How to Choose Which Winery in Northern Michigan To Visit

Why Choose Laurentide Winery?

Why Laurentide? Because if you  prefer and desire to drink and support local wines, you will find the grapes to  grow our wine on French Road in Lake Leelanau. We are an estate boutique winery, a family owned business since 2006 specializing in cool climate wines.

If you want innovative, creative, award winning wines that honor the terroir of Northern Michigan, try our current vintages of 15 types of wine. With over 160 awards to date, we excell at most wines produced since our 1st 2010 vintage. Try Sauvignon Blanc, our flagship wine or even more unique, our Fume Blanc, the only in Michigan. From fun Bubble de Bubble, a sexy fizzy Chardonnay to  our weighty Reserve Meritage blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, we have a large repertoire of wine to satisfy your tastes and your budgets.

If you yearn for kind and knowledgeable staff, we train our staff and serve our wines with a smile. If we don’t know the answer to your question, we’ll find out if you’d like so you don’t drive away with another  confusing wine myth stuck in your head. Our philosophy is that training is continual and we practice servant leadership. 

If you would like to host a   private event, we offer our lovely tasting room to reserve after hours for small plates wine pairings so you can leave the details and service  to us.  Expert wine pairing and small plate preparations are chosen  per your needs and requests. 

If you want to see the vines that make the wine in your glass, reserve a private vineyard tour available May-October. We’ll take  your small group for a 1 hour guided trip to our vines 3 miles away on one of the highest spots in Leelanau, where you can take a picture, pick  a petoskey stone and smell the grapes ripening.

If you want to mingle, stand at the bar, check out our rotating artist of the month display or shop our retail logo items. If you want a  rendevous, enjoy sitting at the quiet tables inside or out for an intimate chat. Our indoor tables are set aside for customers that desire a sit down tasting of wine flights which can challenge your deductive skills so you leave Laurentide knowing much more than when you entered. We can tease you with blind flights or tailor a custom flight  however you want to delight your palate.

If you are tired of fighting for a parking space and jostling for a spot in a noisy tasting room and if you want to be far from the madding crowds, drive into the bucolic heart of Leelanau.  You can hear the birds, the buzz of the bees and listen to  the live music playing on the patio,  on the stereo or in your heart while sipping superb wine at the bar, or tables inside and out.

  If you want to know that Wine is History  started 350 million years ago and the reason why we are named Laurentide, please visit us, stay a while, lend an ear and we’ll tell you our story: Laurentide Winery.  

Cheers! See you at Laurentide…

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Pulled Pork Sliders Recipe from Laurentide Winery

 

• 5 lb pork shoulder roast bone in
• 1 c Laurentide Cherry wine
• Chipolte or Virgin Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 c tart cherries, pitted
• 1 bottle cherry based BBQ sauce, your choice or homemade
• 1 T Red pepper flakes
• 2T Cornstarch
• Brioche rolls

Season roast with salt and pepper.  Coat with Olive Oil.  Brown roast on all sides in pressure cooker.  Add 1 c Cherry wine. Cook 1.75 hours.

Remove roast and set aside to cool. Reserve 2 c stock from cooker. De-fat  and heat stock on stove in large pot for the BBQ sauce. Add cherries, bottle of BBQ sauce, red pepper flakes and simmer until cherries cooked through ~ 10 minutes.  Add   cornstarch to  ~1/2 c water and then to bubbling sauce to thicken if desired.

Pull apart pork and shred pork with forks.

Combine shredded pork and sauce, reheat slowly.  Slice open Brioche rolls and plate with pork.

Enjoy with Laurentide Pinot Noir Rose.

Serves 12-14

Thank you- Susan Braymer, Laurentide Winery

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The man behind the lens

The man behind the lens...
Don Braymer 94, WWII veteran, professional photographer and industry movie producer, shares his incredible black and white auto photo collection in a special showing at the Laurentide tasting room.  Come meet and talk about cars, history and the meaning of life with Don, Sunday August 9, 1-4 pm.  High quality signed photo reproductions of his personal collection will be available for sale and orders for many others can be taken.

If you are a car aficionado or enjoy stunning black and white art, don’t miss this afternoon’s once in a lifetime reception.

Wine by the glass and appetizers will be served. 

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Laurentide: The Gold Standard of Un-Oaked Chardonnay

 

Ben continues his posts for Laurentide, waxing poetic on Chardonnay….

The Chardonnay grape is one of the most recognizable varietals on the planet and a staple in the world of wine.  It is commonly the stereotypical white wine used in pop culture and easily one of the most famous varietal of wines.  Chardonnay,  however is a very polarizing grape.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard people say they either love Chardonnay or dislike Chardonnay.  Those who drink Chardonnay are then further divided into two different camps, those who prefer it Oaked or those who prefer it Un-Oaked.  Oaked meaning that the Chardonnay was aged in Oak barrels at some stage of the production.  Un-Oaked is the style of making Chardonnay without the oak barrels and using stainless steel. These varying styles produce two drastically different tasting wines from the same Chardonnay grapes. The Oaked Chardonnay is often a deeper shade of yellow in its appearance, and a distinct buttery flavor. Obviously this varies with which type of wood is used in the barrel but for the most part the taste of an Oaked Chardonnay is clear when tasting. Un-Oaked Chardonnay is often lighter in its appearance, and has a fruity aspect to it that is often covered up in Oaked Chardonnays by the oak tannins.

