Feature Article
Stan Howell can sit back and relax as he approaches retirement, knowing he has figuritively 'written the book' on Michigan grapegrowing.
Michigan's Dr. Grape Speaks Out: An interview with Stan Howell
"On an annual basis, the quality of Michigan's red wines improves perceptibly...if you haven't tasted any red wines from Michigan in the last five years, you're totally ignorant about what's happening in this area."
~ Dr. Stan Howell, Michigan State University
by
Eleanor & Ray Heald
August 14, 2006
Ray & Eleanor Heald (REH): What brought you to Michigan and what influenced your interest in viticulture and enology?
Stan Howell (SH): Quite honestly, I came to Michigan State University (MSU), because they had a job for me. With a wife and young family, I was looking to become gainfully employed after a decade of being in various aspects of higher learning institutions. I knew that MSU had a fantastic reputation as an agricultural-based university and that their horticultural department was held in high esteem across the U.S.
Back in 1969, grapes were only a small portion of my responsibility. I had a 50/50 research and extension outreach responsibility to cover three of the top five fruit crops produced in Michigan -- grapes, blueberries and strawberries.
I took an active attitude about extension and outreach, believing that until we had some answers to some important questions about those three fruit crops, I was not much more than a show horse that could be brought to meetings. It was cynical, in my opinion, to reach out with an empty hand and nothing to share. To be useful, it was critical that I develop a program of practical and applied research.
My goal was to learn whether I could be effective and gain respect in an institution that was noted for its national and international reputation. I wanted to know if I could compete with people who I knew were the best and brightest in my world of horticulture.
REH: In the early years, your work with grapes was focused on Concord varieties. How did wine grapes come into the picture?
SH: The first big activities were associated primarily with National Grape Cooperative and Welch's Foods. That was crucial and it had a huge impact on the direction that my program took because they provided me with some operating money and staff to help in the field.
Their support prompted my interest in learning how grapevines do what they do. Grapes are not simply an economic commodity but involve science and ecology. Across the continents, their evolution from the wild is amazing. With this realization, I've avoided the mistake of saying that I want the grapevine to do this because it would be convenient for me, even if the grapevine's job description doesn't call for it to do that. I've saved a lot of time by not trying to drive square pegs into round holes.
Wine grapes came into the picture at a chance meeting [before Michigan's AVAs were on the drawing board] with Angelo Spinazzi [then of Bronte Winery & Champagne Company.]
He asked me, "Why is it that at MSU, a land grant institution, wineries can't get some help for wine grapes?" I said that I didn't know but would look into it. That's when MSU's horticulture department began to do variety assessments.
REH: What are the best grapes for Michigan?
SH: I am not a purist. I believe that Michigan's future is mixed viticulture. I don't believe that it's 100% hybrid or 100% Vitis vinifera. On that point, the year 1994 made me a believer. In the third week of January that year in southwest Michigan, there were two freeze episodes that were colder than -20°F. At the southwest Michigan research center, nearly every vinifera vine was killed to the snow line. If southwest Michigan had been a 100% vinifera industry, there would have been operations going out of business and there would have been growers who said, "I'm done. I won't have any part of this."
Everywhere in the world that I've traveled and done research, there are wines of two types: those on which the region makes its reputation and wines which pay the bills. These do not need to be the same wines.
It's crucial that Michigan grow vinifera if the state's industry is to be taken seriously as a fine wine producing area -- for state, region and appellation. But there must be cash flow wines that fill tanks for those episodes that may cause economic loss.
That's a non-purist point of view but it's a very practical one for Michigan's wine industry. A winemaker from New Mexico once referred to Vidal Blanc as "chateau cash flow." That's the way Michigan needs to view resistant varieties.
REH:Your early work with Michigan vineyards preceded the establishment of Michigan's AVAs. Fennville was the first in 1981. Back then, what did you see as the major advantages of this AVA and how has it delivered that potential today?
