Sleeping Bear Dunes. The Most Beautiful Place & Great Food Artisans

The most beautiful place in U.S.?  Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan won this Good Morning America contest today.  Why am I so excited?  Two reasons.  Sleeping Bear is in my now home state, and I'm planning a trip.  The other reason is that Chef Mario Batali spends his summers on the Leelanau Pennisula and his love of the area's food artisans is quite an endorsement.  Chef Batali serves gluten-free pasta in his restaurants in New York and is proving to be a Tender Friendly chef (so we love him even more).  You might catch him dining at Hearth & Vine located on the Black Star Farms estate - a restaurant he describes as his "favorite".  Black Star Farms uses local vendors and has a beautiful winery, three tasting rooms and an inn.   If you would like to try something lovely and a little unusual, try their pear wine or their fruit brandies.  I purchased mine at G.B. Russo & Son.  The Leelenau Pennisula (map) is the home to all of this magic, and it is also the largest cherry growing region in the world.

Great things can happen when a community loves and respects the natural resources that surround them.  Congratulations, Sleeping Bear!

Read the entire article on the ABC News website.

Download "10 Places Not to Miss in Sleeping Bear".

Read George Aquino's article on great things to do if you fly into Grand Rapids before driving up the coast.

I {Heart} Organic Wine – Quick V-Day Suggestions

 I know you.  You’ve waited until the last minute to think about Valentine’s Day.  Give your Tender Valentine a few warm fuzzies with our last minute wine suggestions. 

Organic wine is not always easy to find.  Dave Russo of G.B. Russo and Sons in Grand Rapids, MI has some of the best in the area (and probably in the country).  Dave has several of these wines on sale right now.  So stop by on your way to see your honey.

Some quick picks with some quick facts:

Ehlers Organic Wine

Organic Status?  Made with certified organic grapes 

Country?  U.S.A./ California

Value?:  High-end wine for a good price

Ehlers Vineyards cultivate their wines using organic and biodynamic methods – all done for bottom line results and best taste.  One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of these wines support the Leducq Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to funding international cardiovascular research. 

Read More:  http://www.ehlersestate.com/organicvineyard

 

Natura Wine (Emiliana Organic Vineyards)

Organic Status?:  100% Certified Organic

Country?:  Chile

Value?:  Great wine, good price

Take a visit to the Emiliana Organic Vineyards’ web site to learn about organic and biodynamic farming in wine.  It’s fascinating.  The Gewurztraminer that G.B. Russo carries has a good review from i-winereview.com:

“It is a gentle wine, rather feminine and floral in character, showing honey and flowers on the nose and stonefruit on the palate. Cleanly made, this is both a good sipping wine and one that would combine nicely with Asian cuisine.”

I-winereview.com

Read more about Natura Wines, Emiliana Organic Vineyards and organic and biodynamic wine production:

http://www.emiliana.cl/organic-biodynamic/

La Vielle Ferme

Organic Status? – This wine is raised with organic principals, but its neighbors are not organic. 

Country?:  France

Value?:  Excellent.  Good wine, great price.

One unique attribute of this wine is that there are no added sulphites.  Trace amounts of sulphites are natural in wine.  However, sulphites are usually added used to kill the yeast and stop the fermentation (if you don’t kill the yeast you get vinegar).  La Vielle Ferme uses a flash heating process instead to stop fermentation.  

'La Vieille Ferme is producing exuberant and delicious wines.'

James Suckling : The wine spectator

Read More:  http://www.lavieilleferme.com

You can also find these at G.B. Russo & Sons

1.    Perrin & Fils:  Cote Du Rhone Villages (France)

2.    Tres Sabores:  California