Black Star Farms has partnered with Clean the World‘s Soap and Bottled Amenities Recycling Program. It’s a program that recycles used lightly used soap, shampoo and other amenities from hotels for use in impoverished areas around the globe to help prevent the spread of disease.
It’s one more step we’ve taken towards “being green” and helping out.
Traverse City Record Eagle writer Marta Helper Drahos had sampled raclette dinners in France and Germany, so when she “learned that a local tasting room/bistro offers European-style raclette right here in Traverse City, I thought it would be a fun way to catch up with foodie friends we hadn’t seen in a while.”
You can read about her recent experience at TASTES. To experience the dinner yourself, just gather a group of 2 to 18 friends, call 231.944.1349, and book your evening. TASTES is closed on Monday and serves their Matterhorn Grill dinners Wednesday-Saturday.
The stars have been aligned for us this month. Our 2008 Arcturos Cabernet Franc was the overall winner in this year’s Harding’s Cup Challenge, beating out other Michigan Cab Francs as well as a couple of French challengers.
Check out what Michigan by the Bottle had to say about the competition.
Do you live in Texas and love our wines? If so, we can now ship to you from way up here in Michigan. We are excited to finally share our wines with our fans in Texas. Please let us know if we can assist you with the ordering process.
The wine industry on the Old Mission Peninsula continues to grow in all of the right directions. Read more about it in this great article by Sandra Silfven at the Detroit News. Be sure to view the video as well to learn more from some of the key players involved.
New vibe on Old Mission with more wineries, high quality | detnews.com | The Detroit News.
With three Best of Class trophies and a total of seven gold and double gold medals at the recent 2010 Michigan Wine Competition winemaker Lee Lutes is buzzing with excitement. He is proud to be part of a team of individuals that made these awards possible.
“So often in this business the winemaker gets all of the credit when really the credit needs to be distributed to everyone involved in organization. I would like to personally thank all of our staff at Black Star Farms for their supported efforts around these wines. In addition we would like to express appreciation to the growers who consistently produce high quality fruit for us.”
Top award winners from Black Star Farms include:
The Michigan Wine and Spirits Competition is sponsored by the 
Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council, which is administered by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. The competition showcases Michigan wines to highly regarded analysts, winemakers and wine writers in the country. The competition is open only to wines produced from Michigan grapes and other fruit. This year forty-four of the state’s 73 wineries entered a record 399 wines.
Judges included five Master Sommeliers, and internationally known authors, winemakers and wine educators. Leading the group through the day was food and wine writer Christopher Cook, who judged at the competition for 12 years before becoming its superintendent in 2001. Cook is also a judge at wine competitions throughout the United States and abroad.
Wines are judged from dry to sweet and from white to red within sweetness level. Younger vintages precede older ones. Awards include, Best of Class, Double Gold, Gold, Silver, Bronze and in 
select years Judges’ Merit. For more information on the awards and judging process visit the Michigan Wine and Grape Council website.
Lee further states that “We are honored to participate in this annual competition that supports us as winemakers, increases the public and trade about our industry as well as being a vehicle that guides the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council in their efforts to promote the quality of Michigan wines.”
A complete list of medal-winning wines is available online at www.michiganwines.com.
Michigan by the Bottle has also produced this great video covering the awards ceremony. The video includes interviews with the winemakers and loads of fun pictures.
At TASTES in the Village at Grand Traverse Commons there’s a little bit of the Alpine heaven being offered. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings you can reserve a cozy barrel table for 2-6 guests and enjoy the Matterhorn Grill dinner.
Your meal consists of ham, sausages, vegetables and bread that you’ll grill right at your table. Meanwhile, you’re melting luscious Leelanau Cheese Raclette right under the grill. When it’s ready, you’ll pour the cheese over the grilled fare. It’s delicious. A choice of three flights of wine comes with your meal, and Caren and Kevin are ready to help you choose which one you’ll most enjoy.
We open for tasting at noon, Tuesday through Sunday. If just reading about the dinner has whetted your appetite, please call for a reservation at 231-944-1349 as seating is limited. (Sometimes you can talk Kevin into a Tuesday or Wednesday night dinner, too, or a private party.)
Join us at the farm for a casual FAMILY FARM DINNER on the patio at the Hearth and Vine Café on Sunday, July 25 from 6-9pm Featuring foods from our farm and our neighboring farms Just give us a call for info or to let us know you’ll be stopping by! 231.944.1297
We are excited to be a part of the upcoming Grow Benzie summer picnic on their farmstead in Benzonia. The picnic will feature gourmet summer fare prepared by chefs Hosea Rosenberg and Dave Query. Hosea is a chef at Jax Fish House in Boulder, CO as well as the season 5 winner of Top Chef. Dave is the owner of 7 Colorado restaurants under the umbrella name of Big Red F Restaurant Group. Alongside their fabulous creations we will be serving a selection of our wines including, Arcturos Pinot Gris, Arcturos Sur Lie Chardonnay and our Red House Red.
Grow Benzie is a community farmstead dedicated to enriching the lives of Benzie County residents by fostering self reliance through education in agriculture, nutrition, job training and life skills. Their site is a demonstration and training center for sustainable gardening and is a symbol of hope from both our past and our future. Their focus is on Growing Healthy Children and Communities, bringing people back to their “roots” of self sufficiency and taking care of each other.
What an honor to support this organization and share our wines with the community involved in this project!
For more information please contact the Grow Benzie office at growbenzie@gmail.com.
Cherry harvest has begun and the National Cherry Festival is underway…this calls for a nice chilled glass of good ol’ cherry wine. It is surprisingly refreshing and it pairs well with a multitude of summer inspired recipes. We love it with BBQ ribs, coleslaw and corn on the cob. It is also lovely when mixed with a bubbly and makes a crisp cherry sparkling cocktail. Yet another use is in salad dressings and marinades…really the possibilities are endless.
In honor of the annual Cherry Festival we are offering a great discount on our Cherry Wine. Already on sale for $8.50 we are offering an additional 20% savings on this delightful wine making it a mere $6.80 a bottle.
Use this coupon to receive your discount. Don’t delay as the coupon expires July 31st!
