AUGUST 21; Updated AUGUST 26  -- The entries and winemakers came from all over the state. But the trophy and medals went back to Old Mission Peninsula.

Brys Estate winemaker Coenraad Stassen (center) accepts the Harding's Cup from Tim Harding and Terry Stingley

And in a clean sweep for Old Mission wineries, the six-judge panel awarded second and third place medals to the just-bottled 2 Lads Reserve Cab Franc and Brys's own regular release.

Twenty-two wines entered the Challenge, almost evenly split between the state's northern and southern wine regions. The event was organized and sponsored by Kalamazoo-based Harding's Markets and took place at that city's Park Club.

William Harrison, Chairman of the Michigan Grape and Wine Council's Research Committee and one of the judges, termed 11 of the wines "excellent quality that could be comparable to any similar red wines anywhere in the world."

Master Sommelier Claudia Tyagi, another judge, called them, "an exceptional array of well made wines from a stunning Michigan vintage."

"This is a clear victory for vinifera grapes and the notion of terroir in Michigan," said Stingley.

by Debra Jett

The Jonna family aren't quitters. Many would say that the extended family's businesses (Merchant's Fine Wines, Plum Market, Vino Wine Bars and the former Merchant of Vino) easily qualify them as southeast Michigan's first family of wine.

John Jonna discusses Vinology's recent changes at the wine bar's sidewalk cafe

Ann Arbor's Vinology is one of two wine bars owned by the dynamic father-daughter duo of John and Kristin Jonna. (The other, Vinotecca, is located in Royal Oak.)

So when Vinology wasn't working right, instead of throwing in the towel they went back to the drawing board. They felt committed to their concept and were willing to keep trying different models until they got it right.

Recently departed: the former wine list, menu and executive chef. And with John Jonna playing master of ceremonies, Vinology invited in the media to talk about their new chef, sample their summer menu, and preview their wine offerings.

The gang from Leelanau Peninsula celebrates their trophies. Front: Alan Eaker, owner, Longview; Charlie Edson, owner / winemaker, Bel Lago. Rear: Ryan and Kris Sterkenburg, owners, Gill's Pier; Steve Grossnickle, owner, Forty-Five North; Shawn Walters, winemaker, Forty-Five North and Longview; Lee Lutes, winemaker, Black Star Farms

Fourteen powerful reds from the atypically ripe 2007 vintage grabbed gold medals at the 2009 Michigan Wine and Spirits Competiton on August 4 in East Lansing.

Fifty wines took double gold (14) or gold (36) medals. This included seventeen dry reds, all but three from 2007. Among them: two Pinot Noir, four Cabernet Franc, one each Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and a surprising six Meritage-style blends. Six dry and nine semi-dry whites struck gold.

Leelanau Peninsula's tiny Longview Winery walked away with the most gold in the state: two double gold and three gold medals, including a Best of Class for its Reserve Cherry -- the fourth straight year that Longview's team of owner Alan Eaker and consulting winemaker Shawn Walters have grabbed a top trophy. 

Almost overshadowed by the reds' tide:

• Record-setting numbers of wineries participating (42) and wines entered (395) 
• A near-sweep of trophies and double gold medals by northern wineries
• Michigan's first-ever trophy for Best Rosé, won by Forty-Five North
• Two trophies apiece for perennial-winner winemakers Bryan Ulbrich and Shawn Walters; the tenth straight year a wine made by Ulbrich has taken at least one Best of Class
• For the second year, no sparkling wine trophy and no gold medals for semi-dry reds

Overall medal numbers dropped to 67% of entries from last year's 73%, after some rule tweaks and a pre-judging admonition by competition superintendent Chris Cook. A total of 267 wines received medals, of the 395 wines entered.

Gill's Pier co-owner Kris Sterkenburg, whose Cab Franc / Merlot blend earned the winery its third Best of Class trophy since 2003, said, "We've had an amazing relationship with (winemaker) Bryan Ulbrich from the get-go. But we're also very proud that the fruit for this wine came from our own vineyard and our next door neighbor's."

