We just returned from our annual summer pilgrimage from Chicago to the beautiful Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsula wine trails. I was really excited for our trip this year, as it seems the rest of the world is starting to see what native Michiganders have always known - Michigan is heaven, for aesthetes and now for foodies, too! I did my research before this trip and found that The Huffington Post ran a piece earlier in the summer entitled, "Traverse City, Michigan is a New Foodie Haven." I also found a printable self-guided foodie tour on the Traverse City area before our departure. Find both pieces below!
We always stay at the Inn at Chateau Grand Traverse. It is convenient and an excellent value. The inn provides a bottle of wine of your choice from their vineyard every evening. We like the 2006 Gamay Noir Reserve and opted for this each evening. The downside is that there is no food service on the premises, like there is at some of the other vineyard bed & breakfasts - Chateau Chantal and Blackstar Farms. They do, however, provide a fully stocked kitchen for self-service breakfast and beautiful views of the vineyard and the West Bay.
We started off the first day of our trip with a stop at Peninsula Cellars on Old Mission Peninsula. This particular vineyard has always been a favorite of mine, but there was nothing particularly impressive about the wine list for me this year. They did have a great value on 2006 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay sale (2 for $20), so we bought one of each. Our next stop was our absolute favorite Michigan vineyard- Brys Estate. They offer the most knowledgable staff and the best wine. This was an exciting stop, as we learned that they were offering a 2007 Artisan Series of wines for sale and tasting. The artisan
wines are unique in that they are unfiltered in the modern sense - using only gravity to filter out sediment. They were truly amazing wines (Chardonnay, Cab Franc, Merlot and Pinto Noir) and the guy who helped us with our tasting was kind enough to let us taste all of the regular non-artisan comparable varietals in tandem. Though all of Brys Estate wines are great, the comparison really made these artisan wines stand out. We picked up a bottle of regular 2007 Cab Franc and an 2007 Artisan Merlot. I would have purchased every single one of the Artisan wines, if I had a budget for them all. They were so exceptional, I can honestly say I have never tasted anything like them.
We stopped for lunch at the Peninsula Grill. We had a crab cake sandwich (very good) and a lobster slider (very ehh), along with a Shorts Brewery (Bellaire, MI) and a Right Brain Brewery (Traverse City) draft. Had I only known that Jolly Pumpkin Brewery now has an outpost of their original Dexter, MI location right on the Peninsula, we would have been there for lunch in a heartbeat, but that was info to be enjoyed for another day.We made a stop at Bowers Harbor Vineyard, which seems consistently good year-after-year, and Chateau Chantal, which is at least consistently picturesque, before dinner at The Bowers Harbor Inn. We also stopped in to see the beautiful, modern tasting room at 2Lads Winery. They only had 3 wines this year (they had just sold out of the rose), but they are a very new vineyard and the views from the tasting room more than make up for the short wine list.
We eat at The Bowers Harbor Inn each year. I have been eating there since I was a kid and came up to visit with my family, so it is just a classic choice. I heard that when the Inn came under new ownership in 2006, the owners tried to amp up the menu. This may be the case, but since we always opt for the ever popular Whitefish Dip appetizer and Fish-in-a-bag entree that have been on the menu forever, it is hard to tell.
This year, we had a lambchop entree recommended by the waiter, in addition to our two standbys, and that was very good. In fact, it was probably better than the fish-in-a-bag this time. One day I will write to Bon Appetit and ask them to print the secret to that Whitefish Dip, since it is just the perfect appetizer....and then I will share it with everyone I know (keep your ears covered Bowers Harbor Proprietors).In fact, the most interesting part of dinner that first evening was when we found out that the old casual restaurant affiliated with The Bowers Harbor Inn that had been called the Bowery has been changed to a Jolly Pumpkin Brewery outpost!
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