Harvest Stompede Winery Tour: Leelanau Peninsula, MI

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This weekend, my husband and I had an amazing winery tour of the Leelanau Peninsula in Northern Michigan (I'm calling it NoMI, let's make that catch on, shall we?). For more information on the Harvest Stompede via their website, click here.

First, I just want to say that I had only average hopes for the quality of the wine here. I had been told that it would be mostly sweet whites, which is not my favorite, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But, I was blown away - as was my husband - by the quality of the wine! The reds we sampled were delicious and had a very earthy, smoky, peppery taste to them. So, for those of you unsure about northern Michigan wine, jump on the bandwagon and join in on the red fun, too!

movin on to the fun part...

We drove up to NoMI on Friday night and stayed the night at my in laws' ski house. It was a bit of a hike from their place to this part of wine country, but we decided it would be easiest because it meant we could bring the dog with us.

Saturday morning, we drove over to Leelanau Peninsula. The drive, itself was absolutely stunning, and we had some fabulous panoramic views of the Grand Traverse Bay, which connects to Lake Michigan.

Shady Lane Cellars

My friend Kelli had been here before and I had seen pictures that looked intruiging, so it was our first stop! It was also one of the closest stops to my in laws' ski house and quite close to Traverse City, so it made logistical sense as well.

There is a really neat feel here - they have a newly built outdoor patio with an outdoor bar and gorgeous, manicured grass. They fed us my husband's favorite food of the day - a bacon, swiss, and carmelized onion tarte. We bought a bottle of red (which was not the main tasting promotion, but we asked for a few red samples at the bar and were pleasantly surprised) and left after taking a few pictures of the winery.

Willow Vineyard

This one blew my mind immediately, and here's why:

Going into this event, I wasn't sure which wineries would bestow us with gorgeous lake and grape views combined, but it was immediately clear that this would be one of the best views of the day. I mean, how could it not be? The West Grand Traverse Bay is in the distance, and the foreground is a steep hill covered in grapes for the harvest. The little quaint cottage in the middle doesn't hurt, either!

We tried a bright glass of white and they served a decadent peach cobbler with maple burgundy syrup to accompany it. The desert was amazing; the wine was nice and light, but ultimately not my style.

There was a quaint patio where we sat for a while, just soaking up the view and taking in the wine. My husband went back inside and tried a Pinot Noir, which he enjoyed, so we grabbed a bottle in honor of our immense enjoyment in their spot. And we also snapped our only picture of the day that has both of us in it and is not a selfie! Pretty sure that was a fabulous decision.

Ciccone Vineyard & Winery

Fun fact: Madonna bought this property for her family member as a winery (Madonna is from Michigan! Boom). This alone made it a pretty popular destination.

The location left a bit to be desired (this could simply be due to the fact that they had the unfortunate situation of following the GORGEOUS Willow Vinery), but their Red Blend was pretty amazing and they paired it with a simple but well executed bruscetta. We didn't stay long, but we waltzed out of there with an expensive bottle of red, so clearly Madonna won.

^As always.

L. Mawby

Based on what I could find online, L. Mawby was a MUST. DO. They operate under the assumption that it's better to be all-star at one thing than mediocre at five, so they specialize in sparkling wines ("bubbles!") and do nothing else.

I did not warn my husband. He does not love sparkles. BUT I DO! So in we walked, and my husband loved it in the end. They served a sweet and spicy popcorn with a semi sweet sparkling wine, and we enjoyed the rolling view.

In the end, I tried a few more bubbles and ended up asking for a bottle of dry (almost brut) champagne. My husband then insisted we buy two. 

Blackstar Farms Winery & Spirits

I also marked this place as a MUST. It is more than just a winery - it also has a bed and breakfast, vegetable farm, restaurant, and distillery. So, we went from the master of one thing (L. Mawby) to the eager experimenter of five.

Overall, the wine was decent - a sweet white - and paired with a butternut squash soup with goat cheese and toasted nuts. But, we did not feel compelled to buy anything, and it was quite busy inside, so we peaced out.

The gorgeous view here was on the drive in - a steep hill covered in vineyards and various other farming plots. There is something really neat about the height this has.

I also have to add that I seriously want to go back to Black Star Farms, stay at the inn, and eat at the on-site restaurant. Then, I want to bike to the surrounding wineries for the day.

Leelanau Wine Cellars

Tip for using social media during an event: check the hashtag name of your event (in this case, it was #harvest stompede) and see if any other people have posted an image that looks awesome -- then go there! That's how we ended up at Leelanau Wine Cellars. I saw another image that looked gorgeous and blue, so off we went.

This particular location is actually a tasting room for their vineyard, so you will not see rolling hills of grapevines. But, you will be blown away by the view of West Grand Traverse Bay. It feels immensely huge and completely private at the same time.

Here, we tried a white wine that was served with brie and mushroom soup. My husband is not a mushroom fan, so we "shared," a.k.a. we asked for one sample and I was the only one who touched it. It was decent, but whatever. This location was really all about the view, and there's no shame in that!

[Knot Just A Bar]
After finishing our wine, we decided we were ready for a meal. The same building also housed this place, which had amazing views and good enough food. We had a beverage, and I had mahi corn tacos while my husband ate a burger.

This wasn't actually part of the tour - it was just a regular restaurant in the same building as Leelanau Wine Cellars' Tasting Room - but it was extremely enjoyable to take a few minutes to sit down and eat a full meal with this view.

Good Neighbor Organic

Next, we headed northwest. We ended up at Good Neighbor Organic, which was modest in appearance but definitely interesting. I wasn't so sure about the idea of their hard cider or peach wine, but I quickly repented upon tasting. We walked out with a bottle of peach wine, but truth be told, it was hard for me to not order the cider. I keep thinking about it...

They paired it with a chicken salad on chips, which was unimpressive but I shoved it in my face anyway. The star of this show was definitely THAT FRUITY WINE!!

Gill's Pier

What do you expect from a place with a name as simple as Gill's Pier? It was a very simple location with a nice tasting room and patio, set on a small pond. The wine was so good, and I think we bought one of the more expensive bottles of wine here. Their featured red was amazing, and they served it with an asparagus brisket.

Food be darned (it was ok), that red was full bodied and goooood. My husband was set on getting one, so we sampled a few more reds before deciding to go with the original promo.

Verterra Winery

I picked this place because, on the map, it looked like a great location set on a thin strip of land between Lake Michigan and Lake Leeland. The building, itself was mediocre - it was a tasting room set up in a towny area of a place referred to as "Fishtown-" but the surrounding area was great. Within a block, we could walk to the river connecting Lake Leeland to Lake Michigan, walk to where it meets Lake Michigan (it was very rapid water!), or see some shops.

They served us a white and paired it with a "blue and maize" corn chowder. The soup was decent, and so was the wine, but as usual, we were kind of looking for red. We tried a few and grabbed a bottle, then walked down through the Fishtown area. There were a lot of cute, tiny stores built onto the boardwalk, and it was a very picturesque environment.

We did manage to snap another picture of the two of is, albeit a selfie. We stumbled across this huge tree (is it a birch tree? I need my aunt and uncle to weigh in) that seemed like a perfectly bizarre backdrop for a couples' selfie.

Boathouse Vineyards

This was our last stop, because it was getting late and this happened to be on our way back. They are located on the river (Leelanau? I'm not sure which one), and they have a walkway that goes all the way down to a dock on the river, which is lined with adirondak chairs (YES!). The wine was decent (white, I think?) and they served a pulled pork slider. It looked kind of boring, so I skipped it but imbibed in the white.

We were kind of ready to go at this point, so we decided to head home.

P.S. There was a huge swan. He was nice and hardly moved, but we were so close!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

• Have you ever been wine tasting? What did you think?
• Have you ever tried Michigan wines? Do you like them?
• What's your favorite part about wine tasting?

A Quick Chicago Jaunt - Day 1

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Last week, I made a quick, two-night trip to my home city to check in with some important peeps. Family and friends, to be exact. I wasn't able to see everyone, so I'll be making another trip soon, but as far as a short trip goes, I packed it pretty tight!

