Wine and Dine on VinVillageRadio

Linda Jones, Director, of the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council wants us to know that Michigan state is among the top ten wine producers and wine-grape growers in the US with Agriculture being the number two source of economic development. Located at the 45th parallel, Michigan is home to four federally approved American Viticulture Appellations and currently 64 wineries producing wine from predominately Michigan-grown wine-grapes. Riesling is the number one planted white vinifera and Pinot Noir is the number one red vinifera. Cabernet Franc is generating national buzz in west-coast competitions yet Welches sources a large percentage of Concord for red grape juice and Niagara for white within the state.
http://www.Michiganwines.com

According to Linda Jones, Director, Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council, the current release of 2007 Michigan red wines are extremely good. With four wineries over 50,000 cases, a few in the 10,000 case margin, most Michigan wineries produce 2 - 5,000 cases per year and are not available on the national wholesale distribution stage. So, your best bet for procuring Michigan artisanal wines is to visit in person or explore internet shipping options. On-site tourism is growing, with many wineries catering to the tourist with winemaking classes and related food themes. The Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council is a program of Michigan Department of Agriculture which maintains an interactive website to explore all that PURE MICHIGAN has to offer in terms of wine and grape production.
http://www.Michiganwines.com

John Calmeyer, Vice President of Marketing for Firestone Vineyard, Santa Ynez, California, talks to us about an unique opportunity that he created at Firestone to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru--accompanied by a specially selected Guest Chef who will prepare meals on the trail. The selected Firestone Discoveries Pathfinder will keep a video and photo journal of the trip and file post-trip reports on the Firestone website. Upon return home, the Firestone Discoveries Pathfinder will also report online about pairing Firestone wines with various dishes prepared on the hiking trail. An added bonus: they will be paid a stipend of $1,000. Firestone Discoveries Pathfinder applications accepted until December 13th. and Guest Chef Challenge applicants may apply through October 31st., 2009. Learn more on our link below.
http://www.firestonediscoveries.com

Lynn Krielow Chamberlain, M.Sc. Oenology, CWE, Host of Wine and Dine on VinVillageRadio, shares wine and food news tidbits. First up, Wine Institute: The Voice For California Wine is celebrating their 75th anniversary commemorating the aftermath of Repeal with a brochure that is available to listeners as a download. Did you know that drinking local/regional wines leaves a smaller carbon footprint? Or, that you can plan a vacation as a grunt-worker from World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms... and at your favorite winery? And best of all, wine industry jobs are available throughout the country, at all levels, from production and vineyard to education, PR, Accounting, Logistics, Retail, Wholesale, and on. Do what you do now but in the wine industry. Listen and learn.
http://www.wineinstitute.org/files/75th%20Brochure_Final.pdf