2013 Best of Class Wines
Recently I was invited to attend the Gold Medal Reception for Michigan Wines. Being awarded this is a big deal in our state (Michigan wines are winning awards outside our state too! See this article about wine-making on the Leelanau Pennisula) so to be one of the elite in your home state is a honor. It was held at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing. The actual ceremony took place outside in the pavilion, a beautiful sunny day with a refreshing cool breeze calmed the crowd of some of the best winemakers and wine industry members in the state. I made sure to say hello to some familiar faces from Chateau Fontaine and Black Star Farms (Both award winners this year). My wife Jessi and I enjoyed the quiet conversation with our fellow wine lovers as we waited for the ceremony to begin. The rest of the ceremony went quiet quickly and smoothly, here are the results… extra congratulations goes out to Dan from Chateau Fontaine for winning two years in a row in the Pinot Blanc category.

  • Dry Red: Peninsula Cellars 2011 Cabernet Franc
  • Sparkling: Black Star Farms 2012 “BeDazzled”
  • Dessert: Brys Estate 2011 “Dry Ice” Riesling Ice Wine
  • Dry White: Chateau Fontaine 2012 Pinot Blanc
  • Semi-dry Red: Karma Vista Vineyards 2012 Devil’s Head Red
  • Semi-dry White: Boathouse Vineyards 2012 “Knot Too Sweet” Riesling

View the complete list of medal-winning wines!

Then we all made our way back into the hotel to Ballroom A for the receptions and the Wine (and food!). Everyone was supplied with a rather thick booklet of tickets to be used at all the various stations. From Fruit Wines to the Award Winners being paired with special dishes and desert wines being served with of course specially paired desserts, it was amazing. Michigan Wines really spared no expense in this evening, the line was out the door and by the time everyone (the winemakers and the general public who bought tickets) where in the room it was more or less a standing room only event.

Jessi and I started with some of our favorite wines, then quickly consumed a lot of the cheese and meat spread they had, super good way to get ready for a night of drinking. From here we made the rounds, the first stop where the award winning wines but we skipped the food. Soon we had dessert before dinner, then we ended up trying every single fruit wine. I have to say Michigan really makes some good grapes.

We made some new friends, shook some hands with customers and contacts and all-in-all had an excellent adventure to Lansing. I just love how the wine industry congregates for these awards and conferences etc. we have such a tremendous industry here with more great history to be made.

We are proud to be involved in the Michigan Wine Industry, we named ourselves “miwinebarrel” after all. I’m glad to see such a prosperous group of individuals making our economy better doing something that they love, making wine and growing grapes.

Thank you Linda Jones and everyone on the Michigan Wine Council, also thank you to everyone we met at the event. I hope you can read this and know Jessi and I as well as everyone here at miwinebarrel really appreciates being a part of all of this.

Here are some pics from the event, enjoy!

Check out this article on Midwest Wine Press about the Gold Medal Competition!

About The Author
Joshua Rubin

I'm the creative guy over here at MI Wine Barrel, in charge of the site, marketing & sales as well as all the details. We love to hear what you think, let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns. A little bit about me, I love a good Pinot Noir and am a huge fan of the Old Mission (northern Michigan) Wineries. I am the administer of this newsroom so go ahead ask me anything?

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