Winery visit #2! I've accepted a position with Ford Performance after I graduate, so I'm headed up to Michigan soon. My lease started today, so I drove up to inspect the house and everything... And I figured I'd sample the local wine fare as well! Today I visited the Northville Winery & Brewing Company.
The front view of their tasting room; it's pretty small and unassuming.
Here's the view as you walk in to the tasting room. Behind that door to the left is an employees-only area, where they allow the cider to age, bottle, etc. I got to peek behind the curtain, but no pictures were allowed.
Here's the tasting area! On the left is the bar, where you can order any of the wine, cider, beer, or even some cider-based slushies.
Northville does it all; cider, beer, wine, even mead. Their grapes are grown in Northern Michigan, near Traverse City, and their apples from the Western part of the state. However, they ferment, brew, and press all everything at their Northville location. It's a very small affair, family owned, with a small staff that's treated as family. In fact, only 4 people are involved with production, with another 3 dealing with ads and the tasting room. There's a cider mill next door (open in the Fall only), and they're always adding more beers to their bottling process, ciders are constantly interchanging, and expansion is discussed often. Regardless of expansion though, their process will be kept on their current grounds, and their family feel maintained. They've won 30 or more awards for their product (all for cider, not wine), bronze, silver and gold, from the Taster's Guild and Great Lakes International. The winery/brewery/cidery was established about 12 years ago, and the tasting room about 4 years ago. They have about six (grape) wines total, including the three I tasted as well as a Cherry Riesling in the Fall, a red table wine ("Muse"), and a Riesling. None of those were offered right now. Their Merlot is oaked, as is the Muse.
I had the opportunity to taste the three wines currently offered, as well as three of their ciders. My flight (minus the first one, the Vidal Blanc, which I drank before I took the picture) are shown in the picture below.
Wine/Cider flight! The wines are on the left, and the ciders on the right.
These are the three wines available during this season: a Vidal, a Merlot, and a cranberry-apple wine.
First I tasted the Vidal: Very fruity nose, on the sweet side. Smells a bit of apple. Very fruit forward, bits of apple, grape, and apricot. Almost a woody aftertaste. Must be oaked. [It turns out it isn't... Still tastes oaked though!] Very nice wine.
Merlot: Dark fruit and hints of oak on the nose. Tiny bit of leather. Nice tannins; not a lot, but a bit. Somewhat bitter, very dry. Not particularly fruity for a Merlot. Leather, oak, slightly earthy flavor. Very "serious." I'm not sure exactly what I mean by that; it's just what my mind goes to. Not a "fun" wine. Very good.
Cran/Apple (no grapes, just cranberry and apple)
Smells a lot like a sparkling cider, like the under-21 crowd would have at New Years. Nice cranberry flavor, that cones across very nicely. Apple too, but the cranberry takes center stage.
Loomer Eclipse (cider)
Very dry nose. Apple, but no sugary qualities. Lovely flavor. Light, crisp, dry. No sweetness.
Rockin Cock (cider)
Apple nose; sweeter, with... Almost a slight fart smell. Weird. Definitely a sweeter cider. This one is maybe medium dry to medium. I think this must be more popular than the Loomer Eclipse; the other was extremely dry, and this is probably more accessible.
Bourbon Barrel Crimson Dew (cider)
Pink color. Odd for a cider. WOAH. The nose. Bourbon. Vanilla. Rotting apple. Very strong.
VERY strong Bourbon flavor. Sweet too, with only a hint of apple. It's all Bourbon here, damn near a cider boiler-maker. It's good for what it is, but I'd prefer a bit less Bourbon.
I took a look in the back, where Nick (one of the cider/wine/beer/mead makers) was busy bottling their Raspberry hard cider. Barrels lined the walls, full of various ciders (Chardonnay and Bourbon barrels mostly). No pictures allowed, unfortunately. Very small operation though.
It was a fun time. My bartender, Jodie (Jody?) was very accommodating and friendly. I'll definitely be back.
