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

Fore!

The Buick Open

Date Visited:  June 23, 2019

Stop:  #9

It was absolutely a beautiful June day, and we had decided that a full day spent visiting historical markers and wineries was in order.  The biggest decision – where to go?  The nominees:  1.  Go east and hit wineries on the way to and from New Baltimore, 2.  Go north and hit wineries in the Bay City area, and 3.  Go northwest and hit wineries in the Fenton area.  The Winner:  Fenton.  Why?  Seemed like the best ratio of wineries to signs.  So, with that major decision now out of the way, we packed some snacks, and headed out to our first stop on the journey – Warwick Hills Country Club.

I had been to Warwick Hills many times in the past when The Buick Open, a PGA tournament, was an annual event.  I remember following the likes of Lanny Wadkins, Ben Crenshaw, Fred Couples, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyck, and Tiger Woods.  I even spent a day walking the tournament grounds while enduring a kidney stone – not exactly my idea of a fun day, but when you have a chance to see the world’s greatest golfers up close and personal, well, you suck it up and drink lots of beer until you pee the damn thing out!!!  If only it had happened that way, but I will spare you all the graphic details.

I had not been to Warwick Hills since 2009 – 10 years ago – when Tiger Woods won the last Buick Open played there.  That was also before they had a historical marker commissioned on the site, so when we arrived on this day, we had no idea where the marker was located.  The website I use to assist with the locations of signs had the incorrect coordinates, so it became a guessing game.  There were many places in front of the clubhouse that seemed like logical places for a sign, but all our searches yielded nothing.  We drove into the parking lot to the right of the clubhouse where the pool and the tennis courts were located, and as we drove around, my wife spotted the marker – on the golf course itself.  Now, Warwick Hills is a private country club, and we are obviously not members, so the challenge was, how do we get to the marker without being accused of trespassing, assuming that that is even an issue.  I’m figuring since the sign should be available to the public, they shouldn’t have an issue with anyone entering the grounds and taking a look.  My wife didn’t want to go along, so I took off, walking as if I belonged there, trying not to raise any suspicions (just in case I was trespassing).  I walked past the bocce ball courts, through the outdoor dining area, and up the pathway to the sign located to the right of the first tee and left of the practice green.  I hung around long enough to take pictures of the sign, the clubhouse, a shot looking down the first fairway, and a couple of additional random pics, then retraced my steps back to the car.  No one said a thing, so I’m not sure if I was in the wrong or not.  I guess for anyone else who may visit this sign, I would just be aware that there could be an element of risk if entering the grounds if, in fact, it is considered trespassing.

Back to the sign.  This historical marker is a two-sided sign.  The front side is dedicated to describing how the Buick Open came to be.  Warwick Hills opened in 1957, and one year later, the Buick Open was born and became known as the first professional golf tournament to be sponsored by a corporation.  The sign goes into a bit more detail, so you can read that for yourself below.

The backside of the sign describes the very first Buick Open golf tournament.  It offered a $52,000 purse, which was the largest purse on the tour that year, and as a result drew what many considered to be the strongest field of the year.  The championship came down to the very last shot – a 3 ½ foot putt made by Billy Casper for the win, a $9,000 first place check, and a brand-new Buick.  My, have times changed.  Pro golfers today make more than $9,000 for finishing LAST in a tournament.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine

The Case of the Missing Sign

Byers Homestead

Date Visited:  August 24, 2019

Stop:  #48

We left Mill Race Park on West Commerce Road and knew exactly where our next destination would be – right across the street.  We could see the Byers Homestead from the parking lot at Mill Race Park.  We anticipated a relaxing time walking around the grounds of the homestead, reading the historical marker situated somewhere on the grounds, taking our requisite photographs, and then sauntering on to our next destination.  However, it was not as relaxing as we thought as we encountered yet another mystery on our Michigan Wines and Signs quest.

Although we could see the Byers Homestead across the street, the main entrance to the site was off of Tamworth Street, about 470 feet east of the historical marker at Mill Race Park.  So, we jumped in the car and drove the short distance and parked.  The actual homestead is a fairly large area and we had no idea where the actual historical marker was located.  As we have done on all of our historical marker visits, we used out Gold Source coordinates, but were not surprised that the sign was not there.  So, we set out to explore the grounds in hopes of locating the marker. 

