Expectations Dashed

The Thing

Date Visited:  June 2, 2019

Stop:  #5

(Cue the creepy music) It was a cold and breezy day – colder than one would think for a day in June – as we crept along a deserted stretch of roadway through the rolling hills of Michigan.  Threatening clouds were gathering overhead, and an eerie, foreboding sense of anticipation hung in the air inside my car.  I don’t know why, but my eyes kept darting from side to side, scanning the roadside as if expecting something horrific to emerge from the gloaming.  My foot eased off the gas pedal, almost instinctively, as if it had a mind of its own.  It was at this moment that I saw it.  This large, cold, green mass, standing in the shadows of the treeline.  Standing still, just staring at us.  It was … (DUNH DUNH DUNNNHHHH) … The THING…..

After a very enjoyable time at Sage Creek winery, it was time to move on to our next destination – an historical marker called “The Thing.”  With a name like that, expectations were high as I conjured up memories of the sci-fi thriller from 1982, John Carpenter’s classic by the same name.  The movie, which is about an alien being that terrorizes an isolated Antarctica outpost (starring Kurt Russell), is was what nightmares are made of.  So, I was anticipating something really cool.

The historical marker was a mere 1,075 feet east of Sage Creek Winery on the south side of Bordman Road.  Expecting some kind of building or other identifiable landmark, we blew right past the sign, only catching a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye as we drove by.  There was no building.  There was no identifiable landmark.  There was only the marker, which was tucked several feet off the road and standing along a line of trees that obscured it from clearly being seen.  It did have something in common with the movie however – parking was a nightmare.  There was no shoulder along the road to pull over to.  You could pull into Cedar Street about 100 feet west of the sign, but it was very narrow and not an ideal place to park without creating a potential issue for cars trying to get past you, or parking half your car on someone’s lawn so cars could safely get past you.  The only place I found that made sense to park was a dirt driveway that led to a small dirt parking lot adjacent to a small lake, located several feet east of the marker on the opposite side of the street.  It was just far enough away that my wife had no interest in walking to the marker.  So, I set off by myself.

It was quite a letdown to get to the sign and not see anything that had anything to do with the subject matter.  Whatever stood at this place had been demolished back in 1936, and Mother Nature has taken over any trace of anything that could have been left behind.  You’ll learn from the sign that Henry Ford had offered to buy the machine shop for his collection of buildings at Greenfield Village, but the owners of the shop had razed it a few short days before.  Literally, there seems to be no evidence that “the Thing” even existed.  Interesting that something like that could qualify for an historical marker.  In any event, after a couple of quick pics, there wasn’t anything else to do but trudge on back to the car and set my sights on our next winery visit.  

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #michiganwine #historyisbetterwithwine

Our Memphis Belle

Sage Creek Winery

Date Visited:  June 2, 2019

Stop:  #4

Ahhh, at long last.  Our first Winery Blog!!!  After trying unsuccessfully for several weeks to convince my wife to write the blogs for the winery visits, I finally caved in and put fingers to keypad.  Forgive me for my lack of knowledge on the subject of wines since, afterall, I don’t drink wine (wink, wink).

So why do I title this piece “Our Memphis Belle?”  For WWII history buffs, you may know that the Memphis Belle was a famous flying fortress, one of the first of its kind, in the early years of WWII, and it has been immortalized in at least two movies.  It was mostly known for its 25 successful bombing runs before retiring and going on the “war bonds and recruiting trail.”  Or, was I inspired by the beautiful southern belles immortalized in “Gone with the Wind” and who reside in southern cities like Memphis, Tennessee?  No, this particular Memphis Belle is the “diamond-in-the-rough” winery located in Memphis, Michigan.  If you’re like me, you probably had never heard of Memphis, Michigan (even though I have lived in the general area for over 50 years).  Cementing my decision to title this blog “Our Memphis Belle” was the fact that this winery featured a sweet red wine called Memphis Belle.

