What a weekend in Lake Michigan Shore Wine Country!

MichiganByTheBottle.com | October 6, 2010

Our Lake Michigan Shore adventure started, like all good Casey trips, with me running woefully behind schedule. After a three-and-a-half-hour drive, and plenty of wrong turns, we arrived at Worthenbury Country House in Baroda (a Michigan By The Bottle sponsor!) for a whirlwind weekend of wine tasting, face stuffing and general relaxation ... plus MBTB work, of course!

The quaint-looking farmhouse, flanked by a red barn, is surprisingly large inside. The first floor consists of a small kitchen and bathroom; a dining room; a spacious living room with a fireplace, TV and multiple pull-out chairs and couches; and two bedrooms decorated with old-fashioned quilts and floral accents. A staircase leads to an upstairs suite, with another bedroom, a large bathroom and a small living room with a futon. Based on our math, Worthenbury could comfortably sleep a dozen people, at least. The place is well-stocked with everything from linens, dishes and spices to complementary sparkling juice and homemade snickerdoodle cookies. The picturesque, tree-lined property is situated beside vineyards leading to nearby Round Barn Winery; outside, there are front and back porches and a hot tub (which we didn't get a chance to use, unfortunately).

Though we were tempted to linger and explore Worthenbury, we dropped off our bags and immediately headed out to start our series of winery visits. We started with Free Run Cellars, the venture headed up by brothers Matt and Chris Moersch, whose family also owns Round Barn.

We caught the sunny, comfortable tasting room in a rare moment of peace; staffers were setting up auxiliary tables and pour jars to prepare for the flood of customers anticipated later. We grabbed Chris and headed out to the vineyards to do some interviews for an upcoming video feature, then went back inside to taste through the menu. We were especially enthused about Free Run's zinfandel, a rare find in Michigan (though in the interest of full disclosure, the grapes are brought in from the West Coast). I also adored Indulgence, a sweet white palate-pleaser. How could I resist a wine described as bearing similarities to peach cobbler?

We left with: Mezzo (a Riesling/Traminette blend), Cabernet Franc (the award-winning '08 vintage), Pinot Gris

Next stop was Domaine Berrien; as we'd already done a video feature on them, it was merely a social - and stock-up - call. We chatted with Katie Maurer, who owns the winery with winemaker husband Wally, and with tasting room employee Carl Steffins as we sampled a few new additions to the menu since our last visit (and some old favorites).

We left with: Crown of Cab, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Vignoles, Cabernet Sauvignon

Time for another lengthy drive, this time to Fennville to visit Fenn Valley for the first time. We'd heard nothing but positive buzz about the long-time operation run by Doug Welsch, and we weren't disappointed. Doug stepped out by the grapevines to discuss his philosophies about the wine business, which include making Fenn Valley a destination with cooking classes, vineyard tours, winemaker dinners and more. We marveled over his extensive tasting menu and predictably fawned over what we knew, from the 2009 and 2010 Michigan Wine & Spirits Competition, to be a favorite: the 42 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, a two-time gold medal winner that retails for a mind-blowing $15 a bottle. Heaven in a glass! I also was especially delighted by the Select Harvest Vignoles; it had a distinctive taste that I'm at a loss to describe, which Doug said came from allowing the grapes to rot on the vine, letting them linger long after others may have balked and plucked them.

We left with: 42 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine (six bottles!), Select Harvest Vignoles, Meritage, Dry Riesling

Our whirlwind winery tours done for the day, we headed over a few blocks to meet our friend Dianna Stampfler of Promote Michigan at Salt of the Earth, a highly touted local eatery she recommended. Again, no disappointment here: We gorged ourselves on appetizers first, with farmers' greens salad (adorned with garlicky croutons the size of jewelry store ring boxes) served family-style; thick chunks of pork belly; and aged cheddar pierogies topped with sour cream and chives. Next up was the entrée: a grass-fed beef burger for me, with a giant slice of tomato, lettuce, aged cheddar and an egg roll that made it impossible for me to fit it in my mouth without making a mess. After I'd finished, I felt like I'd smashed the entire thing in my face, but it was worth it. Dianna ordered one of the evening's specials, scallops atop slabs of deep maroon beets, while Shannon had the ribeye, served alongside a trio of sauces and rock salt, served in tiny, square containers.

What's a gluttonous meal without dessert? Dianna and I each ordered the wood-fire s'more, expecting a tiny, artfully arranged gourmet treat. Instead, we received an enormous slab of graham cake, topped with an oozing, house-made toasted marshmallow with the dimensions of a paperback novel; the concoction was surrounded by a swirl of chocolate pudding and a small pile of brown sugar. Chocolate chips studded the cake's center. Unexpected, but delicious!

Stuffed and sleepy, we rolled out of Fennville in a caravan with designs on heading back to bed at Worthenbury, but ended up taking a detour to Port 412 in St. Joseph to have a drink with Kenny Petersen of Tabor Hill Winery.

Saturday morning, we headed out just before 11 a.m. to hit Lemon Creek Winery. Nine minutes after they'd opened, the place was already slammed, with nary an inch of unoccupied space at the tasting bar. We snagged Kaitlyn Lemon, whose parents, Jeff and Cathy, own the winery, for an outdoor interview, as people continued to pour into the parking lot. Their tasting menu was massive, and we found ourselves sharing between glasses in a vain attempt to try it all. Our interest was particularly piqued by the appearance of a sauternes, Silver Beach Sauternes, that Kaitlyn identified as their best seller.

We left with: Demi-Sec Spumante, Meritage, Cabernet Sauvignon

Lunchtime! Based on Kenny's recommendation, we stopped off at the Wheatberry Tavern in Baroda, and weren't disappointed. Dianna ordered the tomato bisque soup and crabcake platter; Shannon had pulled pork, served with garlic fries and a side of ultra-cheesy macaroni and cheese. I had a blackened shrimp salad with cilantro ranch, pico de gallo and avocado. Yum...

Next up: Hickory Creek. Owner/winemaker Mike DeSchaaf enthusiastically poked and prodded at vats in the back to show us chardonnay and pinot noir in various stages of development. We watched as workers heaved grapes into a destemmer and, at Mike's urging, sampled just-plucked sauvignon blanc grapes. Inside, the tasting room was packed with passengers streaming off incoming tour buses as we tasted through Mike's offerings, which, for the most part, remain firmly on the dry side. Though Mike said he's trending toward unoaked chardonnay, I immediately latched onto a mildly oaked 2007 vintage with hints of banana that I declared delicious.

We left with: Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Melange

Time for another drive back to downtown St. Joseph, where we stopped into Dave Miller's White Pine Winery. The tasting room just opened Sept. 11; nestled amid cafés and retail shops on a main drag, it's the first of its kind in the town, Dave said. Inside, the tasting room sports a clean, minimalist look, with exposed red brick walls and its original tin ceiling. Dave recently left his position as head winemaker at St. Julian (an amicable parting, he said) to fulfill his dream of striking out on his own, and you can tell being his own boss agrees with him!

We left with: Serendipity, Riesling

As you can tell, we like to eat and drink, and we knew from experience that we couldn't go wrong with dinner at Tabor Hill Winery and Restaurant. We shared salmon flatbread - topped with capers, cream cheese and a tiny bit of caviar - and Rosa's guacamole, served up with pico de gallo in tortilla chip bowls, for appetizers. Dianna and Shannon ordered the lobster and shrimp bisque, which came in an elegant flying saucer-like bowl with a floating crostini; I had the house salad. Dinner for me was the bison taco; it was delectable, with strips of the meat in a corn tortilla with pico, guacamole, black beans, cheese and sour cream alongside a bed of lightly dressed lettuce. Dianna had the filet mignon, which generated much chatter at our table about its presentation: The surprisingly large slab of meat was set atop a giant breaded onion "bell" (basically, an enormous onion ring) with green beans protruding from the sides. Shannon ordered the scallops, which came in a tomato-based sauce.

Dessert? Of course! Well, for the girls, at least. Shannon settled for a mere bite of my brownie cheesecake, which I lorded over possessively. It's exactly like it sounds: brownie on cheesecake, on a chocolate-drizzled plate. Dianna opted for the swiss chocolate gelato.

Afterward, we drank Free Run and Tabor Hill wine back at Worthenbury with - who else? - Free Run winemaker/co-owner Matt Moersch and Kenny, Tabor Hill's assistant general manager.

Sunday, no time for wine, though we squeezed in some gourmet food: Dianna's homemade eggs benedict. Then it was time to head home to the real world ... a definite bummer!

Many thanks go out to: Dianna Stampfler of Promote Michigan, Steve Sailsbury of Worthenbury Country House, Chris and Matt Moersch of Free Run Cellars and Round Barn Winery, Kenny Petersen of Tabor Hill, Mike DeSchaaf of Hickory Creek, Doug Welsch of Fenn Valley, Dave and Sandy Miller of White Pine Winery, and Kaitlyn Lemon of Lemon Creek Winery.

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