We walked across Tamworth Street from the parking lot and approached the big red barn, which now serves as a Country Store and Candy Shop, only open on Sundays from noon to 5:00 pm.  We have since learned that the barn was built around 1900 as a small carriage house and horse barn, or as a utility barn.  It is also believed that it served as a blacksmith shop at one time.  It looks like your typical red barn – Dutch Gambrel roof and rustic post and beam construction – but a lot smaller.  This seemed like a logical location for the historical marker, so we searched around the whole barn to no avail.

West of the barn is the farm house, so that seemed like the next logical place for the historical marker.  On the way to the farm house, we passed several out buildings:  Grannie’s pantry, the duck barn, and the dress barn among them.  We have since learned that Frederick Pecks built the farm house in 1849.  He lived there for 60 years until his death in 1908.  His daughter, Grace Germaine, was the next occupant of the farmhouse.  She is the last confirmed resident as well.  It’s a classic early Victorian white farm house structure, and we enjoyed taking pictures of it from every conceivable direction.  But, much to our dismay, there was no historical marker there, either.

We looked for the marker in the park that lies south of the barn and farm house.  We even walked out to the Byers Park sign on Commerce Road in hopes that the historical marker was out there.  The walk offered a scenic look at the farmhouse and grounds from across a pond, but it offered up no historical marker.  At this point, we were stymied, and decided that we were not destined to see that sign on this particular day.

Of course, once I got back home later that evening, the first thing I did was get on the internet and look for any clues that might explain the mystery of the missing sign.  Sure enough, I found a couple of resources that mentioned what happened.  One source stated that the main building on the homestead site had fallen into disrepair and had become a safety concern, as well as having dangerous mold growing inside the building.  So, the state of Michigan removed the sign.  Another site simply mentioned that the sign was returned to the Department of History, with no additional explanation.  And a third source came from an interview with a Co-Chair of “Friends of Byers”, Cheryl Quinn, for from The Spinal Column, a news weekly for western Oakland County.  In the article, Cheryl states that “there used to be a residence where June (Byers) lived but it had no running water. The Township had it condemned and taken down and when that happened the state came in and took back the marker.”

But, if we had found the sign, it would have told us about the early history of the area.  The site on which the Byers Homestead resides is said to be the location where the first white pioneers settled in this region.  Abraham Walrod, a German immigrant from New York, built a log cabin here and eventually the Village of Commerce sprung up.  The current farm house replaced the log cabin in 1849.  Many of the settlers who came to the area traveled via the Erie Canal, which had opened in 1825.  They named their village Commerce in hopes of becoming a major business center.  Over time, two generations of Byers lived at this homestead.  June Byers eventually assumed ownership of the property, and in 1998 sold it to Commerce Township.  The Friends of Byers Group, established in 1992, handles the maintenance of the grounds and conducts fundraisers to keep preservation activities moving forward.  One of their objectives is to have the Historical Marker returned to the site.

Since we never actually saw the historical marker, we cannot officially cross this site off our quest list.  It will not be the last marker we will encounter that is no longer where it is supposed to be, but more on that in future blogs.  In any event, we did enjoy our visit to the Homestead, and we were very impressed with the hard work that the Friends of Byers Group and other volunteers have done to keep the site looking great and preserving this very important historical site.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #lovemiwine #historyisbetterwithwine

Second Chances

Spicer Orchards Winery

Date Visited:  June 23, 2019

Stop:  #16

We left Old Prospect Hill Cemetery excited about the prospect of drinking some more wine, so we got back onto W. Shiawassee Ave. and headed west, bearing right onto Owen Road.  After a quick stop to gas up, we jumped onto US-23 and headed south to Exit 70.  We headed east on Clyde Road for about 0.4 miles and on the north side, we easily spotted Spicer Orchards.  This place was enormous and, on this day, was teeming with activity.  With the weather being so nice, there were hundreds of people swarming throughout the place.  Finding a parking spot proved to be a challenge, but after a few minutes, we were lucky to find someone leaving so we pulled into their vacated space.

It is overwhelming how much there is to do at Spicer’s.  On this particular day, a lot of people were there with the intentions of picking their own strawberries, so wagons loaded with people either going to or coming back from the fields were plentiful.  Kids were running all about, interacting with the array of farm animals populating the barnyard, or enjoying the train ride, bounce houses, zip line, sand art, face painting, pony rides, climbing structures, and more.  You could easily spend a day here, and from what I could see, many people were doing just that.

The Spicer family has been growing fruit in southeastern Michigan for five generations, and have had many markets in the area throughout the years.  Their present location was opened in 1980, and the winery was opened in 2009.  You can learn a little bit more about the history of the Spicer family at  http://www.spicerorchards.com/history.html.   History aside, we were there for one thing only – to sample some wine.  We were excited to visit their tasting room, and based on how many people we saw running about the grounds, were not surprised to walk in and find the room packed.  The tasting room is fairly large room, but there was no room at the bar to stand, and most of the tables were occupied.  There were only two people working, and both were behind the bar, so sitting at a table did not look like an option.  So, we patiently stood around waiting for a spot to open up at the bar.  In the meantime, we got our hands on their wine list and started the process of picking out our selections.  They had a very large selection of wines and hard ciders to choose from – in total, 23 different wines, and 8 different hard ciders.  They had 4 dry wines, 2 semi-dry wines, 2 semi-sweet wines, 6 sweet wines, 8 fruit wines, 1 ice wine, 4 hard ciders, and 4 limited edition hard ciders.  Choosing what we wanted would not be easy!!!

After about 10 minutes, we were able to squeeze into a rather small section of the bar and tried to get someone to come over and get us started with our wine selections.  The crowd at the bar seemed to overwhelm the workers who were trying to serve everyone in the place as well as act as cashier when patrons made purchases.  As a result, it took forever for someone to free up and come over to take our order.  Then, much to our aggravation, they would not take our order until we paid first!!  Now, we have been to many wineries and tasting rooms over the past several years and regardless of where we’ve been (Traverse City, Grand Haven, or the Niagara wine regions in Ontario, Canada), we have NEVER been to a winery or tasting room that required their patrons to pay first before being served.  This policy just did not seem very customer friendly – like they didn’t trust their clientele - and really set a bad tone for our visit.  I only want to pull out my wallet once and pay for everything when I am done and ready to leave – not have to pay multiple times every time I want to buy something.   

Spicer’s was offering seven 1-once pours for $7, so I paid our $14 and asked for our first selections.  It took quite some time for us to finish our 7 pours, mostly because it took an inordinate amount of time in between pours to get service.  Because the two gentlemen working the bar were so busy, there was virtually no interaction with them beyond them pouring our next ounce.  We learned nothing of the wines or ciders we were drinking, which was disappointing.  Kathy tried the following wines and ciders:  Traminette, the Reserve Cider, the House Blush, the Soft Red, the Cherry wine, the Dessert Apple, and the Honey & White.  I tried the Sweet Riesling, the Raspberry hard cider, the Catawba Blush, the Soft White, the Blueberry wine, the Cranberry Wine, and the Sparkling Peach.  The wines and ciders were mostly OK to good, but nothing really stuck out.  Kathy usually has all kind of notes scratched out on the wine list with stars next to bottles we have to buy.  But, none of that this time around.  We have never left a winery without buying at least one bottle of something, but there is always a first time, and this was going to be it for us (although at the last minute we decided to get the Catawba, which was something we hadn't had elsewhere in Michigan).  Maybe it was the crowds.  Maybe it was the poor service or the lack of a personal connection to the winery.  I know that their pay-as-you-go policy put a sour taste in my mouth, so maybe I wasn’t giving them a fair shake.  Whatever the reason, I want to chalk our disappointing visit up to it being an anomaly, and not the norm.  I could see by the fun that everyone was having at the orchard that this is a magical place, so I believe that the winery was just having a bad day.  In any event, our quest on this day included 3 wineries – one that was great, one that was closed, and one that was disappointing.  Not the formula for a successful trip, but I am sure Kathy and I will head back to Spicer’s again in the future and give it a second chance.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine

Anyone for wine and goat yoga?

