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The Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association's annual Harvest Stompede Vineyard Run & Walk and Wine Tour takes place Saturday September 10 & Sunday September 11. It's considered one of the most scenic running & wine touring events in the Midwest and is returning to the Leelanau Peninsula for the tenth year.

The race itself happens Saturday morning at 9 AM at Ciccone Vineyard. Race registration is is down to less than 100 slots, but it's a great event for spectators as well with a ONE OF A KIND course that winds through vineyard rows.

The Harvest Stompede Wine Tour follows the race and offers a special pour and food pairing featuring local food at each of the 18 Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association member wineries. Recognizing that nothing goes better with local wine than local food, the 18 wineries of the Leelanau Wine Trail will each be featuring local items in their food pairings!

Win some tickets!

On Absolute Michigan there's a chance to win 2 pairs of tickets - click through for the details!

Photo: Sprint to the Finish by lpwines. View the 2007 Gallery and the 2008 Gallery for a taste of how cool this event is!

The annual Leelanau Peninsula  Wine, Food, & Music Festival will be held this Saturday, August 13 from noon to 6 PM at Haserot Park in Northport. The event features wines from the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas, one brewery and one hard cider vendor, music from Dawn Campbell and  food from area restaurants.  The $15 admission includes a souvenir glass and 2 wine-tasting tickets.  For more information visit the Leelanau Peninsula Chamber of Commerce or call 231.271.9895.

Also in Northport on Saturday is the annual Northport Dog Parade, which starts promptly at 1 PM. The theme for the 2010 Dog Parade in Northport is "Dog Gone With the Wind". The parade is open to all, but only those who have registered will be eligible for prizes. Advance registration is $5 and is available in Northport at Dog Ears Books, The Pot of Gold Re-sale Shop and the Old Mill Pond Inn. Late registration begins at noon on parade day and is $10 per dog. Judging takes place at the Mill Pond before the parade. Bring the kids, the dogs & the entire family.  Prizes for all!  For more information, please call David Chrobak at 231-386-7341.

The Glen Arbor Art Association will host its third annual Plein Air Paint Out on Saturday, August 6th. This popular event hosts artists from throughout the Midwest who arrive early in the morning at GAAA to have their canvases or papers stamped to verify that their paintings have been done on this day. Artists then find their ideal spots for a day of plein-air painting before returning with their completed works for display to the Glen Arbor Art Association in the afternoon for a juried exhibit and “wet painting” sale and reception. Painter and retired professor art, Harvey Gordon will be this year’s guest juror and will award three cash prizes. A fourth prize this year will be the People’s Choice Award determined by popular vote.

The Wet Painting Reception and Sale is open to the public from 5:30-7:30 pm at GAAA, located off Lake Street across from Cherry Republic. Paintings may be purchased on a “first come” basis beginning at 5:45 pm. There will also be a wine tasting provided by the 24 wineries of the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival along with light appetizers. Proceeds from the sales will benefit the art association’s enrichment programs. A $10 donation per person donation is requested.

Plein-air painting refers to the technique of painting out-of-doors which was initiated by the French Impressionists in the mid-nineteenth century. The challenge is to paint or draw directly and spontaneously from nature during a very limited period of time. Leelanau County’s beauty provides the perfect setting for a paint-out event.

Artist who would like to participate should call the GAAA office, 231-334-6112, or go to www.glenarborart.org. The fee to participate is $25 with a discount for early registration.

The 2011 Traverse City Wine & Art Festival takes place Saturday, August 20th from 3-10 PM on the beautiful front lawn at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, rain or shine. It's Michigan’s premier celebration of wine, art, food and music, offering an incredible opportunity to taste wines from 24 wineries as you dance, dine, and see extraordinary performers, art and artists.

The wines & wineries are the heart of the festival and the large wine tent is dedicated to featuring well over 100 wines from the Leelanau Peninsula, Old Mission Peninsula and - for the first time - Benzie County. Attendees can choose a tasting or full-glass pour and have a chance to talk with the winemakers and winery reps to learn more about the wines. The 2010 vintage is spectacular, and this is a fantastic opportunity to try the riesling, pinot gris, chardonnay, pinot blanc, cabernet franc and a host of other varieties that are making a lot of noise at wine competitions around the country!

The festival also features a great lineup with some of Michigan's finest musicians. Michigan jazz/folk great Claudia Schmidt kicks things off  and then joins Rachel Davis and Shout Sister Shout. It will be the first time Claudia and Shout Sister Shout have taken the stage together, an event that promises to be one of those "better not miss it" nights. Steppin' In It goes electric and will keep you dancing into the evening. There's also a wide range of performances including dancers, performance artists and the Sweet Adelines.

In addition to a wide selection of art for show & sale and gourmet food from many of the region's finest restaurants for purchase, there's even a chance for YOU to get into the act with "Fashion Is Art". This new feature that invites you to don your most innovative attire for a chance to win the Grand Prize, a spa weekend for two at Crystal Mountain Resort & Spa. Get tickets & lodging package information at traversecitywinefestival.com and check their Facebook for a ticket deal that ends TODAY.

Photo: Traverse City Wine & Art Festival, 2010 by KatSwinehart

via lpwines.com!