SH: I talked with the Welsch family, owners of Fenn Valley Vineyards in the Fennville AVA. Their view was that they wanted to separate their location and winery from the Michigan wine industry, which was negative at that time.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, I knew that the Michigan wine industry had turned a huge corner when the wine writers in the Detroit metro area began to say nice things about Michigan wines instead of just laughing up their sleeve about it.
Today though, Fennville stands undeveloped as an AVA because Lake Michigan Shore has more marketing potential, especially from the standpoint of tourism.
REH: Marketing potential aside, what are the best grapes for the Fennville AVA? And what characteristics do these grapes illustrate as wines from the AVA?
SH: In the Fennville AVA, there should be both resistant varieties and vinifera. Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris are the best white vinifera and Cabernet Franc, the best red. Because Fennville is cooler and closer to Lake Michigan, there will be issues in some vintages for both Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, in terms of ripening to eliminate green, bell pepper characteristics. Clone evaluations and cultural methods over the next several years will help to solve ripeness issues. There are also cellar manipulations that reduce green characters due to 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine [the bell pepper compound].
Chambourcin is an excellent resistant variety for Fennville. Chancellor would be much higher on the list but it's the poster grape for downy mildew. Vidal Blanc is a mainstay and Chardonnel is a white resistant variety that has a lot of promise.
REH: Leelanau Peninsula was the second of Michigan's AVAs, established in April 1982. Back then, what did you see as the major advantages of this AVA and how has it delivered that potential today?
SH: In some respects, northern Michigan's AVAs [Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula] had the same concept origins as Fennville, except that they were moving more quickly.
In the 1970s, when Michigan was just beginning to think wine grapes, anyone who suggested viticulture north of Allegan County [located in southwest Michigan] would have been considered insane. Bernie Rink [owner of Boskydel Vineyard, Leelanau Peninsula] had the earliest vision of winegrowing potential on the Leelanau Peninsula.
Bernie is a different sort. He had enormous tenacity and he effectively proved that Michigan's southwest was not the only place grapes could be grown commercially. Before this, ideas of where wine grapes could be grown in Michigan came out of Concord grape culture and Concord grapes are a late-ripening variety. Through MSU research, we learned that any number of suitable wine grapes were early ripening.
REH: What are the best grapes for the Leelanau Peninsula AVA? And what characteristics do these grapes illustrate as wines from the AVA?
SH: Leelanau soils are the result of glaciations. They are well drained to excessively well drained, deep, sandy and stony. Michigan is not an irrigated viticulture region like many of the prime New World viticultural sites. Annually, there's 37 to 40 inches of precipitation.
Pinot Noir's major challenge is winter survival and harvest season cluster rot. Over 20 years, I've looked at 17 different clones of Pinot Noir, including Dijon clones 113, 115, 667 and 777. Wines produced from the Dijon clones have been uniformly a cut above others. Yet, the big issue remains the tight clusters. As soon as one berry has botrytis and rainfall occurs, the whole bunch is doomed. If we could solve the Pinot Noir rot problem, this vinifera would bill nicely.
In the 1994 freeze episode, two clones of Pinot Noir were not killed to the snowline - the Jackson Clones from the University of California Davis, UCD-29 and UCD-9.
Cabernet Franc is an important red vinifera for Leelanau, even if it is not marketed as a varietal wine. Bel Lago's Tempesta has Cabernet Franc as its backbone. That indicates to me that it's an economically important variety.
Riesling and Pinot Gris will continue their importance. The move away from over-oaked and the increased bottling of oak-free Chardonnays in Leelanau delights me.
REH: Success of an AVA is often more than just matching the best grapes to the terroir of the region. How does that apply to the wineries in the Leelanau Peninsula?
SH: Today, good leadership among the Leelanau Peninsula wineries and growers has made them buy into two important precepts:
If a winery buys into the second precept, it's simply self interest to help a neighboring winery become better. Winery leaders in the Leelanau Peninsula have been willing to step in and do that. Among them, Larry Mawby [L. Mawby Vineyards] and Don Coe [Black Star Farms] fit in effectively. In his own way -- even though he'd never admit it -- Bernie Rink has played an important leadership role, balancing the effetes with the thought that a good glass of wine is all some people want to drink.
