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The Bubbles of Bel Lago #WinePW

 

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For December, Culinary Cam has invited the #WinePW group to talk about American Sparklers (or writer’s choice). You can see her invitation here. Many people probably hear American sparkler and their mind goes to one of the big four: California, Oregon, Washington, New York. But I decided to show my home state a little love this month! 

I left Michigan shortly after coming of legal wine drinking age and my visits back there have always been so brief, I haven’t really had a good chance to dive into the wine. Mostly I rely on recommendations from my most favorite cousin Amanda and my friend KMac (who is also a Michigangster). Bel Lago hit my radar in a completely different way though. An NPR podcast featured a commercial for Bel Lago at the beginning of the story. Kind of a weird commercial to preface a story about the Russian invasion of Ukraine…and yet not. It seems that the winery’s winemaker used to work in the international relations field in DC before getting fed up with all the bs surrounding said career, became a winemaker, and moved to Michigan! Since my path (aside from the ‘became a winemaker’ part) was somewhat similar, I thought it would be really cool to try some of their wines. So I got in touch and ordered a half case to ship to my parents in time for my visit.

Michigan Wine

Many people, even fellow Americans, seem surprised that Michigan makes wine. Then the shock when they learn all 50 states do! Wine production in the Mitten state generated over $6 billion dollars in 2022. It might be an actual drop in the bucket compared to California production and revenue, but it certainly is respectable. A few other quick facts about the Michigan wine scene: 

• There are five American Viticultural Areas (AVA): Fennville, Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula, Old Mission Peninsula, and Tip of the Mitt. They’re quite small and cover only a fraction of the state with none appearing in the UP.
• Michigan is part of the north American “Riesling Belt” which includes Washington state (the Columbia Valley) and British Columbia (Okanagan Valley) to Idaho (Snake River Valley), Michigan (Great Lakes), Canada’s Niagara Peninsula, and on to New York (Finger Lakes).
• Its wine history goes back to the 1600s (thank you French fur trappers).
• There are some 200-233 wineries (depending on your source).
• Michigan is the 7th most productive state in the country.
• It grows a lot of the “expected” grape varieties like: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Riesling, the various Pinots, etc but also a few less common grapes such as Gewürtztraminer, Blaufränkisch, Grüner Veltliner, Marsanne, Roussanne, as well as hybrids like Chambourcin, Cayuga, Seyal, Vidal, Marquette, etc.

Leelanau’s Beautiful Lake

Bel Lago (Beautiful Lake) is a 37-acre winery (and cidery) overlooking Lake Leelanau and Lake Michigan. Established in 1997 by Dr. Charles Edson and The Moreno Family, more than 100 varieties grow in the winery’s vineyards including:  Blaufränkisch, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Riesling,  Auxerrois, and Siegerrebe. 

The winery firmly believes in the “wine is made in the vineyard” adage. As such, with the Bel Lago vineyards now in the hands of Tomas Moreno Jr., the winery dedicates itself to a largely sustainable farming methodology through a variety of practices including:

• maintaining  natural areas around the edge of the vineyards as reservoirs for beneficial insect species and wildlife;
• mowing infrequently and only doing every other row when they do mow;
• use compost and mulch at planting with a goal to improve soil quality;
• use fertigation and foliar applied fertilizers rather than ground applied fertilizer to save energy, efficiently target application and to lower the amount of fertilizer applied;
• limit herbicide applications to one early application per year at low rates;
• limit the use of air-conditioning (none) and heating in the winery and tasting room to save energy;
• maintains a herd of Scottish Highlander cattle which provides natural manure;
• manages onsite bee hives;
• installed houses for bluebirds, kestrels, and bats to encourage natural pest control 

Bel Lago Bubbles

I ordered two of the winery’s bubbles: the Auxerrois Brut 2020 and the Brut Rosé 2019.

Made with 100% Auxerrois, the Auxerrois Brut 2020 poured a light lemon color with sedate bubbles. On the nose it displayed apple, pastry, and orchard blossom. Bubbles on the palate were just slightly effervescent, mirroring the sedateness in the glass. Flavors here leaned more stone fruit than tree fruit with apricot, hazelnut, and caramelized honey. Charming

The Brut Rosé 2019 was 100% Pinot Noir and showed a deep salmon in the glass with excited bubbles. Quite a lot more aromatic than the Auxerrois, the nose offered cooked peaches, strawberry jam, jolly rancher, and raspberry tea. Flavors mimicked the nose with lots of red fruits and tea and the addition of fresh Mission fig wrapped up in a thread of white pepper and a creamy mouthfeel. 

I didn’t do a pairing as such for these, not having anticipated being able to use them for one of the #WinePW events! But I did open them with a full cheeseboard though and it was delightful. 

The adventure continues with the #WinePW contributors!

• • • A Russian River Valley Pét-Nat with Veggie Tempura from Culinary Cam
    • A Touch of Elegance At Our Holiday Table; 2013 Under The Wire Brosseau Vineyard Sparkling Pinot Noir by ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
    • All American Sparklers from Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula by Grape Experiences
    • Cheers, It is Christmastime in Michigan by A Day in the Life on the Farm
    • Christmas Cookie Swap and a Cooper’s Hawk Blanc de Blanc by Our Good Life
    • Sparkling Picpoul with Fettuccine by Cooking Chat
    • The Bubbles of Bel Lago by The Quirky Cork
    • Troon wine: Farm-fresh flavor in every glass by My Full Wine Glass
    • 4 US Sparkling Surprises: Sonoma’s SEPPI, Paso’s Halter Ranch, WA Gorge + Fav Festive Finger Foods by Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley