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Great art, wine and food are the main events of a special evening, Art from Michigan’s Wine Country which kicks off the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association’s Taste the Passion weekend (Feb 4 & 5, 2012). For a fourth year, this fun winter event will be held on Friday, February 3rd at the Homestead's Mountain Flowers Lodge and features wine from Leelanau wineries, original art by local artists and a fabulous small plates menu designed by The Homestead’s Chef Piombo.

The price is $20 per person advance reservation by February 2 and includes one glass of wine and food stations with delectable small plates and coffee. Additional wine available for $4/glass or three glasses for $10. Call The Homestead at 334-5100, to make a reservation with will call ticket at the door for pre-paid reservations. $25 per person admission at the door.

The invitational art exhibit and sale offers recent original works by nine Leelanau artists. The artists will be on hand to discuss their work. This is a great opportunity to meet local artists and celebrate a perfect pairing of wine and art. A portion of the art sales will benefit Glen Arbor Art Association's summer programs.

Five dollars of each ticket goes to support the Glen Arbor Art Association class scholarships and a free after-school art program for Glen Lake students. Scholarship assistance and the after-school art program provide arts opportunities for those who could not otherwise afford art classes.

For more information go to www.glenarborart.org or call the GAAA office at 334-6112.

Photo credit: Victoria Creek Winter-Looking West by Mary Fuscaldo

Ken took this photo of the annual holiday display at Art's in Glen Arbor last year. Ken has a nice little Christmas lights slideshow that you can check out. In case you're wondering, the unfamiliar white stuff is I'm told called "snow", and it used to (get this) fall from the sky and cover the ground.

All kidding aside, reports today say that at 3.5" of snow, this is the lowest recorded total by this time EVER.

This photo shows Bill Carlson tending the smoker in Fishtown, sometime in the 1970s. It was taken by Paul Serratoni, and the funny thing is that it's not all that different today.

One of the reasons for that is the work of the Fishtown Preservation Society. You can help support their work through the Benefit Brunch at the Bluebird next Sunday (October 23) from 10 AM - 2 PM.

For $30/person, you can enjoy a buffet brunch with your choice of mimosa / bloody mary / wine, plus door prizes, music and fun – and all while supporting Fishtown preservation efforts! Click the link above for more information and ticket locations or to purchase your tickets online.

Fall is here and the Northport Omena Chamber of Commerce invites you to Northport's annual Fall Festival this Saturday (Oct 15) from 11 - 4! The village is decorated for fall and the merchants are looking forward to greeting you when you visit. Enjoy the fall colors & decorations and dine at one of the local eateries. They will once again offer free rides on the horse-drawn wagonette, and local restaurants will be offering specials:

• Barb's Bakery - Pumpkin donuts and apple cider
• The Galley - A free order of breadsticks with any large pizza
• Garage Bar & Grill - Squash soup, roasted root vegetable salad, prime rib and apple crisp made with Kilcherman's apples.
• North End Eatery - A cup of butternut squash bisque, grilled cheese and a fountain drink for $8.00
• Stubbs - A full or half-rack of pork ribs at a reduced price
• Treasurer Chest - Boiled dinner soup (cabbage, ham, carrots etc.) and caramel apples

photo credit: KAScott_20111002_4456tmaBb by Ken Scott

The Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association presents their second annual LPVA Small Plates event on Saturday, June 18 2011 from 6-9 PM.

Participating wineries will be offering a full glass of wine with a well-presented and substantial tapas dish in their tasting room. You can purchase tickets online for $11 for any or all of the three seatings (roughly 6-7, 7-8 and 8-9). Many of our wineries are working with chefs to prepare and serve the pairing, and the event is designed to be a high-class food offering, catering to culinary aficionados.

2011 Small Plates Pairings

Black Star Farms
Wild mushroom dusted sea scallop with a bundle of truffle oil infused fries wrapped in prosciutto, asparagus tips and smoked yellow tomato coulis paired with 2010 Sur Lie Chardonnay.

Chateau Fontaine
Assorted Pates, Proscuitto, Sausage, Rillette, accompanied by a selection of Cheeses,Veggies,Bread, Crackers, and Mustards. Rillette is a shredded duck/pork mixture served warm and it is paired with 2010 Woodland White.

Ciccone Winery
Tony Ciccone (Owner/Vintner) will be attending the event featuring a Roasted pork loin with a sausage torteloni with black truffle cream from Tuscan Bistro paired with 2009 Tre Rossi.