Tuesday, I took the train in from Grand Rapids to Chicago. I had never taken the train before, but it seemed like a good idea so that I didn't have to deal with having a car in downtown Chicago (traffic.is.the.worst). I was surprised that the train was pretty comfy, with large seats, wifi, and power outlets for every passenger.

Train Selfie!

I arrived at Union Station and freshened up, put my contacts in, etc. Then, I walked across the river to a Starbucks just past Sears (I mean "Willis") Tower to meet a girlfriend for coffee. After a sleepy 4 hour train ride, I needed it!

Post-Starbucks, it had been raining for about thirty minutes and there was a break in the rain, so I decided to haul my suit case and bag over to Ogilvie (another train station not far from Union Station), where I was meeting my aunt for lunch at Chicago French Market.

We had a nice chat, and I had a yummy steak salad from Wisma while my aunt went for some Tofu Pho. Afterwards, I nabbed a few maracons to bring to my next visit, and then I hopped on a train at Ogilvee that was headed to a nearby suburb, Des Plaines. It had already been a long day, so I went for a refreshing Kombucha as a pick-me-up for my train ride. #betterthancoffee

Thirty minutes later, I got off in Des Plaines to meet one of my girlfriends from High School at her apartment, which is literally a block from the train station there. Another HS girlfriend stopped by, and we chatted, drank red wine, and generally just did what girls do when together! Oh, yeah. And we ate the macarons :)

After a few hours passed, and it was time to head to dinner at Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurant in Wheeling, another nearby suburb. I rode with my girlfriend, with my bags in the car, and met my ladies.

There was wine. Lots of salads. Some salads, and gnocci. What's better than sharing that with ladyfriends?

That's all for now! Back soon with more downtown Chicago pics :)

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• What's your favorite spot in Chicago?
• What's your favorite thing to do in your hometown?!

Last Days in Clearwater

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Monday was our last full day in Clearwater, so we started the day off right. We headed over to Broadway Cafe in Dunedin. I had an amazing egg white omelet that had vine ripened tomatoes inside, alongside a ton of veggies. I may have also had another side of grits... Can't stop with that stuff.

Afterward, we headed back to my in-laws'. My husband had some work to do, so he holed up in the living room with his computer and spent some time on conference calls. Personally, I had a conference call with the sun. It was very successful.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, everyone was a tad bit hungry. We headed back over to the Hyatt and split some chips with guacamole and salsa. I kicked my anti-blended-drink issue and ordered a peach daiquiri,  my FIL had some kind of blended drink as well, but my poor husband had left his ID back at his parents', so he was not served.

Trying to choose our drinks... (Before my husband realized he had no ID)

We spent a bit of time lounging up there, despite the intense wind, because the view was spectacular.

View from the Hyatt's swim bar

After snack time, we headed back to my in-laws' to regroup and get ready for a boat ride and dinner. We grabbed some beer for the ride and boarded the boat around 5.

Having spent almost all of our trip on land, it was neat to see everything from the boat. I had no idea that the intercoastal waterways were so expansive!

Look at that hunk!

After the boat ride, we headed to a bar and restaurant called Pier 60. It is located on the top floor of a building, and has amazing, panoramic skyline views.

They specialize in the sunset hour, and we arrived about 30 minutes before sunset. We ordered a couple Rum Runners and a White Russian and then watched the sun slowly sink into the sky.

Just as the sun was setting, they passed out shots and all the patrons took a shot together as the sun finally slipped below the horizon!

After our sunset shot, we headed to Sandpearl resort for dinner. I loved this place from the start; from the decor inside to the self-playing piano, I was sold.

We started our meal with a toast to my brother-in-law and his fiance, who had just gotten engaged that weekend. We were all so happy for them that we wanted to let them know we were thinking of them!

A couple of cocktails later, we walked home. On our way, we ran across these monstrous sized chairs and had to get a shot of me in them. Just one of the perks of being a shorty who married into a tall Dutch family (we're about to inherit another shorty, YES!).

When we got home, we watched a movie before passing out for the night. The following morning, we awoke to some serious fog...

We went out to breakfast and then I did some shopping with my in-laws while my husband did some more work. By the time the sun finally made its way through the fog, we ended up with a bit of time left for laying out (2-3 hours) and then headed to the airport!

What about you?