Here at Laurentide we have just released our 2013 vintage of Un-Oaked Chardonnay.  In my opinion it is the ideal representation of the Un-Oaked Chardonnay. It’s an 100% estate wine, that starts off with a lot of fruit and is deceptively smooth for a dry wine. When I first tried it I was blown away with how delicious it tasted.  So when I proclaim that Laurentide’s  un-Oaked Chardonnay is the gold standard for un-Oaked Chardonnay, I would be wrong.  According to the judges at the International Eastern Wine Competition, it was awarded two awards; best of class for its price range and a double gold.  This was a competition with blind tasting so no bias influenced the judges decisions. It was the result of pure Leelanau fruit, world-class winemaking, and a lot of hard work from various people who made it possible.  In celebration of winning Best of Class and a Double Gold, we are holding a special sale this month for the 2013 Chardonnay. The special is three bottles for $45 which is a great value for what in my opinion, is the ideal example of an un-Oaked Chardonnay. We hope to see you in the tasting room to try it along with our other estate wines!

 

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Leelanau County: The best, “first time,” wine-tasting experience.

Ben,   our assistant manager  continues writing his thoughts for Laurentide’s blog….

If you are like me then you’re relatively new to the world of wine and all that it has to offer.  Whether you enjoy a casual glass with dinner or you are new to the wine tasting scene, the amount of information associated with wine can be intimidating.  This may be a deterrent for inexperienced wine drinkers to learn more about wine even if they remain curious deep down.  This has been my dilemma.  It seems the more that I learn about wine, the less I seem to know.  This seems counter-intuitive, but however you want to look at it, the reality of wine as a subject is one that is basically infinite.  So it would make sense to just accept the fact that it’s an impossible topic to master and to just start with the basics, asking yourself questions like… do you prefer dry or sweet wines? Which varietals taste the best to you? In my opinion that’s what makes Leelanau county a great place to discover your palate.  Leelanau has always been a great place for producing world class fruit, cherries, apples, and of course, grapes.

A common trait in the wines produced here is that they all have a very authentic fruitiness to them that allows for a clean impression of the varietal that you are tasting.  This allows for novices like myself to confidently say a sentence like, “I am finding I really enjoy a dry white wine like Pinot Gris.” Now when you throw in the beautiful countryside, friendly people, laid back pace, and numerous unique wineries, then you have the ingredients for an ideal wine tasting experience.  All of these qualities to Leelanau County make it an exceptional wine tasting experience for first timers.

So my advice to inexperienced wine drinkers is to remain curious and be a sponge for any and all information. The BEST advice I’ve ever heard in this industry so far is along the lines of, “you like what you like and don’t let other people tell you that you are wrong for liking a certain wine.” A simple but very important philosophy to remember when you are wine tasting. Hopefully we will see a few new faces here at Laurentide so we can serve you world class wine and provide a sliver of what Leelanau has to offer.

 

Thank you to :http://www.andersonaerialphotography.com/galleries/plog-content/images/counties/leelanau/north-lake-leelanau-pano-n-s-psd-copy-copy.jpg for the aerial image.

Michigan Public Radio April 2015

Bill and I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Joe Linstroth of The Next Idea to hash out the framework for  our essay and interview regarding the status of the the Michigan Wine Industry reputation state and nation wide.  We worked with Cynthia Canty of Stateside who  was the nicest interviewer we have ever been in the presence of! Sincere thanks to both of you….

Here is the essay and link to the interview. We are so grateful for this ability to speak for the industry and hope that only good things evolve from these ideas.

Thank you,

Susan and Bill Braymer, Laurentide Winery

http://michiganradio.org/post/forget-silicon-valley-what-about-next-napa-valley-michigan

Laurentide Best of Class!

Wine Competition News and PR

For Immediate Release

February 17, 2015

Contact: Debra Del Fiorentino
Vineyard & Winery Management
Phone: 707.577.7700 x109
Email: ddelfiorentino@vwmmedia.com

The International “East Meets West” Wine Challenge Reveals Top Awards
 International Eastern Wine Competition vs. West Coast Wine Competition

Santa Rosa, CA – For the second year, Vineyard & Winery Management combined two of its oldest and most established wine competitions into one by creating the International “East Meets West” Wine Challenge.  The judging was held Feb. 10-11, 2015 in Sonoma County, California. A total of 1164 wines were awarded medals.

Since 1982, the West Coast Wine Competition has annually recognized wines produced and bottled in the West. The International Eastern Wine Competition, started in 1975, is one of the oldest and longest-running wine competitions in the nation.

This year, the competitions merged into one large event.  Wines were simultaneously judged in two established regional divisions: International Eastern Wine Competition and the West Coast Wine Competition. Traditional awards were given in each division. Best of Show winners moved on to compete in the East Meets West Taste Off to see which wine was best overall. This afforded each entrant two chances to win medals: one in its own division and one in the Taste Off.  A Riesling Championship was also held.

“This challenge allows eastern and western wines to compete in their own right while allowing each to contend on a national scale,” said event producer and Vineyard & Winery Management magazine publisher Robert Merletti.

According to Director of Wine Competitions and Chief Judge Debra Del Fiorentino, “This format worked well for us last year and has gained momentum this year.  Keeping these established brands intact and adding a twist like the East Meets West Taste Off put an exciting spin on the challenge.”

The International Eastern division garnered 22 best of class, 23 double gold, and 76 gold medals.  The West Coast division collected 25 best of class, 12 double gold, and 68  gold medals

Our Chardonnay, 1 of 22 Best of Class medals awarded in the International Eastern division! 

Thank you to all those who contributed to making this a fine, fine wine from our vineyard workers to wine maker.

We are grateful.

Susan and Bill Braymer, Laurentide Winery