Forty-Five North
Parmesan encrusted walleye over a bed of white wine risotto and an in season greenery prepared by Shawn Bottruff from the Bluebird. Perfectly pairing with the 2009 Pacific Rim Internationa Best of Class award winning Pinot Gris!

Gills Pier
Featuring a Costa Rican Chalupa & Beef Fajita Wraps paired with 2008 Leelanau Peninsula Merlot.

L. Mawby
Chicken Pad Thai with spicy green curry sauce (pick your “heat” level) prepared by 22 Vines Restaurant. This will be paired with 2 different ‘sec’ sparkling wines – Wet and Consort.

Silver Leaf
Petite crab cakes with a red pepper coulis paired with Silver Leaf Chardonnay 2009.

This spring the Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce and Suttons Bay Schools are combining forces to create a new event, Suttons Bay Saturday. On April 30th fifteen area businesses will donate 10% of their proceeds back to the department of your choice at Suttons Bay schools. This is a great opportunity for local residents to get out and see the new spring merchandise that fills the stores, enjoy a nice meal at a local establishment… while supporting your local businesses and local schools at the same time. In this era of budget cuts the schools need us more than ever, and a strong school is vital to the long term health of our community.

Shopping local is fun, but there is more to it than that. There is a tremendous multiplier effect in choosing to shop local. Each dollar spent with a local business returns 3x more money to our local economy than that spent at a chain store. Spending your hard-earned money locally means area businesses can employ your family and friends. Shopping local allows these businesses to employ supporting services from area trades, accountants, insurance providers, and so on. Not to mention, shopping local allows these businesses to give back to local causes.

Participating businesses include: 45th Parallel Cafe, Bahles, Business Helper, Candy World, Deb’s Dish, Enerdyne, Forget-Me-Not Florist, Front Porch, Hansens, Happy Woman, Haystacks, Ice Cream Factory, Lima Bean, Martha’s Leelanau Table, Suttons Bay Trading Company and The Village Inn. The booster club will be selling Spirit Wear at both Northwestern Bank and Fifth Third until noon. Look for the special Norseman symbol in the windows of participating businesses. Some restrictions may apply.

Photo credits: Open for Business by joeldinda and Happy Woman by Bean in Sylvan Lake.

Another Winter Wine & Vine Experience featuring a unique flight of Leelanau wines paired with local specialty food appetizers will be held at the Old Art Building in Leland on Saturday, February 12 from 5 to 7 pm. Sommelier Becky Hemmingsen of Hansen Foods will speak to the unique characteristics of each wine along with a fun and informative game. John Scott will give a brief talk on growing grapes in Leelanau County.

Tables will be artfully decorated by community members and a fine art exhibit will compliment the event. Gourmet appetizers will be paired with each wine prepared by Martha’s Leelanau Table, Epicure Catering, Ethnic Garden Catering and the Bluebird.

The evening will begin with a new sparkling wine from Good Harbor Vineyards followed by wines from Boathouse Vineyards, Circa Estate Winery, Ciccone Vineyard and Winery and Chateau de Leelanau.

New this year is a Sneak Preview of the table landscapes and fine art from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, February 12. Donations will be accepted for this viewing.

Tickets are $35 each and can be purchased by calling 231-256-2131 or online at www.oldartbuilding.com The Sneak Preview is included with ticket purchase. All proceeds benefit the Leelanau Community Cultural Center programs.

Thanks Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association for the tip and hey Leelanau Restaurants - any way we can jump on this culinary train??!!

The Downtown Traverse City Association (DTCA) will host the first Traverse City Restaurant Week in response to the many accolades regarding great restaurants and food offerings in the Grand Traverse Region. February 27 through March 5, 2011 promises to be the most delicious week of the winter where diners may perfect the art of dining by discovering new restaurants or enjoying their favorite at an affordable price.

Restaurant Weeks are quickly popping up in communities all over the country and have proved to be a success. The Traverse City region is a natural fit for our finest restaurants to offer multi-course meals that have been especially prepared for this gourmet event. Fifteen of Traverse City’s most reputable restaurants will offer special dinner menu choices of three courses for $25 per person.

“We are excited see Traverse City Restaurant Week grow and become not only a community favorite, but also a tourist attraction in an otherwise slow time of year.  This is a great way to go that restaurant that you have been dying to try or go to your favorite,” says Colleen Paveglio, DDA/DTCA Marketing Director.

Enter to Win!

During Traverse City Restaurant Week, diners may enter to win a prize package that includes $50 gift cards to each participating restaurant.

