Mario Batali Loves Leelanau!

via lpwines.com!

How Mario Batali Gets His Drink On In and Around Traverse City, Michigan from nation food magazine Bon Appetit features 5 of Mario’s favorite Leelanau wines & ciders. There’s Black Star Farms Arcturos Cabernet Franc which Batali names “the best Michigan wine ever”, Gill’s Pier Semi-Dry Riesling (recommended with pork with roast grapes), 45 North Winery Icebox Gewurztraminer (a succulent dessert wine with classic notes of apricot, honey, and ginger spice), Tandem Ciders Smackintosh “It’s become my new drink, I drink cider as an aperitivo now. Even back in New York. Where they’re all from France and they’re not as awesome.” and L. Mawby Cremant Classic NV, named “arguably the Leelanau Peninsula’s signature wine”.

There’s also a more narrative & lengthy feature about how the rock-star chef spends his summers in Leelanau. Mario says:

The food scene has really exploded in the region. There are farmers’ markets and hip-looking people farming and butchering. It’s very cool. Even in Northport, our town of less than 1,000 people, there’s a great weekly farmers’ market in the summer. The chefs involved in the scene celebrate what’s here; they’re not trying to be anything they’re not. Now people are coming for gastronomic tourism.

There’s a whole lot more to read and he highlights Leelanau standards like Fishtown, the deck at the Cove, Boones in Suttons Bay and Pleva’s Meats. These are really great features that tout what many folks have known for years – the wine and the food of the Leelanau Peninsula and the surrounding area have arrived.

The table is set, come on up and check it out!

Photo credits: Apples & a Growler by Trish P. – K1000 Gal