REH: Lake Michigan Shore AVA was approved in 1983. Back then, what did you see as the major advantages of this AVA and how has it delivered that potential today?
SH: Today, Lake Michigan Shore AVA has the largest wine production. The name of this appellation is very valuable in its success. It presents a mindset of people knowledgeable about wine, who understand the maritime influence on grape and wine quality. It has the tourism angle, which is a major plus.
REH: Is there an aspect of the AVA’s terroir behind the success of the region?
SH: If one thinks about Michigan centuries ago, Saginaw Bay actually crossed the entire state. The whole system of the Great Lakes was sufficiently high that lake waters drained out through Chicago into the Mississippi River system. This left southwest Michigan with a soil that was former beach sand. Today these soils have evolved into good grape growing soils.
REH: In July 1987, Old Mission Peninsula AVA was approved. At the beginning, what did you see as the major advantages of this AVA and how has it delivered that potential today?
SH: The pristine beauty of this area can be compared with New Zealand's recognition of such and its marketing of this effectively -- clean, green, bucolic splendor of agriculture and the history of a fruit producing region which turned to wine grapes. Old Mission Peninsula is a wonderful destination in and of itself and the wineries and tourism are operating in a synergistic way. Even though the arms of Grand Traverse Bay tend to freeze in winter, the western shore of Old Mission Peninsula benefits from sun reflecting off water or ice, which causes a huge water moderation of its climate. There's a similar effect in the morning on the eastern shore.
The cool growing conditions of the Old Mission Peninsula allow aromatic varieties like Riesling and Gewürztraminer to retain their aromatics and become hugely fragrant wines. Growing conditions are perfect for the retention of terpene compounds, a recognizable quality in cool climate Riesling.
In the early years, when there was talk about potential grape varieties for Old Mission Peninsula and Leelanau Peninsula, I perceived these areas as perfect for white wines -- Chardonnay, Riesling and sparkling wines. I would have gone on record and sworn on my child’s life that nothing like Bel Lago's Tempesta [a blend of principally Cabernet Franc with other red varieties] would ever be made. But it has happened because of the extraordinary talent of Bel Lago's well-educated, well-trained winemaker/owner Charles Edson. He's taken wines, much like Lego blocks and put them together to make palaces, if you will, of wine quality.
One might say that this is due to better clones and better viticulture. Although these are huge factors, I don't believe that we can ignore the fact that almost a dozen different varieties go into the Tempesta blend. Edson has been able to craft superior blends from red grapes, grown where even I never thought they could grow and ripen.
Early on, I was thinking too narrowly about the potential of both Old Mission Peninsula and Leelanau Peninsula. I was asking: are we going to be able to make Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon? These grapes will continue to be a challenge but I no longer use the word impossible.
On an annual basis, the quality of Michigan's red wines improves perceptibly. I'd have to say that if you haven't tasted any red wines from Michigan in the last five years, you're totally ignorant about what's happening in this area.
REH: Some wineries have exceeded goals in each AVA. Which ones in particular are strides ahead and why are they? Let's start with the Leelanau Peninsula.
SH: Larry Mawby [L. Mawby Vineyards] is at the top of the list. In the early years he experimented and finally settled into a niche that’s perfectly suited to his grapevine culture.
For succeeding at a goal, Bernie Rink [Boskydel] has done precisely what he set out to do -- not making wines exclusively for a high-end market in order to be competitive. Newer wineries such as Shady Lane and Black Star Farms are indicative of the up-and-coming promise. I'm not aware of any winery in Leelanau that's not doing well.
This is an evolving AVA in terms of the suitable varieties for the region. We've barely scratched the surface on those. Just over a decade ago, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc were not on the horizon as successful varieties.
REH: And in Lake Michigan Shore AVA?
