I am interested in thoughts on my event. Specifically, what would it take to put wines from non-traditional places like Midwest states to capture some mindshare among wine lovers.)
For the second year, I organized a wine competition between Ohio and Michigan wines. Part of the matter was a frustration that the locavore meme has not translated to wine and mostly to help promote the handful of producers in both states who are truly quality-oriented. Officially-sponsored organizations can’t make quality distinctions. I can.
I ran tasting panels in both Columbus and Ann Arbor with 11 wines from each state. All blind. Judges were a mixture of amateur wine lovers and professionals. Both events were a lot of fun, aided by the incredible 2007 red vintage the Midwest had. Based on this and other events, I think that there are wines from both states which are comparable to their price and level peers. I am not a point-giver, but for the first time I’d say that several of the reds flirted successively with 90pts.
The quick results show a definite wine for Michigan :
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Longview Winery and Vineyard “Winter Ice” 2007 (Dessert Wine) Leelanau Peninsula MI (4) -
2 Lads Cabernet Franc Reserve 2007 (Dry Red) Old Mission Peninsula MI (2) -
Kinkead Ridge Cabernet Franc 2007 (Dry Red) Ohio River Valley OH (2) -
Gill’s Pier Meritage 2007 (Dry Red) (1) -
Wyncroft Avonlea Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007 (Dry Red) MI (1)
For a full list of the wines and tasting notes (of the top 5 for now), please visit : Ohio vs Michigan Wine Clash 2009
A.
(I created this event, am responsible for it and fund it. I make no money from it. If admins wish more content instead of the link, I will be glad to write more Beserker-exclusive content.)