Westview Orchards Winery

Date Visited:  June 2, 2019

Stop:  #6

It was getting late in the afternoon as we headed west after our disappointing visit to “The Thing” historical marker.  We knew we only had time to hit one more winery, even though we had at least 3 others we were hoping to visit on this day.  It was decided we would try Westview Orchards Winery, located just south of Romeo, since we had never been there before.  At best, we would only have an hour to spend, so we did not waste any time hustling the 21 miles from “The Thing” to the winery.

The winery is located on the northwest corner of Van Dyke Avenue and 30 Mile Road, approximately 2 miles south of downtown Romeo.  The actual address is 65075 Van Dyke, Washington, MI 48095.  Washington is an unincorporated community in the south-central portion of Washington Township in Macomb County.  Washington Township has a population of 27,878 (as of 2017) and was organized in 1827.  There are many popular sites to visit in Washington Township, including the historical Octagon House and Stoney Creek Metro Park.  Another popular site to visit is Westview Orchards, which began as a small farm and orchard in 1813.  It has been run continually by ancestors of the original owner for over 200 years.  It has an interesting history, which you can read all about on their website (https://www.westvieworchards.com/farm-history).  In April, 2015 they opened the winery, which is located on the grounds of the orchard on the second floor of the cider barn.  Getting up to the wine bar is really cool – you have to take a spiral staircase up the silo.

When you exit the silo, you enter an expansive room that originally was the loft to the barn.  The owners did a wonderful job turning the loft into a homey, enjoyable hang out.  The room runs north and south, and the wine bar takes up a large portion of the west wall.  There is plenty of standing space at the bar, and several tables scattered throughout the enormous room.  At the far northern area of the room is a cozy sitting area with chairs and couches.  The room is dominated by everything wood – wood walls, wood ceiling, wood beams, wood floors, and the wood bar.  They host many events throughout the year – bridal parties, live music Saturdays, Trivia Contests on most Fridays, special dinners and events, and even Goat Yoga classes!!!  I mean, what can be better than doing yoga with baby goats while drinking your favorite wine, right?

I don’t know if it was the lousy weather, or the fact that it was only an hour until closing time, but we had this whole room to ourselves.  We were warmly greeted by the two women tending the bar on this particular day (I’m sorry, but I do not recall their names, but they were so sweet and took such great care of us).  We were lucky to be the only ones there because we got their undivided attention and they told us everything we needed to know about the wines, the ciders, the orchard, and the winery.  They handed us their wine list and we set about trying to decide what to try.  On this day, they had 3 ciders and 16 wines on the menu, however, they did not have any of the Strawberry-Watermelon wine available but did have Strawberry Dreamin’ instead.

A flight of wine consisted of four 2-ounce pours.  My wife decided on Maple Jack Cider, Cranberry Crush (a semi-sweet merlot blended with cranberries), Hot Rod (a dry red wine with cherry notes), and Maybe Yes – Maybe No (a dry Grand Merlot with raisin and dark cherry notes).  I went fruit across the board – Pucker Up (apple) Cider, Awesome Apple (a semi-dry apple wine), Peach Queen (a sweet peach wine), and Strawberry Dreamin’ (a Riesling with strawberries).  I really enjoyed all of my choices, as well as a couple of my wife’s choices.  My wife really enjoyed all of our choices, and was considering getting another flight.  However, our hostesses were kind enough to let her try a small sample of 2 additional wines free of charge.  So, my wife tried Sweet Revenge (a semi-dry, four red-grape blend) and Wine der Woman (a semi-sweet white Gewürztraminer wine). 

I expected that we would be walking out with several bottles of wines and ciders.  After much deliberation, and comparing notes, we decided on a bottle each of Maple Jack Cider, Peach Queen, Strawberry Dreamin’, and Cranberry Crush – a fairly light haul given how much we enjoyed all the wines we tried.  What I am learning, however, is that this then gives my wife an excuse to revisit a winery so we can get bottles of the other wines we liked.  In any event, we really had a pleasant time there, and what made it even more special was that they wrapped up a couple of homemade pastries for us as we were leaving so they would not have to throw them out once they closed for the day (since they are closed Monday through Wednesday, the pastries would not have survived until their next business day).  Again, just another wonderful gesture that added to the enjoyment of our visit.  They’re doing all the right things at Westview – wonderful staff, great atmosphere, really enjoyable wines, etc. – and I know we will be visiting them again sometime soon.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #historyisbetterwithwine

A Volcano in Dibbleville?

Dibbleville

Date Visited:  June 23, 2019

Stop:  #13

With all the activity going on in Fenton, parking was at a premium, so as we crossed the Shiawassee River heading towards our next historical marker, it didn’t look good that we would find a convenient place to park.  We didn’t even have a good idea where the marker was located, so after driving around a couple of minutes, we pulled into a very small public parking lot next to the AJ Phillips Building, which is home to the Fenton Museum, and got lucky – one last parking spot that I was able to gingerly maneuver into.  And what was the first thing Kathy and I would see?  A smoking volcano.  Yes, a VOLCANO.  I thought I was having a brain cloud.  There was an empty lot between the parking lot and a house (or maybe it was part of the house’s backyard – it wasn’t really obvious), and there in the middle of it was a five-foot-tall volcano with smoke spewing from its crater.  There were lava formations down the side of the volcano, and bright red flowers growing out of the cooled lava flows.  I would have to say, this was probably one of the most unusual sites I would have ever expected to have seen in downtown Fenton. 

After gawking at the volcano for a few minutes, we turned our attention to locating the historical marker.  Lo and behold, it happened to be right at the entrance of the parking lot we just pulled into.  The map I was using had the location of the marker across the street.  It was by luck that we spotted it, especially since a nearby tree was obscuring most of it from sight as well.  Again, the coordinates shown in the data sheet below are accurate, so please use them if you desire to visit this sign and disregard any of the other sources currently on the web.

Now, the name of this sign was Dibbleville.  Turns out, Dibbleville was the first name given to the 40 acres of government land that Clark Dibble laid claim to in 1834.  The sign describes the original business district that made up Dibbleville, with many of the original structures still standing today.  In 1837, Dibbleville was purchased by William Fenton and Robert Le Roy and renamed Fentonville.  This settlement was incorporated as a village in 1863 and renamed Fenton.  Fenton went through a major urban renewal project during the 1970’s, with all of the downtown area being leveled and Leroy Street being completely closed.  In August, 2007, Fenton was hit by an E2 tornado that damaged many buildings, homes, and a school, as well as completely destroying the new Tractor Supply Company.  Fortunately, there were no fatalities or serious injuries, but it was another setback for a city trying to restore itself.  Today, Fenton boasts a population of 11,286 (as of 2017) and is a vibrant community with impressive new buildings and many renovated historical buildings and repurposed landmark buildings (like the Fenton Fire Hall restaurant mentioned in my previous blog and the Fenton Grain Elevator mentioned in my Fenton House blog).  Although we still had two more historical markers in Fenton to visit, I already knew that our day spent in “Dibbleville” was one of those unexpected gems that makes this quest we are on so exciting.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #historyisbetterwithwine

A Retrospective – Our First Fifty

We started our Michigan Wines and Signs Quest on June 2, 2019.  On August 24, 2019 (84 days later) we visited the 50^th site on our quest to visit every Michigan Historical Marker and every Michigan Winery and Tasting Room.  We did not know what to expect when we set out on that day back in June, but what we have found out since is that it has been more interesting and fun than we expected.  We have met so many interesting and wonderful people.  We have encountered obstacles along the way – signs not located where they were supposed to be, signs missing altogether – and we have tasted some remarkable wines.  To celebrate our first 50, I thought I would provide some facts/stats/opinions about what we have seen so far.

