigan Wine & Spirits Competition; 2008 Great Lakes Wine Judging; and 2007 Tasters Guild International Wine Competition.
hat does he think set the wine apart from the rest of the field? "We understand and love Riesling," O’Keefe says. "Our winery was founded as a Riesling winery. Riesling remains our main passion. The grapes were allowed to naturally freeze on the vine and harvested and sorted by hand in the middle of January 2006. The wine was never rushed, but rather was allowed to ferment slowly for close to a year in small barrels. It tends to taste drier than other Ice Wines because of this long fermentation. The finished wine represents our best attempt to capture all the potential flavors of Riesling from a great vineyard in a great vintage." The 2005 Riesling Ice Wine sells for $70. Look for it at the Chateau Grand Traverse tasting rooms, select restaurants, and wine shops.
About the International Eastern Wine Competition: One of the oldest and largest competitions in the United States, this event is held each May in the Finger Lakes region of New York, topping over 2,100 entries in recent years with wines from 16 countries and 34 states. The IEWC has earned a well-justified reputation for the quality of its organization, judgments and awards. Wines in any given flight may be entered from around the world. Judges are wine-knowledgeable professionals, media specialists, and winemakers who represent major East Coast markets from Miami to Toronto. Bronze medals require a unanimous panel vote for bronze, so any winning medals in the IEWC are worthy of merit.
Local Wines That Placed in the 2008 International Eastern Wine Competition
Forty-Five North Vineyard & Winery
2007 Chardonnay
2007 Pinot Gris
2007 Riesling
2007 Late Harvest Vignoles
Shady Lane Cellars
2007 Gewurztraminer
2006 Vignoles
Chateau Fontaine
2007 Gewurztraminer
2006 Riesling
2007 Woodland White Auxoorrais
Brys Estate Vineyard & Winery
2007 Pinot Blanc
2006 Riesling
2007 Gewurztraminer
Left Foot Charley
2007 Pinot Blanc
2007 Riesling
Black Star Farms
2006 Pinot Gris
2007 Dry Riesling
2007 Semi Dry Riesling
2006 Late Harvest Riesling
2006 Merlot/Cabernet Franc
2006 Sur Lie Chardonnay
Chateau Grand Traverse
2006 Pinot Grigio
2006 Ship of Fools
2006 Edelzwicker
2007 Riesling
2005 Riesling Ice
2007 Gamay Noir
2006 Gamay Noir
Peninsula Cellars
2006 Riesling
2006 Gewurztraminer
Bowers Harbor Vineyards
2006 Riesling
2005 Pinot Noir