WINE, BEER & SPIRITS STAGE

Sponsored by Tasters Guild International.

Joe Borrello of Tasters Guild International will host our wine stage and conduct seminars and tastings along with specialists from other esteemed organizations, attracting both wine connoisseurs and adventurous novices to the world of wines and spirits.

Joe Borrello is the President of Tasters Guild, International, a consumer / trade- based Food and Wine Appreciation Society.  He is an accomplished author and  publisher / editor of the nationally distributed magazine - Tasters Guild Journal.  Joe is a  Certified Retail Marketing and Media Consultant for the Food Service and Wine  Industries as well as a frequent lecturer and classroom instructor on "Cooking with  Wine".  He has organized and hosted several food and wine tours through the wine  regions of France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Australia, the Caribbean,  Mexico, California, New York and Michigan.  Among his other accomplishments, Joe is  also a frequent and reliable wine and food information source for media throughout the  Midwest.   

CLICK HERE for a complete Wine, Beer & Spirits seminar schedule.

MEIJER FOOD STAGE

Sponsored by Meijer.

Angus Campbell and Robert Garlough of the Secchia Institute of Culinary Arts will host our food cooking stage and conduct seminars, demonstrations and workshops along with several outstanding chefs from the area.  The Meijer Food Stage will be furnished by Williams Kitchen.

CLICK HERE for a complete Meijer Food Stage seminar schedule.

Tony Lawrence

Tony Lawrence is owner of a lifestyle wine and food public relations and consulting company, A Chef for You.  Globally, he works as a food and wine pairing specialist and event planner with major wineries, importers, distributors and fine wine shops.  For over 27 years, Lawrence has been trained as a chef, sommelier, certified wine judge, freelance writer, lecturer and a food and wine educator.  Tony's skills were truly developed starting at twelve years of age in the restaurants and the vineyards of Maryland. . His culinary training started in vocational school and progressed to summers in Germany learning the foods and wines of Europe. 

Thanksgiving with Fruit Wine and Beer Pairings

Presented by Tony Lawrence

Ask the Wine Chef

Wine Workshop Presented by Tony Lawrence

Ask the Wine Chef & Ask the Wine Guy

Wine Workshop Presented by Tony Lawrence and Joe Borrello

Thanksgiving Traditional Wine & Food Pairings

Presented by Tony Lawrence

David Braganini

David Braganini was introduced as a salesman for his family-run St. Julian Winery in 1973, dealing with distributors and securing his future at the company.  By 1978, David’s father, Apollo, turned over the day-to-day operations to him.  It would take just five years for David, grandson of Mariano Meconi (who founded the company in 1921), to acquire controlling interest in the company, taking it to the next level.  For more than 30 years, David’s strong family tradition of winemaking has turned St. Julian into Michigan’s oldest, longest-operating and most award-winning winery.  During his tenure, St. Julian has established tasting rooms around the state: Paw Paw, Parma, Frankenmuth, Union Pier and Dundee.  True regional products, St. Julian’s award-winning wines and spirits are available in seven states throughout the Midwest – the largest distribution area of any Michigan winery.  With its full-line of award-winning products, St. Julian Winery sits in the heart of Southwest Michigan – one of the “Top 10 Fastest Growing Wine Regions in the United States” according to Orbitz.com.  Each year, St. Julian produces 130,000 cases of wine and 150,000 cases of juice, using 24 varieties of grapes and three varieties of cherries.

Growing and Making Wine in SW Michigan's Lake Shore Appellation

Presented by Dave Braganini

Larry Mawby

Larry Mawby of L. Mawby Vineyards in Suttons Bay returned to his Leelanau County farming roots to grow grapes and make wine, after earning a degree in English from Michigan State University in the mid 1970s – establishing the second commercial vineyard in the area.  His goal has always been to produce the finest wines possible, striving to make wines that express the unique soil and climate in which they grow, the personal attention which they are given in both the vineyard and wine cellar, and the winegrower's esthetic sensibility.  Making a living from an agricultural enterprise occupying just shy of 40 acres, Larry’s current annual production is less than 4000 cases, a modest volume that allows him the pleasure of winemaking in a style he enjoys – barrel fermented in small lots, made with minimal handling.  L. Mawby Vineyards produces primarily estate-grown and bottled wines, although some grapes are purchased from other nearby vineyards.  For the past 30 years, Larry has refined his objectives and today produces some of the finest award-winning methode champenoise sparkling wines – under the L. Mawby label and cuve close sparkling wines – under the M. Lawrence label.  He also consults area growers and wineries and is an advocate of sustainable practices in the vineyard, the winery and in life.

All About Bubbles

Presented by Larry Mawby

Bill Autenreith

Bill Autenreith has been on board the good ship Chateau Chantal for five years, serving, for the majority of them, as Tasting Room Manager.  He brought to the winery a basic understanding of wine accompanied by an evolved instinct for hospitality, both provided by many years dedicated to the a la carte restaurant industry.  Bill is quick to credit his currently expanding wine knowledge to osmosis, proximity (to a pair of vintners) and passion.  The bulk of his work experience involved extended employment with two multi-unit operations, The Hard Rock Café and Buca di Beppo.  The majority of his working days were spent on the west coast, particularly in San Diego and Seattle.  He migrated to Michigan 7 years ago, so as to remain a daily part of his daughter’s life.  While missing the Pacific Northwest considerably, Bill deems his lifestyle in Traverse City to be uncompromised.  Bill believes wine to be the greatest, most timeless amalgamation of art and science, wrapped in the classic sense of romance…

Romancing the Riesling

Presented by Bill Autenreith of Chateau Chantal

The vinifera grape that is getting the Upper Great Lakes into the hearts and minds of the world's well-paid palates, first and foremost, is Riesling.  Riesling is well-suited, by most measures, to the soils and climates of appellations existing in the northern halves of Michigan and New York in addition to those in the Niagara region.  Riesling is arguably the European grape that best qualifies as being indefinable by a single style of winemaking.  It seems to be under-appreciated that for every sweet Riesling there is a dry, as well as one in between.  Riesling wine is deemed to be very food-friendly regardless of the style.  Believing whole-heartedly that more new world residents ought to approach wine with the same instinct for variety as is applied to food, Bill intends to expound upon these traits so as to reveal the vastly versatile mood-and-meal enhancing nature of Riesling.

Brian Cain

Brian Cain represents Viviano Wine Importers in West Michigan’s Lakeshore region.  He is a columnist for Grand Rapids Magazine and Tasters Guild Journal.  Brian earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism, creative writing and geography from the University of Michigan, where he became a life long wine enthusiast.  Over the years, he has studied wines in California, Michigan, the Pacific Northwest, New York and Canada, as well as Germany, France, Italy and Spain.  His wine experiences includes ownership of Erika’s Delicatessen in Grand Rapids, wine buyer for D&W Food Centers, manager of D. Schuler’s Wine Store in Ramblewood Center and serving as the first cellar master at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, buying all beverages and training the sommeliers and wait staff.  Brian is an American Society of Wine Educators Certified Wine Educator and holds certificates from the German Wine Academy, Committee Interprofessonel de Bourgogne, Wine and Foods from France, Italian Wine Bureau, and the American Wine Society.  He serves as a wine judge for the Michigan Wine and Spirits Competition, Tasters Guild International Wine Judging and the American Wine Society.  He is also an amateur grape grower and home winemaker and has been recognized by the State of Michigan and the American Wine Society for his work with numerous awards.

Beaujolias Nouveau

Wine Workshop Presented by Brian Cain

The One Hour Wine Expert

Brian Cain - "The One Hour Wine Expert"

Michael Smith

Michael is from Kent Beverage

2005 Cabs

Presented by Michael Smith

The Diveristy of Michigan Wine Areas

Presented by Michael Smith

International Chardonnays

Presented by Michael Smith

Cecil Robbins

Cecil L Robbins II is a Certified Sommelier (CS - 1996) and Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW - 2006).  He became part of the wine business in 1977 when he was hired by Paw Paw Wine Distributors.  Currently, he is a Restaurant Specialist in Battle Creek and Marshall, representing a limited portfolio in Grand Rapids.  Since 1997, he has taught "Understanding Fine Wine" classes in the adult education programs at Kalamazoo College and Kellogg Community College.  He has also shared his knowledge at numerous corporate wine seminars, hosted wine dinners across the state and has participated as a judge in the Taster's Guild International Wine Competition.  "I love wine and love sharing it with others."

Varietal Differences by Appellation

Presented by Cecil Robbins

Regular vs. Reserve Chardonnay

Wine Workshop Presented by Cecil Robbins

Joe Borrello

Joe Borrello is the President of Tasters Guild, International, a consumer / trade-based Food and Wine Appreciation Society.  He is an accomplished author and publisher / editor of the nationally distributed magazine - Tasters Guild Journal.  Joe is a Certified Retail Marketing and Media Consultant for the Food Service and Wine Industries as well as a frequent lecturer and classroom instructor on "Cooking with Wine".  He has organized and hosted several food and wine tours through the wine regions of France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, California, New York and Michigan.  Among his other accomplishments, Joe is also a frequent and reliable wine and food information source for media throughout the Midwest.   

Joe is the host of our Wine Stage.  He will conduct seminars and tastings along with specialists from other esteemed organizations, attracting both wine connoisseurs and adventurous novices to the world of wine and spirits.

Let's Start from the Beginning

Wine Workshop Presented by Joe Borrello