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Tourists are streaming into the little wine-growing region up north -- minuscule in size compared to Leelanau and the huge holdings in southwest Michigan -- and discovering more wineries, a hip, quality-driven attitude to the wines and tasting rooms,and ease in traversing the state's one true wine road, M-37, known as Center Road. All of the wineries are on or accessible from this rolling, two-lane blacktop. While there's no denying the unblemished beauty of this 18-mile-long slice of paradise, with its rocky coastlines and peaceful, rural atmosphere, the wine scene is on steroids. Winery owner Eileen Brys can recall the time 10 years ago when she and husband Walter built Brys Estate. "You could drive up Center Road," she said, "and Chateau Grand Traverse had the first vineyards you could see from the road. But now the vineyards start at the base of the peninsula and creep all the way up." Where once there were four tasting rooms -- Chateau Grand Traverse, Chateau Chantal, Bowers Harbor and Peninsula Cellars -- today there are seven, and TV star and Traverse City boy Carter Oosterhouse and brother Todd are preparing to build No. 8. What triggered me to pull out that file and write about Becker tonight was the second delicious bottle of his wine that I’ve opened this week: a 2008 Cabernet-Syrah blend. Over the weekend we had his 2008 Prairie Rotie, a Rhone-style blend dominated by Mourvedre. All grapes grown in Texas. Today’s wine was just so good with that rib-eye steak and cucumber salad that I can’t hold off any longer. A good bottle of wine has a way of rearranging your priorities. Becker is a bookish endocrinologist who can quote Wallace Stevens’ poem “13 Ways of Looking At a Blackbird.” Every time I open a bottle of Becker’s wine, I think of something he told me about how he has an olfactory memory for wines that corresponds to the tactile memory he has for his patients’ thyroid lumps. Even if touching or tasting them years apart, he can remember them. This is a guy who cares about esthetics. Now I’m no wine expert, but I drink enough to remember some wines and have an opinion on most of them. And I can say with confidence that Becker makes the best wine in Texas, and for the price, usually less than $15 for new vintages, there’s few bottles from anywhere in the world that offer better value. If the label said Napa, most of his wines would go for $50 an up. Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post. Alain Gautheron was repairing the bottling line when we arrived, and he offered a sweaty wrist in greeting instead of his grease-stained hand. His son, Cyril, and daughter-in-law, Gladys, welcomed us in the small and spare tasting room, with a curved bar on one side and a table on the other displaying medals from the Concours des Grands Vins de France and other prestigious wine competitions. Stones from the family vineyards revealed the impressions of ancient shellfish and snails. We were in Fleys, a don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it village near Chablis, in the northern part of Burgundy. The clean new winery and the tasting room revealed success and prosperity, as well as a belief that a modern winery should be a tourist attraction. Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post. Alain Gautheron was repairing the bottling line when we arrived, and he offered a sweaty wrist in greeting instead of his grease-stained hand. His son, Cyril, and daughter-in-law, Gladys, welcomed us in the small and spare tasting room, with a curved bar on one side and a table on the other displaying medals from the Concours des Grands Vins de France and other prestigious wine competitions. Stones from the family vineyards revealed the impressions of ancient shellfish and snails. We were in Fleys, a don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it village near Chablis, in the northern part of Burgundy. The clean new winery and the tasting room revealed success and prosperity, as well as a belief that a modern winery should be a tourist attraction. Activities will be different at each site so it's best to check with the businesses for details. The Vermont Grape and Wine Council also has a map designating the vineyards and wineries on its website. Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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