The breakdown of the sites we have visited looks like this:

• 9 wineries/tasting rooms
• 41 historical markers
• 12 historical buildings
• 10 churches
• 5 cemeteries
• 4 Points of Interest
• 2 historical towns
• 2 schools
• 1 golf course
• 1 historic city block
• 1 historic monument
• 1 historic storm site
• 1 library
• 1 missing sign

Our longest quest was one we embarked on back on August 3, 2019.  We visited 15 historical markers and 2 wineries over a span of 9 ½ hours and covered 164.7 miles.

We have been as far north as Caseville, as far east as Lexington, as far south as Commerce Township, and as far west as Hartland, and a whole lot of places in between.

Total miles covered during our first 50 sites – 428.4 miles.

Most Pleasant Surprises: 

• Sage Creek Winery.  We had never heard of Memphis, Michigan, but we sure know it now, thanks to Sage Creek Winery.  What a great place.  A diamond in the rough.  Great wine, great selection, cool atmosphere.
• Hoffman Farms Winery.  A winery located on an historic horse farm.  The wines and ciders were awesome, the hospitality was wonderful, and we met some really interesting people.
• 3 North Vines Winery.  We could have sat there all day – perfect weather, sitting under a tree overlooking the vineyard, and drinking incredible wine, with the most friendly staff taking unbelievable care of us (and everyone else).
• Unwined Winery.  Located in the most unusual place (a strip mall in a large city), but with the most interesting owners regaling us with their story all the while drinking from a large selection of wines that just happened to be excellent.  Their ports are to die for.

Biggest Disappointments:

• Any historical marker that had nothing to show for it!! (The Thing, The Village of Cash)
• The missing historical marker at Byers Homestead
• Spicer Orchards Winery.  Understaffed, long waits in between pours, curious pay-before-you-get policy – chalking it up to a bad day, so will revisit, but we had high expectations and they were truly not met.
• Improperly documented coordinates for many historical markers, most notably the Old Prospect Hill Cemetery and Commerce United Methodist Congregation.

The Most Fun Historical Places We Visited:

• Dibbleville.  Timing is everything.  We were there during Fenton’s annual River Fest, with music wafting in the air from across the street.  And a live volcano just across the parking lot!
• Loop-Harrison House.  Again, timing is everything.  We just happened to stop the same weekend as their annual Civil War Festival.  It’s like walking around a mini-Greenfield village!
• Old Town Hall and Masonic Temple in Lexington.  Let’s see – an awesome winery, and a brewery, and a restaurant, all inside an historic building with lots of character.  It was like hitting the lottery!
• HONORABLE MENTION:  Byers Homestead.  Although the historical marker no longer exists on this site, it was a lot of fun walking the grounds and soaking in the history.

Special Moments:

• Crawford Settlement Burying Ground.  Our very first stop on our quest.
• Watching the sunset over Saginaw Bay with our son, David, after visiting the Methodist Episcopal Church marker in Caseville.
• Our marathon tour of the eastern part of the Michigan Thumb with our daughter, Sarah.
• The Stoney Creek and Rochester tour with both David and Sarah joining us.
• Exploring Mill Race Park with Kathy after visiting the Commerce Roller Mill historical marker.

Our next 50 promises to be more exciting and adventurous as we start to expand further out from our home base, and we have a big trip to the Petoskey and Traverse City regions where we visited 30 or so wineries.  If you’re into wine more that history, then the next 50 will be more up your alley.  But, history buffs, do not lament, because there are still plenty of historical markers to whet your whistle.

#michiganwinesandsigns #michigan #history #michiganhistory #wine #michiganwine #winetasting #lovemiwine #historyisbetterwithwine

Where Everyone Knows Your Name

Michigan by the Bottle – Auburn Hills

Date Visited:  July 31, 2019

Stop:  #28

It was a Wednesday night, and lately, that has meant one thing – go to Michigan by the Bottle, drink wine, and eat pizza.  This has easily become Kathy and my favorite place to hang out and drink wine. We were introduced to MBTB several months ago by our very good friends, Randy and Christie.  Since then, we have probably visited here, on average, once or twice per month. Our day of choice is Wednesday night because that is pizza night. MBTB does not serve any food, other than a wide assortment of appetizers, so they joined forces with Larco Bros. Pizza (just across the street and a few storefronts west of MBTB) and while drinking wine, you can order anything off of Larco’s menu and have it delivered to your table at MBTB on Wednesday nights.  Our meal of choice has always been pizza, and this day was no different. We (Randy, Christie, Kathy, and I) had 4 additional people join us today – our daughter Sarah, good friends Eric and Susan, and their daughter, Margaret – so we needed to push two tables together to get all eight of us sitting together.