2009 TROPHY WINNERS:

DRY WHITE: 2008 Left Foot Charley Pinot Blanc, Island View Vineyard
SEMI-DRY WHITE: 2008 Bel Lago Gewurztraminer
ROSÉ: 2008 Forty-Five North Pinot Noir Rosé
DRY RED: 2007 Gill's Pier Cabernet Franc / Merlot
DESSERT: 2008 Fenn Valley "42" Vidal Blanc Ice Wine
FRUIT: Longview Reserve Cherry Wine
JUDGES' MERIT AWARD: 2008 Black Star Farms Arcturos Dry Riesling
SPARKLING: No Best of Class, by vote of the judges
SEMI-DRY RED: No Best of Class, due to no gold medals awarded
(Sharp eyes will notice Longview's Cherry missing from the photo.)

View or download the complete list of medal winners here.

Editor's note: Kalamazoo's Fred McTaggart originally wrote this appreciation of Leelanau Peninsula winemaker Bernie Rink for his blog, Artisan Wine on a Budget. I thought it deserved a wider audience. Photo courtesy of Sharon Kegerreis, Michigan Vine   -- JG

by Fred McTaggart

Little has changed since I last visited the Boskydel Vineyards tasting room. But that was 1984, and much has changed in Leelanau winemaking over the intervening 25 years.

Boskydel's Bernie Rink: Making Leelanau wine since 1975

Owner and winemaker Bernie Rink, 83, is a bit stooped these days, and fights a tremor when he pours your samples. He is affectionately known as the "Wine Nazi" (after Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi") because he allows no nonsense on the premises. When more than eight people arrive in his tiny tasting room, he starts to shoo them away.

New York State growers are expecting a bountiful grape harvest in 2009, hopefully with the great quality levels of the past few years. Even for grapes for which we are most well known, like Riesling and Cabernet Franc, there will be a surplus. So the New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) is partnering with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) to try to find “homes” for these wonderful grapes.

-- Letter to Michigan wineries from Jim Trezise
President, New York Wine & Grape Foundation

JULY 3 - New York wineries have a problem, and they hope Michigan wineries have the opposite problem.

In the next few days, every Michigan winery will get a letter from Jim Trezise, President of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. Its message: We have surplus grapes to sell. Are you interested in buying?

To facilitate transactions, the Foundation and Cornell's Extension Service created a Grape & Wine classified ad website. Only New Yorkers can list grapes and bulk wine for sale -- but buyers from anywhere are welcome.

New York wineries and growers currently offer 46 lots of grapes and ten of finished wine for sale on the site.

Summertime... and the sippin' is easy. No wine goes with warm weather like a bright, fruity glass of chilled Rosé.

Rosés -- in various hues of pink and orange -- are riding a surge of popularity after two decades in the wilderness, following a consumer backlash against blush wines like the unfortunately-named White Zinfandel. Sales flew up 22% in 2008, while overall wine consumption rose just 5%.

The assortment of Michigan Rosé is also growing, the overwhelming majority made from Cabernet Franc or Pinot Noir grapes.

For these reviews, MichWine's tasting panel sampled 11 different Michigan Rosés. Some were clearly better than others, but we could enjoy a glass of any of them on a hot summer day. Part of the attraction: a variety of styles and sweetness make it easy to find one you like, or to accompany the food you plan to serve.

Our top three wines perfectly illustrate the point. They begin with two grapes from three different growing regions, and represent three completely different styles of wine.

The top-scoring wine, 2008 Forty-Five North Pinot Noir Rosé (90 points), is noticeably off-dry, bursting with bright fruit flavors set against a stiff acid backbone. Right behind (89 points) are 2008 Tabor Hill Cabernet Franc Rosé, bone dry and food-friendly, and 2008 2 Lads Cabernet Franc Rosé, slighly off-dry, nearly red in color and deep in flavor.

IN THE PINK:  REVIEWS OF TEN ROSÉS
        REVIEW NOTES by Chris Kassel and the MichWine Tasters
        ROSÉ ADORES FOOD -- AND THE FEELING IS MUTUAL!
                 by Master Sommelier Claudia Tyagi
        FAQ about MichWine's review procedures and tasting panel