The other day I was sitting at the tasting bar in Tempo Vino, a downtown Kalamazoo winery on E. Michigan, tasting through a flight of wines. The Pinot Grigio was bright, fresh, and surprisingly aromatic. The Amarone’s deep, rich color was matched by the blackberry, plum, and tobacco notes on the palate. As a wine enthusiast, I was skeptical about tasting the fruit flavored Black Currant Merlot, but found it to be delicious, and with a balanced sweetness.
However, it wasn’t until I began listening in on a conversation between a customer and the woman behind the bar that it hit me what really made these wines special. “It’s for our friends in Wisconsin,” the customer, purchasing a wine bottle, explained. “They moved away a number of years ago, and we wanted to send them something ‘Kalamazoo’.” And how Kalamazoo it is.
The woman behind the bar is owner and proprietor Irene Kokkinos, a Kalamazoo area native who opened the winery in 2005. At the time it was part of the Vintner’s Cellar Winery franchise, but she has recently bought it out, making it completely locally owned and operated. Additionally, sole ownership gives her more freedom to find local sources for grapes. Irene wants to give her Kalamazoo winery even more of a local touch.
Currently, the wines are made in-house with juice sourced from different regions in California, as well as northern Italy and the Chianti region. Winemaker Alex Mantakounis, a Western Michigan University grad, has compiled a handful of awards for their finished product, including an award in Winemaker Magazine for the Amarone I tasted.
The winery is cozy and quaint, and they’ve put all of their fermenting vessels on display so you can watch the winemaking process happen. Interestingly, not all of these vessels are making the wine that they sell over the bar. Much of the wine produced is for special orders. At Tempo Vino, one of the aspects that sets them apart from other Kalamazoo area wineries is that they allow people to make their own wine. Customers can come in, taste through a series of completed wine, then discuss what characteristics they want in their own wine. Tempo Vino tailors each wine to the customers wishes, making it sweeter or dryer, lighter or heavier, or even adding oak aging, depending on the customer’s individual tastes. Then, you can choose or design your own label.
Irene mentioned that people make their own wines for everything from holiday gifts to weddings or just personalized bottles to break out when friends are over. Some of them even try making it on their own after a few batches, and Tempo Vino sells the wine-making kits to do so. Irene is excited about the enthusiasm for wine in Kalamazoo right now, and her success, along with success of some of the wine themed restaurants that have opened up in town, is encouraging.
Tempo Vino is located at 260 E. Michigan in downtown Kalamazoo. Call Irene during business hours at (269) 342-WINE or get more information at www.vintnerscellarwinery.com.
On that note, here is this week’s wine tip: get sparkling wine off of that pedestal. The American trend is to only drink sparkling wine on celebrations or holidays, especially New Year’s. Sparkling wine actually makes a wonderful aperitif and is a great way to get your taste buds ready at the start of any meal. A glass of Prosecco, Cava, Champagne, or even just a California sparkling white will liven up your palate and enhance your ensuing meal. Given this, and its fun effervescent nature, sparkling wine is a ‘must have’ starter anytime you have guests for dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment