LISA & BOB:
Michigan and Niagara Winery Travelogue
Saturday, June 5
We woke and were treated to a delicious breakfast of eggs, and a flicker hung out on the ground searching for bugs. Their house is arranged in a ring with 8 other houses around a huge 100 acre central pasture area, where the various peoples' horses and sheep and such hang out. We admired this for a while, with their rabbits that act as lawn ornaments, and swallows and various other 'typical' birds (robins, chickadees, etc.) It was time to explore.
My first thought was, of course, wine. They'd looked for the Sharon Mills Winery unsuccessfully, but we decided to try again. We printed the map off the web page and, with a few false turns, we found it! It's in the Sharon Mills building on the River Raisin. This was build in 1835 as a grist mill. Sadly, it's for sale, although the owners still intend to make wine. We stood, amazed, outside looking at the neat hydro-power generator that is visible through some windows, then went in.
The inside is gorgeous as well - stain glassed windows, lots of wood. They were sold out of most of their wines, so we tried the three they had left.
First was a 1997 Chardonnay, which was fresh, bright, and fruity. A slight hint of pears. It did have a slightly harsh aftertaste, which would mellow out beautifully with another year or two of aging. These grapes as well as all others used here are grown in Northern Michigan.
Next was the Semi-dry riesling. This was smoother and lighter, and had a fruitier taste. It has a gorgeous finish to it. Very nice.
Finally, the Winter Spice, made with cherry, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and more. It has a quite full fruity flavor, with the cherry and spice prominant, of course. It can be served both cool in summer, or microwaved in the winter.
One of their sold-out wines is their Champagne - they shortly will have their 1989 vintage of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir ready for the "Millennium Release". As this has been aging for 10 years, I am vastly interested in seeing what that tastes like.
We continued on into Ann Arbor itself, looking for the Butterfly Garden. Along the way we passed low, hilly areas created by gravel deposits, and stone and brick houses. We saw woodchucks, blue jays and robins. The city is gorgeous, with lots of little sections, and open-air cafes that reminded me of a section of St Louis. Irish Pubs were alongside the "One-Eyed Moose" and Mongolian BBQ. A deer hung out in one suburban area. We found the river and eventually found the park the garden was in. Out we went.
A very pretty path over several islands lead around the river, and we first found a pair of Canadian Geese with around 12 goslings. Further on we found a pair with 24! We figure they must have been babysitting for the other parents involved. Young red-winged blackbirds called, and barn swallows swooped under the bridges. Further on we found a swan pair with 4 babies lined up between them, and a cute pile of 4 baby mallards sleeping under a plant. Near the butterfly gardens we even saw a mother Killdeer with her two babies bopping around! Twas the season for tiny birds.
After that walk, we headed out for dinner at an all-you-can-eat Country Buffet. Good, filling food. Then a brief bit of shopping for thimbles-shotglasses-and-magnets, and back home again. Here we tried the St Julien Winery Sweet Reserve Germanic-Style Seyval. They're locatedin Paw-Paw, Michigan. This is semi-sweet, with a hint of tangerine, or maybe even orange-juicey flavor to it. It has a nose of apple. Very flavorful, with residual sugar of 4%. A good end to the evening.
Michigan & Niagara Winery Travelogue
Lisa's Travelogue Pages