Memphis, Michigan (pop. 1,184 as of 2014), was settled in 1834 and is a typical midwestern town located at the intersection of Main Street (M-19) and Bordman Roads.  Memphis has a very small downtown area with small shops, restaurants, bars, party stores, a gas station, and that one solitary flashing stoplight at the main intersection.  Located about 6 miles north of Richmond, it is also home to one of our favorite wineries, Sage Creek.  It is located just 190 feet east of Main Street on Bordman Road (35050 Bordman Road, Memphis, Michigan 48041), and it resides in a 100-year-old former Masonic Temple building.  It is owned by military veterans, and they are very involved in community service events and fundraisers.

As you walk into the main entrance, you turn left into what must have been the informal meeting room, with a nice fireplace on the east wall.  The owners of the winery left the front room as an informal sitting area, with plenty of chairs, sofas, and loveseats, with coffee tables and end tables in close proximity so you had a place to set your glass (or glasses) of wine.  It is a great place to casually kick back, get comfortable, and have a great conversation while sipping some wine.  The wine bar is directly south of the living room, and I can only imagine that in its day, probably served as the main meeting room.  The bar runs along the east wall, with racks of wines running along the south, west, and north walls.  There are plenty of seats at the bar and at several tables within the room.  Overall, it had a very comfortable, homey feel about it.  The wait staff is very friendly, and can tell you about each of the wines they offer.

So, this was actually our second visit to Sage Creek – the first coming several months before we started our official Quest.  I can’t think of a better place to start our winery quest than Sage Creek because I fell in love with the place after our first visit.  I call it a “diamond in the rough” because it is located in a non-traditional winery setting – no vineyards or orchards in the area, off the mainstream path where tourists and wine-lovers would traditionally frequent.  As a result, I had very low expectations for this place when we first visited it.  But after that first visit, my mind was completely 180 degrees turned around and our second visit only reinforced my feelings.  On this particular day (June 2), Sage Creek was doing what it often does – supporting community service by participating in a fundraiser for pets seeking homes.  Although the weather was not the greatest, the place was packed as prospective cat and dog owners took time to sample some wines.  We were lucky enough to find a couple of seats at a table already occupied by another couple who were on a motorcycle ride and had stopped to sample some wine.

Once we got our wine lists, we wasted no time picking out our first round of selections even though on this particular day, there were 40 different wines to choose from (2 sweet wines, 4 blush wines, 4 semi-dry and dry white wines, 8 seasonal wines, 7 sweet red wines, 8 semi-dry and dry red wines, 3 dessert wines, and 4 additional wines that fell under the “Almost Gone” category).  You could get four one-ounce pours, eight one-ounce pours, or four two-once pours.  My wife immediately selected the 8-sample tasting, called the Grand Tasting, and I went for the 4-sample tasting, which they simply called the Flight.  Since we share our wines, we were careful not to select any that the other one chose.  My wife ordered Puppy Love, Memphis Belle, Vets Returning Home, Old School House, Sugar Plum, Lemon Drop, Honeydew Haze, and White Cranberry.  I, on the other hand, settled on Bee’s Knees, Ruby Nectar, Cherry Picker, and Raspberry Truffle.  Most of these wines were very sweet and, for the most part, very fruity, refreshing, and enjoyable.

Not satisfied with trying just 12 samples, my wife ordered another round of 8 samples, and I decided that I would just sample her selections (since I was driving, I did not want to drink too much more).  For this round, my wife chose Stargazer, Great Lakes Splash, Blueberry Muffin, Blood Orange, Under the Tuscan Sun, Super Tuscan, Golden Glow, and Playing with Fire.  My wife’s taste in wine is migrating towards drier wines, so this sampling contained a few wines that were semi-dry or dry.  Again, most of these wines were very enjoyable.  So, during our visit, we tried half of the 40 wines they had available that day, and we both agreed that a majority of the wines were very good.  We walked out with a case of wine, with half of them being Vets Returning Home, our favorite wine.  Sage Creek did not disappoint.  We had spent nearly two hours there and enjoyed every minute of it.  I definitely see another visit in our future.  Afterall, there’s another 20 wines yet to sample!

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #historyisbetterwithwine