A Detroit-based lifestyle magazine is out with its “Best Wineries in Michigan” list. And two Berrien County wine producers have been honored to make the ranks. ‘Seen The Magazine’ is a publication that covers a range of business and lifestyle topics. Recently it zeroed in on wineries, in an interview with Michael Bottigliero, the co-founder and lead sommelier of Bottles Nation, a Detroit-based team of sommeliers, beer, and cocktail experts that run tasting events nationwide.
Bottigliero singled out Lemon Creek Winery and Domaine Berrien Cellars, along with several wineries in the Traverse City/Suttons Bay area for his Michigan’s Best List. He says Michigan wines often don’t get a fair shake on the national level. “Everybody always looks at the epitome of wine in the U.S. to be the West Coast, but the quality level [of Michigan wines] is on par with a lot of the wines on the West Coast,” according to Bottigliero.
He adds “People don’t give enough credence to what’s going on in Michigan but the wine is legitimately pretty damn good. If you come here with low expectations, it’ll blow your socks off.”
The folks at ‘Seen’ asked Bottigliero for his favorite wineries, and a recommended bottle at each:
At Lemon Creek, it’s the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon. “When Lemon Creek was planting grapes for making wine somebody told them, ‘Don’t bother making a cabernet sauvignon; you can’t do it here.’ But they planted them anyway — and made a cool-climate style that I really enjoy.” According to Bottigliero, Lemon Creek planted the first commercial crop of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in Michigan at a time when few thought red-wine grapes would viable here.
At Domain Berrien, he points to the Viognier and Syrah. “They’re fantastic,” says Bottigliero, “They’re great everyday-drinking wines.” And digging a little deeper, he adds Domaine Berrien Cellars is one of the only wineries on this side of the country that belongs to the “Rhone Rangers” — a group of American wine-makers that focus on creating wines with varietals from France’s Rhone Valley, including Syrah, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier.