SH: In terms of the products they are producing and the way that they have transitioned into the quality-premium wine market, without losing a great deal in terms of volume, St. Julian Winery has made the most progress.
Tabor Hill set the standard for change in the early 1970s and continues. New wineries such as Domaine Berrien Cellars are exciting. The absolutely amazing quality of Wyncroft has grabbed attention and they've produced outstanding wines that garner high prices. This in turn causes attention to be brought to every winery in the Lake Michigan Shore. Contessa Wine Cellars and Karma Vista Vineyards, that won best dessert wine in the 2006 Michigan Wine & Spirits Competition with its Razz M'Tazz, are new stars on the horizon.
Pioneers such as Fenn Valley Vineyards have maintained and improved their position and have provided encouragement for new winery investors. I believe that the Lake Michigan Shore AVA is going to witness a continued expansion in both acreage, tonnage and quality.
REH: And on Old Mission Peninsula AVA?
SH: Pioneer leadership continues from Chateau Grand Traverse and Chateau Chantal. There are tremendously exciting things happening at Peninsula Cellars, including their dry Riesling and un-oaked Chardonnay. Theirs is a history that will continue to get more and more stellar.
Old Mission Peninsula has the potential to lead in quality wine grapes, the way that it did 30 years ago in cherries and apples. These wineries are capable of growing their own grapes, making wine and selling it out the front door. Now, there's an economic benefit taking advantage of home value which doesn't exist in the other processed fruit industry aspects.
REH: Is there need to add another AVA in Michigan?
SH: There is a strong yearning to have the Lake Michigan Shore more clearly defined.
REH: What work still needs to be done by growers and wineries in the next five years to bring Michigan's AVAs to the forefront of the North American wine industry?
SH: I'll do a little advertisement here since I won't be a part of it. I believe that the Michigan wine industry needs to continue to be very supportive of whomever they have at their land-grant institution, MSU, trying to provide answers for them. These answers are particularly important for the varieties to be promoted and planted in coming years. One of these could be the next Pinot Gris or Pinot Blanc, in terms of adaptation for one of Michigan's AVAs.
~ Ray & Eleanor Heald, Michigan Regional Correspondents
To comment on the Healds’ writings and thoughts, contact them at heald@appellationamerica.com
Stan Howell (SH): Quite honestly, I came to Michigan State University (MSU), because they had a job for me. With a wife and young family, I was looking to become gainfully employed after a decade of being in various aspects of higher learning institutions. I knew that MSU had a fantastic reputation as an agricultural-based university and that their horticultural department was held in high esteem across the U.S.
Back in 1969, grapes were only a small portion of my responsibility. I had a 50/50 research and extension outreach responsibility to cover three of the top five fruit crops produced in Michigan -- grapes, blueberries and strawberries.
I took an active attitude about extension and outreach, believing that until we had some answers to some important questions about those three fruit crops, I was not much more than a show horse that could be brought to meetings. It was cynical, in my opinion, to reach out with an empty hand and nothing to share. To be useful, it was critical that I develop a program of practical and applied research.
My goal was to learn whether I could be effective and gain respect in an institution that was noted for its national and international reputation. I wanted to know if I could compete with people who I knew were the best and brightest in my world of horticulture.
REH: In the early years, your work with grapes was focused on Concord varieties. How did wine grapes come into the picture?
SH: The first big activities were associated primarily with National Grape Cooperative and Welch's Foods. That was crucial and it had a huge impact on the direction that my program took because they provided me with some operating money and staff to help in the field.
Their support prompted my interest in learning how grapevines do what they do. Grapes are not simply an economic commodity but involve science and ecology. Across the continents, their evolution from the wild is amazing. With this realization, I've avoided the mistake of saying that I want the grapevine to do this because it would be convenient for me, even if the grapevine's job description doesn't call for it to do that. I've saved a lot of time by not trying to drive square pegs into round holes.
Wine grapes came into the picture at a chance meeting [before Michigan's AVAs were on the drawing board] with Angelo Spinazzi [then of Bronte Winery & Champagne Company.]