Michigan by the Bottle is an awesome place.  It is the perfect place to relax and unwind after a hard day at the office.  The staff is absolutely the best, and greet you by name every time you walk in the door.  I feel like I’m walking into the Cheers bar in Boston where everyone knows your name – JOHN!!!!  Well, not quite like that, but you do feel like family when you walk in and they bring you your wine selection list with your name already on it.  Ashley was one of the first servers to wait on us and she is now the Store Manager. Pete was the previous Store Manager and is now the Director of Wine Education.  Kelly or Nathan typically wait on us now. All of them are wonderful hosts; talking, joking, and making sure we are all taken care of.

MBTB was founded in 2012 by Shannon and Cortney Casey, certified sommeliers, who love Michigan wines.  They started as an on-line entity in 2009, but soon opened their first Tasting Room in Shelby Township (December 2012).  A couple years later, they opened their second Tasting Room in Royal Oak. The newest addition to the MBTB family opened its doors on July 9, 2016.  Originally planned to be located in the area of Great Lakes Crossing, Auburn Hills opened its arms when the original deal fell through. The Tasting Room is right smack in the middle of downtown Auburn Hills, on the south side of Auburn Road.

The premise behind Michigan by the Bottle is simple – they only serve and sell Michigan wines.  They have partnered with 20 Michigan wineries, who, according to the MBTB website, “…are family-run operations – some of which have existed for generations – that use their own estate-grown fruit and/or locally sourced fruit to produce high-quality wines.”  The partner wineries for the Auburn Hills site are:

• Blue Water Winery (Carsonville)
• Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery (Traverse City)
• Burgdorf’s Winery (Haslett)
• Chateau Aeronautique Winery (Jackson)
• Chateau Chantal (Traverse City)
• Cody Kresta Vineyard & Winery (Mattawan)
• Hawthorne Vineyards (Traverse City)
• Laurentide Winery (Lake Leelanau)
• Left Foot Charley (Traverse City)
• Mackinaw Trail Winery (Petoskey)
• Shady Lane Cellars (Suttons Bay)
• Wyncroft/Marland (Pullman)

Needless to say, many of the wines featured at MBTB-Auburn Hills come from these wineries.  And you will never be short of choices – on any given day, you will typically have upwards of 40 wines to choose from across all spectrums of wine types.  You can choose from 3 different Flights – the Full Flight, the Mini Flight, and The Tour – or you can order Big Pours by the glass. They have a wide array of appetizers to choose from as well, although the two biggest Flights come with some appetizers.  Kathy and I typically go big – we usually get The Tour, which includes five 2-oz wine pours, one dessert wine pour, Flite Bites (cheeses and chocolates), and crackers, cashews, or snack mix. This day was no different. In fact, I believe everyone at our table got their own Tour, so we had 48 glasses of wine on our table!  Plus, four pizzas. Needless to say, there was no room on the table, but boy, did we have a great time. Lots of fellowship and laughs to go around.

This is such an amazing place, and I really feel like my words do not do it justice, so I would recommend visiting their website at http://mbtbtasting.com/index.html# to learn more about them.  Better yet, I would recommend visiting any of their three sites.  Shannon and Cortney are wonderful hosts, and they throw great parties.  They hold amazing events at each of their 3 sites, and we have made sure to attend some of them.  We have done a vertical tasting event, two wine and food pairings events (with Chateau Aeronautique Winery and Laurentide Winery wines featured and the respective owners present to tell us all about their wines and amazing food prepared by Wooden Whisk Creations), and Kathy did a painting and wine event.  We have never been disappointed by any of our visits to MBTB, and our evening there on this day was no exception. Many thanks to Cortney, Shannon, and Staff members for always providing a memorable experience whenever we visit!!

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