In an interview with the wine blog "Michigan By The Bottle," Linda Jones, the Executive Director of the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council, says over the past decade, the wine industry in Michigan has grown ten to fifteen percent each year. She says Michigan is the eighth largest producer of wine grapes in the U.S.
Suttons Bay, Michigan is in the northwestern portion of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, just east of Lake Leelanau. The tiny town is about halfway up the eastern shore of the Leelanau Peninsula. It sports a Farmers Market, a lighthouse, a state park, a casino and a handful of small wineries, including one that's unique, in that it only makes sparkling wines.
L. Mawby Vineyards - and their M. Lawrence label - produce 14 different sparkling wines, many of them made from the traditional grapes for bubbly: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. They do produce one sparkler made from Vignoles, a hardy grape that thrives in cold weather.
Of the four Michigan bubblies I tried - kindly supplied by L. Mawby Vineyards - two bear the L. Mawby label and were produced using the méthode champenoise, in which the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle. The two wines under the M. Lawrence flag are produced in the méthode cuve close, in which the secondary fermentation takes place in a closed tank.
L. Mawby Vineyards produces 14 different sparkling wines, and all but one are non-vintage efforts. Their top of the line entry - the 2002 Mille - is $50, but most of their offerings sell for between $13-$22. The two L. Mawby wines received a brut dosage of 0.8 percent residual sugar, while the M. Lawrence Sex received a slightly higher brut dosage of 1.4 percent RS. The final wine I'll mention, M. Lawrence Fizz, is finished with a Demi-Sec dosage of 3.5 percent RS.
These wines, as different as they are, are all very well made and are quite impressive.



It is aptly named, as the wine is sexy looking, with a deep pink rosato-style coloring and those frothy white fine bubbles, this time with a nose of cherry candy and strawberries. Very fruity aromas mingle with a slight herbal edge and a bready nose. The taste is vivid and bright, bursting with flavor and acidity. An extremely refreshing mouthfeel sports a touch of earthiness on the finish. It is extremely drinkable and extremely food-friendly. You'll find it's a little sweeter than the Cremant and the Blanc de Blancs but just barely so, with 1.4 percent residual sugar. The retail price of Sex is $15, a bargain.

Fizz is honey-golden in color with a honey aroma on the yeasty apricot nose. There's a slight taste of honey on the palate, too, but it’s not anywhere near overly sweet. The finish is long and satisfying. Fizz is sold for $13 retail.
The Wine Country stop in Michigan gave us four wonderful sparkling wines with ten more on the L. Mawby menu to try. These wines are special enough to save for special occasions, but why wait? Every day is special in its own way.
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