Short and Out of Sequence

Hi everyone,

As the title implies, this post won't be long. And it skips ahead.

We just wanted you to know we are currently on Beaver Island, after spending a couple of days in Charlevoix.

We arrived here today and will likely spend a couple more days here. Boy is it quiet! Literally.

Our internet connection is working but is pretty slow here, so we may not post much. But there is much exploring to do. One of us (guess which one) is really excited about being able to bike along McCauley Road to McCauley Bay, and then to cross the island to visit McCauley Point.

What a great island!!!

Traverse City Wineries

This area of Michigan - Leelanau County and Old Mission Harbor - has a number of wineries. This is another aspect of the trip that Bernie was particularly excited about, as she is really trying to focus on local foods (and her definition of local is a little more liberal than the "250-mile rule" - she includes the entire states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana).

We've been lucky enough to visit three of the wineries and have tasted a few additional ones. We have enjoyed the wines from the area that we've had. Oh, we're not wine experts. Despite that wine class that Bernie took, she still tends to rate wines based on how enjoyable they'd be if being sipped on Meridian's aft deck. (Guess that's why she got a "B" ;o !) The wines tend to be sweeter and more fruity than French, California, etc. wine. They are more likely to be varietals (blends of grapes). And they tend to focus on white wines as the white grapes are easier to grow here. One of the wineries noted that this is the same latitude (45 degrees, give or take a bit) as the French wine regions.

Good Harbor Winery is near Leland. Among other wines, they have Good Harbor Red and Fishtown White table wines.

Left Foot Charley calls themselves an "urban winery" in Traverse City. They don't have a vineyard. Instead, they purchase grapes from smaller (less than 6 acres) local grape growers. The founder has significant experience, having worked for a few of the wineries in the area. They located their tasting room in The Village (that North Michigan Asylum redevelopment project we mentioned earlier.)

Black Star Farms is a Winery/Creamery/Distillery/Inn that is located about 15 miles from Traverse City. We biked over there via the TART and Leelanau trails. They have a beautiful location and are an "agricultural destination". That's netting over their vines to keep the birds away.
For $5 per couple, you can get five wine tastes per person and you get to keep the glasses. So we tasted a few wines and found two that we both really liked - a reisling and an artisan red. We had brought extra clothes, partially for the purpose of cushioning bottles, which worked very well. They also make additional spirits (grappa, eau de vie), that they keep hidden away. Look closely to see the vicious guard dog protecting the hideaway.


They also have a creamery, and are award winners for a raclette cheese that they produce.
We believe that Phil's new friend is the source of the award-winning cheese.




And they, too, had a farmers market/co-op venture going on at the time of our visit. Three farmers markets in two days PLUS a wine-tasting - does life get any better than that?

Although we didn't get to visit this one, Chateau Grand Traverse has a white wine with a name that's perfect for us: Ship of Fools!


There are a few more wineries up here but we weren't able to get to them all. We're thinking about coming up here in the fall (after Meridian is in storage ... when we're condo-bound and stir-crazy again) to do more on-site research about Michigan wines.

Almost all the wineries can ship to Illinois as long as you can fax or e-mail them a copy of your ID so they verify that you are over 21. So - fair warning - Bernie will be primarily serving Michigan wine in the future. At least until she gets to do on-site research into the Illinois wineries.

Traverse City - Farmer's Market Heaven

After securing the lines and setting up, Bernie headed over to the Traverse City Tourism Office, located right by the marina, for maps and information. There, she learned of a small farmer's market that was taking place that afternoon. It had been almost 5 days since she last hit a Farmer's Market! (She was getting the Farmers Market Withdrawal Crankies.) Phil skipped his usual nap to venture along. He's figured out that in addition to fruit and vegetables (and sometimes cheese and meat), farmer's markets also have BAKED GOODS!

This is a new market. It is small (about ten farmers) compared to the big downtown market. But it doesn't have the same fees as the downtown market so it attracts small growers. It has an interesting location: the grounds of the old Northern Michigan Asylum. It's a major project, known as The Village, and the buildings are being redeveloped as residential and commercial space.


It was nice to get to a market to re-stock tomatoes, greens, nut butters, apricots, and of course baked goods (a chocolate cherry oatmeal cookie that was about 5 inches in diameter!) Plus, Bernie would get another chance to hit the "big downtown market" on Wednesday.

On the way back to the boat, we walked down the Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trail, a paved biking/running/walking path that runs through Traverse City and connects to two other trails. We started making plans for our bike excursion over dinner (vegetarian lasagna and a small salad using greens and tomatoes from this market).

There is a larger market in downtown Traverse City - right across from the Marina - on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They have two rows of pavilions that the farmers set up under. Planning to make a pizza - and have some more vegetables around - Bernie bought zucchini blossoms, eggplant, broccoli and peppers. She also picked up melons, peaches, and some blueberry scones with a lime glaze (BAKED GOODS!)

This area of Michigan has a definite "local foods" orientation. You don't get confused looks when you ask about local beers and wine. The grocery stores tend to list the farm where the produce was grown and there are a lot of farm stands along the major highways. There is also a group - Learn Great Foods - that sponsors tours of farms so you can learn more about where your food comes from.


Phil wanted to write something cute about Traverse City being local, organic, sustainable, etc. heaven. But Bernie kept correcting his improper use of terminology. Something about verification and certification. So, he had to settle for . . .

The End.