He asked me, "Why is it that at MSU, a land grant institution, wineries can't get some help for wine grapes?" I said that I didn't know but would look into it. That's when MSU's horticulture department began to do variety assessments.
REH: What are the best grapes for Michigan?
SH: I am not a purist. I believe that Michigan's future is mixed viticulture. I don't believe that it's 100% hybrid or 100% Vitis vinifera. On that point, the year 1994 made me a believer. In the third week of January that year in southwest Michigan, there were two freeze episodes that were colder than -20°F. At the southwest Michigan research center, nearly every vinifera vine was killed to the snow line. If southwest Michigan had been a 100% vinifera industry, there would have been operations going out of business and there would have been growers who said, "I'm done. I won't have any part of this."
Everywhere in the world that I've traveled and done research, there are wines of two types: those on which the region makes its reputation and wines which pay the bills. These do not need to be the same wines.
It's crucial that Michigan grow vinifera if the state's industry is to be taken seriously as a fine wine producing area -- for state, region and appellation. But there must be cash flow wines that fill tanks for those episodes that may cause economic loss.
That's a non-purist point of view but it's a very practical one for Michigan's wine industry. A winemaker from New Mexico once referred to Vidal Blanc as "chateau cash flow." That's the way Michigan needs to view resistant varieties.
REH:Your early work with Michigan vineyards preceded the establishment of Michigan's AVAs. Fennville was the first in 1981. Back then, what did you see as the major advantages of this AVA and how has it delivered that potential today?
SH: I talked with the Welsch family, owners of Fenn Valley Vineyards in the Fennville AVA. Their view was that they wanted to separate their location and winery from the Michigan wine industry, which was negative at that time.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, I knew that the Michigan wine industry had turned a huge corner when the wine writers in the Detroit metro area began to say nice things about Michigan wines instead of just laughing up their sleeve about it.
Today though, Fennville stands undeveloped as an AVA because Lake Michigan Shore has more marketing potential, especially from the standpoint of tourism.
REH: Marketing potential aside, what are the best grapes for the Fennville AVA? And what characteristics do these grapes illustrate as wines from the AVA?
SH: In the Fennville AVA, there should be both resistant varieties and vinifera. Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris are the best white vinifera and Cabernet Franc, the best red. Because Fennville is cooler and closer to Lake Michigan, there will be issues in some vintages for both Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, in terms of ripening to eliminate green, bell pepper characteristics. Clone evaluations and cultural methods over the next several years will help to solve ripeness issues. There are also cellar manipulations that reduce green characters due to 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine [the bell pepper compound].
Chambourcin is an excellent resistant variety for Fennville. Chancellor would be much higher on the list but it's the poster grape for downy mildew. Vidal Blanc is a mainstay and Chardonnel is a white resistant variety that has a lot of promise.
REH: Leelanau Peninsula was the second of Michigan's AVAs, established in April 1982. Back then, what did you see as the major advantages of this AVA and how has it delivered that potential today?
SH: In some respects, northern Michigan's AVAs [Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula] had the same concept origins as Fennville, except that they were moving more quickly.
In the 1970s, when Michigan was just beginning to think wine grapes, anyone who suggested viticulture north of Allegan County [located in southwest Michigan] would have been considered insane. Bernie Rink [owner of Boskydel Vineyard, Leelanau Peninsula] had the earliest vision of winegrowing potential on the Leelanau Peninsula.
Bernie is a different sort. He had enormous tenacity and he effectively proved that Michigan's southwest was not the only place grapes could be grown commercially. Before this, ideas of where wine grapes could be grown in Michigan came out of Concord grape culture and Concord grapes are a late-ripening variety. Through MSU research, we learned that any number of suitable wine grapes were early ripening.
REH: What are the best grapes for the Leelanau Peninsula AVA? And what characteristics do these grapes illustrate as wines from the AVA?
