Chateau Fontaine Woodland White 2004
It was a college friend's wedding that lured me to Northern Michigan, more specifically the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail. In all I had two half days to pack in as many wineries as I could before the ceremony and other planned events. If you haven't heard of this wine area, don't feel bad, I had no idea it existed before I "googled it". This peninsula pokes out into Lake Michigan adjacent to Traverse Bay and hosts about fifteen wineries. On the other side of the bay is Old Mission Peninsula with five wineries of its own. On this day I was on The Leelanau Trail.
I hadn't planned on hitting Chateau Fontaine until I was literally running out of gas and had a detour which put me in the area. The winery itself seemed small and humble compared to some of the larger tasting rooms and facilities I saw there. They have 22 acres of vines grown on a former potato farm and cow pasture. It was late in the day and I was rationing my pours to stay safe on the road. I was disappointed to hear that they were sold out of their reds. Among their wines available were Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gewurtraminer, Riesling, and an obscure wine called Woodland White.
A not so fancy exterior.
Great landscaping though.
While I enjoyed the Pinot Gris, my girlfriend was attracted to this Woodland White made from Auxerrois grapes. This grape usually makes its living in the North East of France or Alsace region. Its M.O. is not very glamorous with words like bland, neutral, and acidic being among the adjectives thrown around. I found this bottle to be refreshing, but very much a food wine. The aroma has a faint note of grass or hay. It's well balanced with a light citrus flavor. There is no predominate flavor but I consider it to be earthy and refreshing at the same time. My grade: B-
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