The Grape Stomp

 The Grape Stomp covers Great Lakes wine from the southwest Michigan side of the lake. The beat starts in Berrien County and the Lake Michigan Shore AVA, then runs out through Old Mission and Leelanau, across to the Lake Erie shore in Ohio and Ontario, up to Door County, and east to the Finger Lakes and Niagara. The writing is enthusiast, not sommelier. I name the producer, the grape and the vintage, I explain what lake effect actually does to a growing season in language nobody needs a certificate to follow, and I skip the tasting-note word salad, because a reader cannot smell the bottle through a screen.

The reader is 30 to 65, midwest based or midwest curious, comfortable in the fifteen to thirty dollar aisle and still willing to spend more on a bottle that deserves it. Some of them started on sweet fruit wines and now buy single-vineyard Riesling. Some are walking into their first tasting room this weekend. Both belong here, because that is the actual culture of Great Lakes wine: nobody quizzes you at the door. What this reader wants is the why. Why Riesling performs on Old Mission, why cold-hardy hybrids exist at all, what Lake Michigan Shore AVA means when it shows up on a label.

Coverage runs in four lanes. Ferments is the bottles: wine, cider, mead, fruit wine and regional spirits. Destinations is where you drive: winery, cidery and distillery visits, trail guides and festival coverage. Food and Cocktails is what the region makes, on the plate and in the glass. Behind the Scenes is the work itself, from cold-hardy hybrid science to winemaker conversations to the economics of running a small winery in a climate that fights back. The Grape Stomp is published by Flow Media Marketing alongside ManTripping.com, MenWhoBlog.com, CouplePlaces.com and CruiseWestCoast.com. Wineries, associations and regional tourism partners are welcome to get in touch, and a tasting or a sample buys an honest look, never a guaranteed write-up.

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