SH: Leelanau soils are the result of glaciations. They are well drained to excessively well drained, deep, sandy and stony. Michigan is not an irrigated viticulture region like many of the prime New World viticultural sites. Annually, there's 37 to 40 inches of precipitation.
Pinot Noir's major challenge is winter survival and harvest season cluster rot. Over 20 years, I've looked at 17 different clones of Pinot Noir, including Dijon clones 113, 115, 667 and 777. Wines produced from the Dijon clones have been uniformly a cut above others. Yet, the big issue remains the tight clusters. As soon as one berry has botrytis and rainfall occurs, the whole bunch is doomed. If we could solve the Pinot Noir rot problem, this vinifera would bill nicely.
In the 1994 freeze episode, two clones of Pinot Noir were not killed to the snowline - the Jackson Clones from the University of California Davis, UCD-29 and UCD-9.
Cabernet Franc is an important red vinifera for Leelanau, even if it is not marketed as a varietal wine. Bel Lago's Tempesta has Cabernet Franc as its backbone. That indicates to me that it's an economically important variety.
Riesling and Pinot Gris will continue their importance. The move away from over-oaked and the increased bottling of oak-free Chardonnays in Leelanau delights me.
REH: Success of an AVA is often more than just matching the best grapes to the terroir of the region. How does that apply to the wineries in the Leelanau Peninsula?
SH: Today, good leadership among the Leelanau Peninsula wineries and growers has made them buy into two important precepts:
- (1) They are not each other’s competition. Their competition is from without.
(2) The winery in the area that's making the poorest wine has a negative influence on each winery in the area.
If a winery buys into the second precept, it's simply self interest to help a neighboring winery become better. Winery leaders in the Leelanau Peninsula have been willing to step in and do that. Among them, Larry Mawby [L. Mawby Vineyards] and Don Coe [Black Star Farms] fit in effectively. In his own way -- even though he'd never admit it -- Bernie Rink has played an important leadership role, balancing the effetes with the thought that a good glass of wine is all some people want to drink. REH: Lake Michigan Shore AVA was approved in 1983. Back then, what did you see as the major advantages of this AVA and how has it delivered that potential today?
SH: Today, Lake Michigan Shore AVA has the largest wine production. The name of this appellation is very valuable in its success. It presents a mindset of people knowledgeable about wine, who understand the maritime influence on grape and wine quality. It has the tourism angle, which is a major plus.
REH: Is there an aspect of the AVA’s terroir behind the success of the region?
SH: If one thinks about Michigan centuries ago, Saginaw Bay actually crossed the entire state. The whole system of the Great Lakes was sufficiently high that lake waters drained out through Chicago into the Mississippi River system. This left southwest Michigan with a soil that was former beach sand. Today these soils have evolved into good grape growing soils.
REH: In July 1987, Old Mission Peninsula AVA was approved. At the beginning, what did you see as the major advantages of this AVA and how has it delivered that potential today?
SH: The pristine beauty of this area can be compared with New Zealand's recognition of such and its marketing of this effectively -- clean, green, bucolic splendor of agriculture and the history of a fruit producing region which turned to wine grapes. Old Mission Peninsula is a wonderful destination in and of itself and the wineries and tourism are operating in a synergistic way. Even though the arms of Grand Traverse Bay tend to freeze in winter, the western shore of Old Mission Peninsula benefits from sun reflecting off water or ice, which causes a huge water moderation of its climate. There's a similar effect in the morning on the eastern shore.
The cool growing conditions of the Old Mission Peninsula allow aromatic varieties like Riesling and Gewürztraminer to retain their aromatics and become hugely fragrant wines. Growing conditions are perfect for the retention of terpene compounds, a recognizable quality in cool climate Riesling.
In the early years, when there was talk about potential grape varieties for Old Mission Peninsula and Leelanau Peninsula, I perceived these areas as perfect for white wines -- Chardonnay, Riesling and sparkling wines. I would have gone on record and sworn on my child’s life that nothing like Bel Lago's Tempesta [a blend of principally Cabernet Franc with other red varieties] would ever be made. But it has happened because of the extraordinary talent of Bel Lago's well-educated, well-trained winemaker/owner Charles Edson. He's taken wines, much like Lego blocks and put them together to make palaces, if you will, of wine quality.
