A summer saunter northwest from Detroit to Traverse City needn’t have a purpose other than reveling in the tree-lined drive, the enchanting twists and turns of lake and land that typify rural Michigan. However, a tent-filled, first-ever ‘Night of 100 Rieslings’ on Grand Traverse Bay featuring an international tasting of …
Everyone knows about the micro-brewery and micro-distillery phenomenon, but now there are two new oldie additions to this heady mix. The new kids in town are cider and mead. Both of these potables are increasing in popularity; their taste is different and good and they are gluten-free. Mead-makers are a …
Wine drinkers have long downplayed their affinity for juicy, fruity white zinfandels. Beer drinkers brag about the IBU’s in their beer. But in the last five years sweet moscato wine and sour beer have emerged as go-to drinks. As John Stanton, bartender at Sable Kitchen and Bar in Chicago, tells …
“We find your American beer like making love in a canoe. It’s f#%$ing close to water,” Monty Python’s Eric Idle famously buzzed at the Hollywood Bowl in 1982. But, lucky for America, his logic is dated. Over the past several years, the American beer industry has burgeoned with complex variations, with …
Manchester Ridge Vineyard and the “Island” AVA “This road is littered with winemakers who have tried to make wine here,” says Greg La Follette, careening in a rickety pick-up through a winding and narrow dirt road with shear drops into the ravines below. We’re bouncing along the road to Manchester …
We spent the day with Carter Raff, of Raff Distillerie, as he prepared a batch of his absinthe. He also hand crafts small batches of gin, rhum, and bourbon. Photography by Hardy Wilson.
I am sure that Champagne is what comes to mind when you think about sparkling wines. Who doesn’t love a fancy bottle of wine that you can pronounce like you speak French? Keeping it romantic, when you think Italian sparkling wine, Prosecco’s your go-to. After all, Prosecco is the number …
A New Exclusivity Paves Wine’s Way By Daniel Hoffheins The Napa and Sonoma valleys conjure images of luxury and leisure, a sunny picnic amidst rows of grapevines or a romantic dinner at the French Laundry, but, like all tourist destinations, the average experience tends to be a mixed bag that …
Ted Sobel stands behind the bar. All of his ales are served from six hand pumps; there are no kegs and no CO2 hoses. Rather, Ted’s ales are conditioned in firkins—which look like kegs, but sound cooler and hold 40 liters, or 72 imperial pints, of cask ale. Hand pumps, …