Category Archives: Michigan

Willow Chardonnay With Humble P

Posted on May 19, 2015 by intoxreport

When you reach the top of the gravelly incline that leads to Willow Vineyards, you are confronted with the most iconic view of Northern Michigan wine country that exists. Grape vines tumble down a fertile slope to a line of stately pines, … Continue reading →

Posted in Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Coach Long-Hair: Brian Hosmer and The Open Door Policy

Posted on May 17, 2015 by intoxreport

Sometimes I think of Michigan winemakers as my children, even those who are old enough to be my parents. That’s because I began writing about Michigan wine when most of the current crop of concerns were barely gleams in some … Continue reading →

Posted in Michigan | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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

Lee Lutes: Putting the ‘Star’ in Black Star

Posted on December 1, 2014 by intoxreport

You don’t need a degree in finance to know a gold mine when you see it, but Lee Lutes has one anyway. And by gold mine, I don’t mean cash flow that cascades at the expense of ideology, but a … Continue reading →

Posted in Michigan, Old Mission Peninsula | Leave a 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 →

Posted in Fruit Wines, Michigan, MIDWEST | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Intoxicating Intellect of G. Stanley Howell

Posted on November 9, 2014 by intoxreport

Had G. Stanley Howell showed up for our wine chat dressed in full CSA officer regalia, complete with three star collar insignia, cadet grey overcoat and lion’s-head saber, I would have considered it perfectly appropriate.  Not only because the retired … Continue reading →

Posted in Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan, Old Mission Peninsula | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Charlie Edson Rings My Bel

Posted on October 29, 2014 by intoxreport

Among Leelanau’s most unique boutiques, Bel Lago is positioned right out of the chute.  For one thing, it is not in the mainstream ‘loop’ of money-shot, photo-op, rich man’s wineries up and down the coast.  For another, it doesn’t even … Continue reading →

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Bernie Rink: The Laird of Leelanau

Posted on October 16, 2014 by intoxreport

In the beginning, God created Leelanau Peninsula, and very shortly after that, Bernie Rink was born.  Today, at 88, you can find him sitting in the half-light at the entrance of Boskydel’s tasting room, exactly where a bouncer would sit … Continue reading →

Posted in Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Tony Ciccone: Papa Can Too Preach

Posted on October 7, 2014 by intoxreport

I wonder if when Tony’s kids were small, they used to say, “Papa, tell us the dead cat story again!!” Actually, you probably know at least one of Tony’s kids—pretty well, too—but  enough about that for now.  I’m of an … Continue reading →

Posted in Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan, MIDWEST | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Getting Your Goat At Traverse City’s Baddest Bodega

Posted on October 3, 2014 by intoxreport

Long ago and far away, no circumambulation of Northern Michigan wine country was complete without a didactic pit-stop at the odd blue shop wedged between Peninsula Drive and E. Front Street. There, surrounded by a cornucopia of bottles from distant … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL, Michigan | Tagged , , | 5 Comments