Jason, our driver for the South Tour of the Bottle Run, found me outside wearing a mask, getting more masks out of Air Chevy the Rental. Jason was our driver for our last wine tour (here is the previous blog), and he remembered us. We collected everyone and headed south for The Bottle Run Wine Tours. We first stopped, with the smoke diluting to a safer level as the day went on, at the Lavender Bliss Flower Farm (here) and enjoyed a peaceful moment among the flowers. We did not cut any to take. Jason did buy a vase filled with flowers to take home. Jeanne, Deborah, and I did purchase various items to take home, mostly as gifts. I was enchanted by small bottles filled with petals and other small flower parts.
We picked up Steve Salisbury, who could join us today (we were staying inside for much of today’s wine tours) and is a local wine historian and makes podcasts (here). It was a joy to have Steve with us for this trip. Jason is excellent on tours, knows the wines, and makes everything happen as if by magic. Steve, our first time meeting him, was relaxed and talked about the wines, and we each took turns tasting and understanding what was poured. The wine bar folks were also helpful, knew their wines, and could lead you to wines you liked. Steve was quite happy with Jason’s vineyard selections.
Today we did three vineyards (last time I could barely walk after the fourth!), and Tabor Hill was our first. They have been making wine for a long time and are among the largest, offering not just wine but also distilled products (we stayed with the wines). There we got to hear Steve talk about winemaking, history, and down rabbit holes as we asked questions. Deborah called him riveting to listen to (I agree with her description), and Steve laughed, “I have been called many things, but never riveting before.” He relaxed after that, tasted with us, and talked about each wine as we went. He found it fun as we passed him around and shared Steve. Jason continued to watch and ensure everything went smoothly.
The Grand Mark, a sparkling wine, was fabulous (I learned that they ship from their online site to Oregon). My notes show “sweet & smooth.” Next, with lots of information (all forgotten now) on their wines, the staff poured me a Dry Riesling, which disappointed me as it was “all over the mouth” but with “less flav,” I wrote.
But, Steve and Jason’s recommendation, the Albarino was wonderful (and likely something I will order), with my notes saying “complex, tastes the soil, like a red,” and Steve had a class and smiled as he looked at me.
Deborah was hanging out with Steve as they did whites, and Deborah, Jeanne, and I would often pass a sample to each other. Their Sauvignon Blanc was “dry with an edge.”
Next, I tried their Cabernet Franc, which was solid and could have been from France. There was a hint of the soil complexity. Steve was excited and thought it excellent, and it was made from grapes on his land (he leases out his fields). It was less complex than a great wine, but Steve believed it would age into something special. “I have a bottle of this, I am going to have to open it,” Steve said (or words to that effect). Steve even suggested that a leaner steak would go with this wine. I suggested an NY Strip, and he agreed (later I would order one and think of the wine). Earlier, we had talked about vines, standing next to some at the vineyard, and that they are grafted and the wine is better if the vine “suffers.” Steve also commented that some of the wines show that the grapes have less character, like the still-great Franc from his land, because the Michigan soils are too good.
Steve also pointed out that the local grapes are grown on a moraine, a ridge of mixed, often rocky soil, and that the local grape-growing area is on top of this, giving them rockier soil and avoiding cold spots that often occur on lower land.
And while I was not yet overwhelmed by the wines, all of them tasting flat, I was quite happy when we got there. Domaine Berrien Cellars, still a large vineyard (here), but a smaller operation than the previous one, had a nice collection of wines, and we got another five tastings there.
Their dry white, Marsanne, was excellent and “complex with no troubling edges” were my notes. Everyone thought it was an amazing wine and an unusual grape for Michigan. I had Steve again, and we walked through a set of disappointing reds (I will not list them here), with the oak layered over the other tastes. Maybe they would improve with time, and Steve suggested decanting them would likely reduce the oak and let the wine open up. We leave our glasses out and get new ones for more tastings.
I should note that Deborah and Jeanne were enjoying white wine, and Jeanne was into dessert wines. They were finding some excellent wines. We all enjoyed the wines, and Jason and Steve added to the experience.
The Merlot at Domaine Berrien Cellars was my favorite of their wines, marked simply as “excellent wine” in my notes. The other reds got better when opened, as Steve suggested, but never reached greatness. Maybe with more time, they will improve.
Our last wines were from Golden Muse Winery, and I even bought (likely for too much with shipping) some of Dr. Analisa Leppane’s wines, the owner and winemaker, as she had no online shipping (yet). I did not try the Riesling, which I later learned, according to Steve, was as good as it gets (my words). My order and favs were 2021 The Toulouse Lautrec Méritage and the 2024 Pierrot Pinot Grigio.
Deborah enjoyed the art and thought it our best stop. We were having wine tasting fatigue at this point, and the wines seemed flat. Deborah suggested starting with this one next time. Steve and Dr. Leppane talked vines as she had just acquired 20 acres for grapes and was selecting a vine from a huge book of vines.
Time-boxed today… so let me finish. We had an OK dinner after saying thanks to Jason and Steve at TJ Grill and then watched the sunset over Lake Michigan at Jean Klock Beach.
It was a good day, and the smoke has, for the moment, receded from the area and Chicago.
Thanks for reading.
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