Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Boskydel Leelanau (Michigan) Vignoles, 2009

Bernie Rink, a former librarian, was one of the first winegrowers on the Leelanau Peninsula of Michigan, and his Boskydel dry Vignoles is one of my long-time favorites from the area. It is unpretentious and not a wine designed to make the casual drinkers at the table say, "Wow! What is this?" It's rather a wine to sip and appreciate for its nuances and the way it makes the meal even better. We had it tonight with spinach pie and Greek potatoes, and it was a perfect match.

Medium gold. Lemon and pineapple. Plays nicely off the lemon and herbs in the Greek potatoes. Robust mouth feel without any oak intricacies to distract attention away from the fruit of the vine. Boskydel has been winegrowing since the early 1980s, and the Vignoles vines must have some age on them by now. I think there are more nuances to come for this wine over the next several years.

Boskydel wines are not aggressively marketed or distributed. The best way to taste and buy them is to visit the tasting room near Lake Leelanau. If you want a single bottle, it will cost you $8 to $9. But for around $70, you can pack a whole case in your trunk. This is what wine tasting and buying was all about several decades ago, and you can still have the experience at Boskydel.

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