One might say that this is due to better clones and better viticulture. Although these are huge factors, I don't believe that we can ignore the fact that almost a dozen different varieties go into the Tempesta blend. Edson has been able to craft superior blends from red grapes, grown where even I never thought they could grow and ripen.
Early on, I was thinking too narrowly about the potential of both Old Mission Peninsula and Leelanau Peninsula. I was asking: are we going to be able to make Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon? These grapes will continue to be a challenge but I no longer use the word impossible.
On an annual basis, the quality of Michigan's red wines improves perceptibly. I'd have to say that if you haven't tasted any red wines from Michigan in the last five years, you're totally ignorant about what's happening in this area.
REH: Some wineries have exceeded goals in each AVA. Which ones in particular are strides ahead and why are they? Let's start with the Leelanau Peninsula.
SH: Larry Mawby [L. Mawby Vineyards] is at the top of the list. In the early years he experimented and finally settled into a niche that’s perfectly suited to his grapevine culture.
For succeeding at a goal, Bernie Rink [Boskydel] has done precisely what he set out to do -- not making wines exclusively for a high-end market in order to be competitive. Newer wineries such as Shady Lane and Black Star Farms are indicative of the up-and-coming promise. I'm not aware of any winery in Leelanau that's not doing well.
This is an evolving AVA in terms of the suitable varieties for the region. We've barely scratched the surface on those. Just over a decade ago, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc were not on the horizon as successful varieties.
REH: And in Lake Michigan Shore AVA?
SH: In terms of the products they are producing and the way that they have transitioned into the quality-premium wine market, without losing a great deal in terms of volume, St. Julian Winery has made the most progress.
Tabor Hill set the standard for change in the early 1970s and continues. New wineries such as Domaine Berrien Cellars are exciting. The absolutely amazing quality of Wyncroft has grabbed attention and they've produced outstanding wines that garner high prices. This in turn causes attention to be brought to every winery in the Lake Michigan Shore. Contessa Wine Cellars and Karma Vista Vineyards, that won best dessert wine in the 2006 Michigan Wine & Spirits Competition with its Razz M'Tazz, are new stars on the horizon.
Pioneers such as Fenn Valley Vineyards have maintained and improved their position and have provided encouragement for new winery investors. I believe that the Lake Michigan Shore AVA is going to witness a continued expansion in both acreage, tonnage and quality.
REH: And on Old Mission Peninsula AVA?
SH: Pioneer leadership continues from Chateau Grand Traverse and Chateau Chantal. There are tremendously exciting things happening at Peninsula Cellars, including their dry Riesling and un-oaked Chardonnay. Theirs is a history that will continue to get more and more stellar.
Old Mission Peninsula has the potential to lead in quality wine grapes, the way that it did 30 years ago in cherries and apples. These wineries are capable of growing their own grapes, making wine and selling it out the front door. Now, there's an economic benefit taking advantage of home value which doesn't exist in the other processed fruit industry aspects.
REH: Is there need to add another AVA in Michigan?
SH: There is a strong yearning to have the Lake Michigan Shore more clearly defined.
REH: What work still needs to be done by growers and wineries in the next five years to bring Michigan's AVAs to the forefront of the North American wine industry?
SH: I'll do a little advertisement here since I won't be a part of it. I believe that the Michigan wine industry needs to continue to be very supportive of whomever they have at their land-grant institution, MSU, trying to provide answers for them. These answers are particularly important for the varieties to be promoted and planted in coming years. One of these could be the next Pinot Gris or Pinot Blanc, in terms of adaptation for one of Michigan's AVAs.
~ Ray & Eleanor Heald, Michigan Regional Correspondents
To comment on the Healds’ writings and thoughts, contact them at heald@appellationamerica.com
