Wine & Spirits - October 2016 - 19

Larry Mawby is the region's other important pioneer, having planted hybrids on the Leelanau Peninsula in 1973. He rather quickly specialized in sparkling wines, a logical choice for a cool, marginal climate like this. His bottle-fermented Blanc de Blancs is a pure chardonnay with a chalky note, lemony freshness and delicate brioche scents that make it a serious competitor for Champagne. The success of both wineries has inspired many others to try their hand at growing grapes, a situation in which Bryan Ulbrich saw an opportunity. Ulbrich, who made his name with gewürztraminer at Peninsula Cellars, launched Left Foot Charley in 2004 in what was the laundry of the Northern Michigan Asylum for the Insane in Traverse City, relying solely on fruit from about 20 small growers for his wines. His rieslings capture the distinctive notes typical for this grape in Michigan: fennel, anise, licorice, as well as a slightly edgy acidity that he balances with a little residual sugar. The 2013 Missing Spire, with its succulent melon flavors and acidity, recalls a classic Mosel Kabinett in balance. Ulbrich also makes many of the rieslings for Spencer Stegenga's Bowers Harbor Vineyards, an operation on the OMP with vineyards but no winery. Stegenga explains that this setup leaves him enough time to have fun, and he has a one-hole golf course next to the parcel of home vineyard where his dry Riesling Block II grows. His wines, however, suggest he takes his vineyards seriously. Planted in 1991, they produced a complex 2013 with white currant, anise and mineral character, balancing the high acidity with a lot of power for its 12 percent alcoholic content. The crazy thing about Northwestern Michigan is how the region's sleek and quite tart rieslings coexist with surprisingly powerful reds. A number of winemakers have made considerable progress with cabernet franc in recent years, producing mostly rosé in the cooler years and mostly red wine from the better vintages. That's certainly been the policy of Cornel Olivier, the South African winemaker of the 2 Lads winery, the other "lad" being Traverse City native Chris Baldyga. They occupy a futuristic steel and glass winery near the northern tip of the OMP that looks like the lair of the evil genius in a James Bond movie. Their 2013 Cabernet Franc shows the balance the variety can achieve here in the right hands, with violet and blackberry aromas and a pleasant hint of herbal and bell pepper notes. Even silkier are the reds at Brys Estate, made by 2 Lads Winery the other South African winemaker on the OMP, Coenraad Stassen. The ripeness of flavor and suppleness of its generous tannins make his 2012 Cabernet Franc impressive, especially at the $50 cellar-door price. A short distance farther south on the OMP at Black Star Farms, winemakers Lee Lutes and Vladimir Banov make reds in a more assertively tannic and savory style. They are lucky to get all the merlot and cabernet franc grapes from the Leorie Vineyard, a particularly sheltered site on the southwestern end of the OMP. 2011 wasn't a special red wine vintage in Michigan, but the 2011 Leorie Vineyard Merlot-Cabernet Franc could be mistaken for a Right-Bank Bordeaux, with its rich texture and aromas of grilled artichokes, herbs and red berries. These wineries all look a bit tentative compared to Mari Vineyards on the OMP, where owner Marty Lagina has radically changed the red wine game in the state. In a nod to his family's heritage in Istria, he's introduced previously untried varieties such as refosco and teroldego. Even more unusual is that he grows many of his grapes under open-sided plastic hoop houses. Since the first vintage, 2006, Mari's top red has been a hoop-house-grown blend of cabernet franc and merlot called Row 7. The 2011 vintage is powerful and lush with an intense ripe blackcurrant note. Sean O'Keefe, who began working with Lagina a decade ago, started full-time here in 2014, and hopes to expand production to 10,000 cases this year-an ambitious goal in the Cherry Capital of America. ■ The crazy thing about Northwestern Michigan is how the region's sleek and quite tart rieslings coexist with surprisingly powerful reds. WINE & SPIRITS OCTOBER 2016 19

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2016