Visit the downtowntc.com website for further information on participating restaurants and menus.  Following is a peek at who will be participating:

• Amical
• Blue Tractor Cook Shop
• The Boathouse
• The Cook’s House
• Hanna Bistro
• Jolly Pumpkin
• Lil Bo Pub & Grille
• Minervas
• Mission Table (Friday & Saturday Only)
• Modes Bum Steer
• North Peak Brewing Co.
• Patisserie Amie/Chez Peres
• Phil’s on Front
• Red Ginger
• Trattoria Stella

Photo Credit: Untitled by matthewhall419

The Traverse City Record-Eagle has an excellent feature on Local Foods for Thanksgiving that you'll want to check out. In Sustainable Thanksgiving, Jacob Wheeler, editor of the Glen Arbor Sun, asks us to say "thanks" to the local farmers by celebrating with a local turkey, veggies, and more.

Drop by Stone House Bread in Leland for a loaf of their artisan bread to accompany your feast. Finish off your meal with Grocer's Daughters Chocolate and a cup of Light of Day Organics tea.

Remember to pair your Thanksgiving feast with some of Leelanau's award winning wines! Michigan Master Sommelier Claudia Tyagi says:

I always like Riesling with turkey, although with poultry Chardonnay would be beautiful. You have a lot of versatility and a lot of possibility with turkey. You could use a white wine or an aromatic wine. Those tend to go well with turkey, too.

MyNorth.com suggest a few Rieslings on the sweeter side and they also list some great dry Rieslings (which are awesome if you haven't tried them).

Don't miss A Very Michigan Thanksgiving on Absolute Michigan (where we got the lovely turkey above). That article features more recipes and resources for making your Thanksgiving more Michigan friendly! Your tummy will be thankful for the delicious local food, and your neighbors will be thankful to you for supporting their efforts!! Have ideas for things we missed? Post them in the comments!

Photo Credit: Untitled by Vaughan

We're going to try and feature some of the regional & national media coverage Leelanau is getting on this blog - if you have links, share them with us here or on the Leelanau.com Facebook!

The wine industry is definitely a hot topic! A few weeks ago, USA Today tapped Leelanau & Old Mission as one of their 10 great places for local wines. In Hour Detroit, Lorri Hathaway and Sharon Kegerreis urge you to escape to the Leelanau Peninsula for Wine & Holiday Shopping:

Find that warm, tingly sensation of good tidings early with an escape to Leelanau Peninsula for Toast the Season — a spectacular northern Michigan wine celebration that kicks off the holidays. Upon arrival at the first winery, you’ll feel the festive spirit when greeted with a gift bag and a special wine pour deliciously paired with gourmet fare. Then, enjoy a leisurely trek along the renowned M-22 lakeshore drive with stops at any of the 18 wineries for more handpicked wine and food pairings. (Be sure to use a designated driver - it’s surprising how quickly the wine tastes add up!)

In a shameless bit of self-promotion, here's me (Andy McFarlane of Leelanau.com) on FOX-32 talking about the wonders of M-22 in part 1 of Alex Jocich's feature "You Haven't Traveled Across Northern Michigan Until.... I had fun being part of the feature, and I really do believe that M-22 is a road as mythic and cool in its own way as Route 66.

In case you missed it, Livability.com rated Traverse City as #1 on their list of surprising Foodie Cities this spring. They wrote:

Known as the Cherry Capital of the World, the Lake Michigan resort town of Traverse City does a pretty good job with other foods, too. With plenty of award-winning restaurants, wineries, farmers markets and dairies, Traverse City has been called “a new foodie haven” by The Huffington Post, and Midwest Living magazine recently named it second on its list of the region's “best food towns.” At the heart of the accolades is an emphasis on the farm-to-table philosophy. At Trattoria Stella, where chef Myles Anton was nominated for a 2010 James Beard Foundation award, the menu of Italian fare takes care to note ingredients from local farms and dairies. For wine lovers, the city's Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula wine regions lie along the 45th parallel— the same latitude that gives the Bordeaux region of France its famous reputation.

Two thoughts on that:

1. Not one but TWO Leelanau chefs were nominated as well: Randy Chamberlain at Blu in Glen Arbor and Guillaume Hazaël-Massieux of La Bécasse near Maple City!
2. While the national media often says "Traverse City," the imagery and features they identify are 100% Leelanau.

Photo Credit: colour around the bend (1) by Pettman's Photographic Memories