Category Archives: Fruit Wines

MBTB Tasting Room, The Sequel

Posted on December 17, 2014 by intoxreport

I’ve lived in Michigan my whole life and I quite like it here. However, I don’t much like our flag. In the first place, it depicts two bipedal ruminants—an elk and a moose—neither of which are actually bipedal ruminants, but both … Continue reading →

Posted in Fruit Wines, Michigan, MIDWEST | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Mike Beck: The Apple Of My High

Posted on November 18, 2014 by intoxreport

‘If Eve sold her soul for an apple, it’s hard to imagine what the babe would have given up for a gallon of Uncle John’s ‘Melded’.’ Shake hands with Mike Beck and you wonder why he needs an apple press at … Continue reading →

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Wearing Their Hearts On My Mitten: Michigan Wine Competition, 2014

Posted on August 15, 2014 by intoxreport

I certainly hand it to the grape council that represents my Mitten: They are one sincere bunch. Such punkling puns aside, I mention this because The Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council held its 37th Michigan Wine Competition on August 5, … Continue reading →

Posted in Fruit Wines, Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan, MIDWEST, Old Mission Peninsula | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Thumbing Their Noses At Lake Michigan Palates

Posted on June 28, 2013 by intoxreport

A random glance at most websites listing Michigan wineries reveals glaring omission: The east side of the state is pretty much not on the map. And I am not suggesting that this does not make sense, at least traditionally, and … Continue reading →

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This Festival, Michigan Is Chary, Not Cheery, Over Cherries

Posted on July 3, 2012 by intoxreport

Suppose this week was the Colorado Springs Ponderosa Pine Festival? Or the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes Glorious Nuptials Saturnalia? Or the Anderson Cooper: CNN’s Most Eligible Bachelor Gala ? The desolate pall of funk that would hang over such clambakes pales in … Continue reading →

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The O’Keefes: Putting The Grand Into Traverse Bay

Posted on June 3, 2012 by intoxreport

As ‘heavyweight’ is not a term to be used lightly, ‘grand’ must be accompanied by a certain level of grandeur, as in Grandfather Time, grandioso or Chateau Grand Traverse. Meanwhile, Old Mission’s heavyweight title belt remains firmly around the midsection … Continue reading →

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Michigan Wine, 2012: State Of The Stating-The-Obvious Address

Posted on April 7, 2012 by intoxreport

(April is Michigan Wine Month, as certified by Governor Rhymes-With-Spider, who’s been at the business end of more recall referendums than my Ford 150). Ever since Al Gore starting criss-crossing the country in his gas-gulping Jetstream 400 to lecture about … Continue reading →

Posted in Fruit Wines, Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan, MIDWEST, Old Mission Peninsula | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Good Harbor Vineyards and the Dialectics of Cherry Wine

Posted on August 27, 2011 by intoxreport

Plato, Third Century, BC: “Nothing more valuable than wine was ever granted mankind by God. Now, wanna argue about it…?” (Okay, this is Plato paraphrased—he didn’t tack on the argue part.  But I’m sure he would have; the crusty old … Continue reading →

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