How Mario Batali Gets His Drink On In and Around Traverse City, Michigan from nation food magazine Bon Appetit features 5 of Mario's favorite Leelanau wines & ciders. There's Black Star Farms Arcturos Cabernet Franc which Batali names "the best Michigan wine ever", Gill's Pier Semi-Dry Riesling (recommended with pork with roast grapes), 45 North Winery Icebox Gewurztraminer (a succulent dessert wine with classic notes of apricot, honey, and ginger spice), Tandem Ciders Smackintosh "It's become my new drink, I drink cider as an aperitivo now. Even back in New York. Where they're all from France and they're not as awesome." and L. Mawby Cremant Classic NV, named "arguably the Leelanau Peninsula's signature wine".

There's also a more narrative & lengthy feature about how the rock-star chef spends his summers in Leelanau. Mario says:

The food scene has really exploded in the region. There are farmers' markets and hip-looking people farming and butchering. It's very cool. Even in Northport, our town of less than 1,000 people, there's a great weekly farmers' market in the summer. The chefs involved in the scene celebrate what's here; they're not trying to be anything they're not. Now people are coming for gastronomic tourism.

There's a whole lot more to read and he highlights Leelanau standards like Fishtown, the deck at the Cove, Boones in Suttons Bay and Pleva's Meats. These are really great features that tout what many folks have known for years - the wine and the food of the Leelanau Peninsula and the surrounding area have arrived.

The table is set, come on up and check it out!

Photo credits: Apples & a Growler by Trish P. - K1000 Gal

The Cherryland Humane Society in Traverse City is struggling with an increase in abandoned pets and cost of supplies as donations are falling. The Northern Express reports that the combination has the agency in danger of closing its doors:

"The CHS is dependent on donations for its very existence," Cherry said. "Often animal charities are on the lower end of the giving scale," adding CHS received only 60% of the expected total funds from annual donors in 2010.

Established July 1956, the CHS provides over 25 programs dedicated to spay and neuter awareness, pet education and homeless dog and cat adoption, among other services in the Grand Traverse region. Last year, CHS found homes for 596 puppies and dogs; and 556 kittens and cats.

"Last week we had 18 dogs adopted," Schwartz said.

Because of the shape of the economy, including job loss and foreclosures, CHS has seen a record increase in animals coming to the shelter, according to Reed.

"People will come to us crying because they can’t find an apartment that will allow dogs or they just can’t afford to keep their pet," Schwartz sympathizes.

Read more from the Northern Express and click here to donate directly to the Humane Society.

From June 27-July 4 the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association wineries below will feature a special wine and donate proceeds to the Cherryland Humane Society.

Wineries and Wines

• Gill’s Pier and “Ankle Biter”
• Chateau de Leelanau and “Solem Farm Red”
• Black Star Farms of Suttons Bay and “Red House Red” with Cherryland Humane Society special custom labels
• Bel Lago and “Cherry Wine”
• Good Harbor and “Manitou”
• Forty Five North and “Forty Five White”
• L. Mawby and “Green”
• Cherry Republic and “Abbondanza”
• Good Neighbor Organics and “Icy Apple Blend”
• Willow and “Baci Rose”

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.

The 2012 Leland Wine Festival takes place on Saturday, June 9, 2012 - 2012 details coming soon!

The 2011 Poster is titled "Fishtown from the Bridge" and was painted by Phil Fisher (click for website - new window). You can purchase the poster online along with posters from years past from the Leland Chamber's online store!

Mark your calendar for the annual Leland Wine & Food Festival. The festival is a northern Michigan tradition held on the second Saturday in June (June 11, 2011) from noon til 6pm.

Come enjoy a day near the Leland Harbor and Leland's historic Fishtown tasting wines from local wineries and tasting the specialties from local restaurants and vendors. There's also live music in the park all day and of course plenty of beautiful views of Lake Michigan and the Manitou Islands.

Admission is $12 and includes an etched wine glass and two tickets for wine tasting. Additional wine tasting tickets are available. Food vendors accept cash only and here's a list of last year's participating Wineries and Food Vendors (we will update when we get info!):

Wineries
Bel Lago
Black Star Farms
Chateau Fontaine
Ciccone Vineyards
45 North
Gill's Pier Winery
Good Harbor Vineyards
Raftshol
Silver Leaf
Willow
Bowers Harbor
Chateau Chantal
Chateau Grand Traverse
Peninsula Winery
Circa
Chateau de Leelanau

Local Beer: Shorts Brewing

Food Vendors
Bluebird Restaurant
Leland Lodge
Corky’s (Vineyard Inn)
Plevas
Village Inn
Drive Thru BBQ
The Cove
Martha’s Leelanau Table
Leelanau Cheese
Village Cheese Shanty
Stone House Bread

View Photos from the Leland Wine & Food Festival

For more information on Leelanau County's wineries, visit the Leelanau Peninsula Vintner's Association site at LPWines.com

Photo credit: On the Lawn by farlane

The Downtown Traverse City Association will host the spring Downtown Art Walk this Friday (April 29). Enjoy an evening of art, refreshments, food and music with 16 art exhibits along Front, State and Union St.

As part of the festivities of Art Walk, the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival will be offering wines from Leelanau & Old Mission for tasting from 6-9 PM at the grand opening of the Good Work Collective at 417 South Union in Traverse City. In addition to art for display and sale from many area artists including Glenn Wolf, Eric Daigh and Kaye Krahpol, the evening will feature an Indian theme with appetizers from the Cook’s House and live Classical Indian Raga music with Sitar and Tabla as well as a remarkable 12 string jazz and world guitarist from Detroit. Enjoy regional wines along with IPAs from regional breweries and stay around for the afterglow to Art Walk with more fun on tap!

Speaking of artists and the Wine & Art Festival, there is still time for artists to apply for the 2011 Festival - all the details and application can be found right here!