• What do you like to do on a foggy day on vacation? Sleep in? Go shopping? Watch a movie?

Of Orchards and Dunes

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Last weekend, my husband and I trekked it to Holland, Michigan. We stopped off at our house, which is located in the heart of Holland. Just to... wave, I guess. And say hi to the anonymous tenants we do not know.

We spent most of our time at my mother and father in law's house. They are right on the water, so sunsets are always a major beauty.

We drove into town on a Saturday morning, and started the weekend with some homemade coconut banana bread and coffee on the deck.

A bit after, we did some boating. We boated South from Holland to a goldmine of dunes between Holland and Saugatuck.

Going here is one of my favorite parts of Holland visits (as you may know if you read this post). The water is shallow and very clear, so we just boated in as close as we could to the beach and then dropped the anchor and walked to shore.

We walked up the dunes with my brother in law and his lovely girlfriend. It is quite a vertical climb, so I definitely considered it my workout for the day.

So did the dog, apparently. She was wiped. 

At the top of the dunes, you can either look East, toward a steep decline that ends in a forest of green trees, or West, toward the water spotted with boats. I prefer looking West. Here's why:

After walking the ridge of the dunes, we returned to the beach and swam and played water football for a while before returning home for dinner.

The next morning, I slept in big time. I must have been totally wiped, because I had such a deep sleep that I woke up a little disoriented. It took me a while (and an extra cup of coffee) to get into the day... but when I finally did, I was all in. I took this little guy for a 6 mile run along the lake.

My husband had been on a bike ride, and when I returned, he still wasn't back. I went ahead and made myself comfortable in the sun and worked on a book I was reading.

We spent most of the day lounging and hanging out with my MIL and FIL. In the afternoon, my husband and FIL took a sail, and we watched them sail back to the house.

Meanwhile, I was still sitting in my chair, sunning and trying to shield my eyes from the harsh sun. Somebody buy this girl a hat!

I eventually showered (much needed) and we had a nice dinner of burgers and brats with salad and sides. I'm not into buns and am trying to avoid gluten anyway, so I went bunless. Scandal.

The next morning, breakfast was a delicious scramble of egg whites, red pepper, green onion, mushrooms, and cheese. With a hefty side of coffee. And more coffee.

We knew we wanted to take a fun day trip and eventually decided to head to Crane's U-Pick Orchard. We started by picking apples.

The orchard was huge (as orchards tend to be). Despite there being a few other people there to pick, it felt like we had the place to ourselves.

After loading up on apples, we realized there were raspberries, too, so we had to get in on that. We kept joking that the raspberries were so ripe, sometimes we would try to pick one but accidentally squish it a little - which meant, obviously, it needed to be sacrificed... to our taste buds. Red handed!

After apples, raspberries, and peaches had been procured, we loaded up the car. Before leaving, we stopped at Crain's restaurant. It is a cute little restaurant that is very country themed, and while we did not have a full meal there, it smelled delicious. They had a lot of hand made or vintage decor and everything was extremely quaint and cosy.

Having just picked so many gorgeous apples, we were thirsty... and treated ourselves to some apple cider. It was extremely rich and a delicious treat, and totally hit the spot after being in the sun for a while.

We then headed over to Mt. Baldy in Saugatuck, where we climbed the 300+ stairs to the top of the mountain. On each step, people have written everything from love letters to inspirational messages. One person wrote encouragement the whole way up! The power of positive thinking was so strong, I found myself smiling and laughing the entire time!

At the top, we had a nice view of some of the docks in Saugatuck.  It might look like a quiet little town, but don't be fooled. That town packs a big punch - it is full of life and is well known as a party spot!

On our way back, we stopped for some Kilwin's ice cream. I went with maple ice cream with walnuts and it was supreme. Apparently I married into a family of cone lovers, because I was the only one who got my ice cream in a cup. I have this crazy thought that I have more control over the speed at which I eat it, so I can savor it longer in a cup. 

Once we got back to my in-laws' house, we prepped dinner and waited a bit before leaving. We expected traffic to be bad in Chicago, so we tried to leave late and ended up timing it perfectly!

What about you?

• Do you do any long weekend trips?
• Have you ever been to West Michigan? What do you think of it?