Grand Rapids Eats & Drinks: Reserve

I've decided to expand my Chicago Eats series to my hometown, Grand Rapids. My sister and I have a favorite place for wine and cheese that I wanted to share with you, Reserve. It's located downtown, right across the street from The Amway. Reserve opened two years ago in September, it started out as my sister's favorite place, but I love to visit when I'm in town too! They specialize in wine and carry something like 270 different kind of wines, including many selections from Michigan. Their food is always seasonal and often locally sourced.

The whole vibe in Reserve is very cool, it's definitely not a stuffy wine bar. I love the interior design, everything from the light fixtures to the chairs has a modern look. And I can't not mention the huge piece of art behind the bar, it was the winner from the very first year of Art Prize. It's so cool that the piece of art got to stay in Grand Rapids and be on display for anyone to see.

"Open Water" now hanging in Reserve, Image Via

Via reservegr.com

Chandelier close-up, Via reservegr.com

My favorite is getting a cheese plate to go with the wine, you can choose from a variety of ever changing cheeses and pick three or 5 to make a plate. The best part? The cheeses come with fresh Michigan honey and a chutney. The honey is To. Die. For. Oh my, the cheese, the bread and a little drizzle of the honey? Perfection. I think the honey deserves it's own post in the future, it is honestly the best tasting honey I have ever had. The honey is called Hasselman's Pure Michigan Honey. The cheeses come from the Midwest as well and no matter what kinds we get, they are always delicious.

The menu always features a few different tastings, one I had recently was all blended red wine. It's a great way to try a few new wines and learn a little about them too.

Oh look, it's a special edition wine from my favorite, L. Mawby, appropriately named "GR". Love the Michigan wines that Reserve carries.

There's one more thing to love about Reserve, they have an awesome outdoor roof deck. We don't have nearly as many roof decks in GR as Chicago, so I'm very happy Reserve has one. You can't beat sitting up there on a warm Summer night. Or even a Fall night like we did in October. They do have heaters so we can extend the outdoor season in Michigan a bit!

Reserve is a great spot for any occasion; happy hour, date night, dinner, wine tasting, girls night out or all of the above. And kudos to Reserve, they were mentioned in USA Today on Monday for their wine flights!

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Reserve GR
201 Monroe Ave. NW 
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
616.855.WINE
Website

Michigan Bubbly: L. Mawby Sparkling Wines

Around this time last year my sister, Mom and I took a trip to the Traverse City area for some wine tasting. I've been to Traverse City and beautiful Northern Michigan many times, but visiting old favorites is fun and you always discover something new up there too. I posted about our stop at gorgeous Sleeping Bear Dunes, we also hit Cherry Republic and lots of vineyards! My favorite vineyard is L. Mawby. I credit them with my love for sparkling wines. When we first stopped there several years ago I really fell in love with their wines.

They only make sparkling wines — and they are good at it! They have two labels, L. Mawby, made using the methode champenoise, it is slightly higher priced, but still very affordable.  I don't know all the details of what methode champenoise involves but it is the oldest and most traditional way to make sparkling wine and was supposedly developed by Dom (Pierre) Perignon, sound familiar?!


M. Lawrence which is made using the cuve close method, are given less aging and as a result less expensive. The great thing about the wine is that you can purchase it in different locations and drink at many restaurants throughout Michigan and even in Chicago! I was so excited to find a few M. Lawrence varieties at the Whole Foods here.


They have a great tasting room. After getting a few pours for free, you can decide what others you'd like to try and pick cheese or a pate and crackers for a small charge between $5 and $9, depending on what wines you select for tasting.

I had to stock up on lots of bubbly to bring back to Chicago!

They recently changed their labels, I'll have to stock up again soon and check out the new designs. My original favorite is from the M. Lawrence line and is call "Sex". