Come "wine" with us the exclusive launch party for the Mary in the Morning Wine Club, this Thursday April 22) at the Mercato at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons. The party runs from 5:00-8:00 pm and you'll enjoy:

• Free hors d'oevures from silvertree deli
• Wine samples from LPVA wineries
• Specials from the Mercado merchants
• Big gift giveaways
• Live music
• Odawa Casino prize wheel
• Last night to join the "Mary in the Morning Wine Club" for only $15.00!

5 wine club memberships will be given away, along with special gifts from the mercado merchants. register early for an extra chance to win online at www.1067you-fm.com. When you join the wine club, you'll get a VIP membership card that you take to local tasting rooms to redeem for free high-end gifts, VIP tastings, treats, and purchase discounts. The card is valid at participating LPVA wineries until 12/31/10. Members will also receive a special wine bottle stopper/pourer and wine bottle marker. Members will enjoy the following:

Mary in the Morning Wine Club Exclusive Offers!

Bel Lago Vineyard & Winery – complimentary, private, personalized cellar tour and a free "Wine Skin".

Black Star Farms – Receive a $5 coupon for any wine or gift merchandise purchase over $50, redeemable on wine and gift merchandise. Offer cannot be combined with any other discounts or promotions and it excludes Leelanau Cheese and Black Star Farms spirits. Coupons are valid for one month after the original purchase date.

Chateau Fontaine – 10% off six bottles or more; 15% off a case.

Cherry Republic Winery – 20% off a half-case of "mix and match" wine.

Ciccone Vineyard & Winery – complimentary wine tasting for you and three friends, plus 15% off any same-day purchase.

Forty-Five North Vineyard & Winery – Choose one free gift with your $25.00 purchase: A complimentary 45 North 12 oz Titanium Crystal Wine Glass; a 45 North Silk Screened T-shirt; or a 45 North 6-Wine Bottle Carry Case.

Gill's Pier Vineyard & Winery – "Star Treatment Package" with five free wine samples, "Wine Trail Snack Mix"; and a signature etched wine goblet. Plus, free future tastings upon presentation of wine goblet and membership card.

Good Harbor Vineyards – 15% off six bottles.

Good Neighbor Organic Vineyard & Winery – Purchase two bottles of wine and receive free organic lavendar; 20% off any half-case purchase.

L. Mawby – Purchase any six bottles of wine and receive a free flute.
Leelanau Wine Cellars – Receive two free special glasses with any wine purchase.

Longview Vineyard & Winery – A complimentary sample of ice wine and cherry port, plus a truffle.

Shady Lane Cellars – A free Shady Lane Cellars tasting glass and a Charles Layton Dark Chocolate Truffle.

Silver Leaf Vineyard & Winery – 20% off any case; receive a free "Wine Skin" with purchase of six bottles.

Tandem Ciders – 10% off ALL purchases.

Willow Vineyard – Buy two 750ML bottles, receive a free Willow glass.

1. Traverse City, MI

Known as the Cherry Capital of the World, the Lake Michigan resort town of Traverse City does a pretty good job with other foods, too. With plenty of award-winning restaurants, wineries, farmers markets and dairies, Traverse City has been called “a new foodie haven” by The Huffington Post, and Midwest Living magazine recently named it second on its list of the region's “best food towns.” At the heart of the accolades is an emphasis on the farm-to-table philosophy. At Trattoria Stella, where chef Myles Anton was nominated for a 2010 James Beard Foundation award, the menu of Italian fare takes care to note ingredients from local farms and dairies. For wine lovers, the city's Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula wine regions lie along the 45th parallel— the same latitude that gives the Bordeaux region of France its famous reputation. Get started with a self-guided foodie tour.

We offer congratulations to Myles but feel compelled to point out the two more Beard Award nominees from the Leelanau Peninsula: Randy Chamberlain at Blu in Glen Arbor and Guillaume Hazaël-Massieux of La Bécasse near Maple City!!

Monday, April 26 1-4:30 pm TC Opera House

1-2pm “State of the State” of Michigan Wine we will host some wine and industry experts to give an overview of the Michigan wine growth and the positive impact we have on the state and our region. From agricultural impact, to quality of life, and economic impact our industry is growing! We will tell our story and take time to answer questions about the industry. Any one is welcome but the presentation will especially interest restaurant owners & managers, store owners & managers, media, significant tourism & community leaders, wineries and other VIPs.

2-4:30pm Wine Trade Show (General Admittance Ticket needed, free to our neighbors in the service industry: hospitality, front desk, restaurant owners, managers, waitstaff, store owners, managers, clerks, media, tourism, community leaders, etc. Call for more information or tickets 231-223-4110 x11 Liz) Door prizes, fun, games, trivia….

WHAT TO DO: Invite your staff & co-workers to the afternoon trade session! We have included just 4 tickets, but if you need more we will have more available at the door or via email. The event is free to anyone in the local service or tourism industry.

5:30-7:30pm Public Wine Tasting the public will be invited to a wine tasting for $7/person. Cheeses, breads, crackers, and fruits will accompany the featured wines. An abbreviated “State of the State” will be offered at 6:30pm. A fun atmosphere will feature games, trivia, door prizes, and small silent auction to benefit the Michigan Wine Foundation. Many local restaurants will offer special discounts on Monday evening to patrons with a NoMiWi ticket

WHAT TO DO: If you are associated with have a restaurant or store we can feature you on our “Friends of Michigan Wine” list. This list we be given to everyone purchasing a ticket for the evening wine tasting. Offer a coupon or special to be redeemed on the day of the summit. Let us know if you would like to be featured and what you would like to offer!

Taber's purpose in writing this book may be best described by Francis Ford Coppola, the film director and owner of Napa Valley winery Rubicon Estate.

"It's like meeting a politician and shaking his hand," Coppola says. "You always feel later that you have a personal relationship with him. If you've been to a winery and walked through the vineyard, you feel it's yours and you order its wines."

Read some of Taber's writings at travel4wine.com (click through and let him know that Leelanau is a wine touring destination as well!) and at his web site and definitely consider an off-season visit to our wineries and tasting rooms. There's great lodging deals at area B&Bs and lodging establishments and Leelanau shops and specialty food & wine stores offer great holiday shopping!

I always like Riesling with turkey, although with poultry Chardonnay would be beautiful. You have a lot of versatility and a lot of possibility with turkey. You could use a white wine or an aromatic wine. Those tend to go well with turkey, too.

Click through to read the rest and you might also want to try this recipe for roasting your turkey with white wine & rosemary.

Photo: Ciccone by Kiran Bhat

*Wikipedia's Sommelier entry explains that a sommelier is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional who specializes in all aspects of wine service. Since the Master Sommelier Diploma was introduced in 1969, 171 people from around the world had become Master Sommeliers by 2009. Of these there were 74 active Master Sommeliers in the Americas.

Claudia is one of three in the state of Michigan, and her observations can be found at twitter.com/Winegenie.

Participating Chocolatiers

• Charles Layton Chocolates
• The Chocolate Den
• Chocolate Exotica
• Forest Confections
• Grocer's Daughter Chocolate
• Jacques Torres Chocolate
• Kilwin's Traverse City

Compatible Tastes (Coffee, Tea & Wine)

• Higher Grounds Trading Company
• Great Northern Roasting Company
• Great Lakes Tea and Spice
• Light of Day Organics
• Serenity Tea Bar and Café
• Bel Lago
• Black Star Farms
• Chateau Chantal
• Ciccone Vineyard & Winery
• Forty-Five North Vineyard and Winery
• Good Neighbor Organic Winery
• Leelanau Cellars
• Shady Lane Cellars
• Grand Traverse Distillery

Entertainment

• The Turtlenecks (Norm Wheeler and Mike Sullivan)
• Dane Pedersen – guitar
• Linda Davis – piano
• The Alderman Ensemble

The state's 56 wineries — six opened in the past year — are spread across Michigan along four wine trails, but most of the best grapes are grown near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and its bays. Top wineries are positioning themselves as small but key players in the Riesling renaissance that is taking hold across the country, and nearly 1 million visitors will arrive this year to sample the offerings. The most popular wine region, because of its prime setting along Lake Michigan, is the Leelanau Peninsula, home to about 20 wineries, 16 of which have public tasting rooms.

Read the rest of Riesling rising, and more, in Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan from USA Today.

The photo is Willow Vineyard VI by Cotopaxi Sprattmoran (whose photography was also used for the article). Check out her whole August at the Wineries of the LPVA set to see the amazing beauty of our wineries and vineyards!

One of the neatest things about this event is that it's a "zero-waste" event. Organizers Tim & Kathy Young set a goal to have all the waste generated from the event to be either reusable, recyclable or compostable. It's been such a sucess that 800 attendees last year generated less than one ounce of waste!

Another great bonus is that the amazingly talented Seth Bernard & Daisy May Erlewine will be performing. Get all the details by calling 231-326-5444 or visiting foodforthought.net.

There are so many things to do and see in the area and we hope the guide will help you plan your visit to Leelanau!

The photo is Window Shopping by KT of Lake Orion. KT is one of the photographers with photos in our Leelanau Wine group on the photo sharing site Flickr has a cool photo in the brochure – please feel welcome to add your own photos of Leelanau wineries & wine touring
to the group!

Drop by and find the way to your Valentine's heart.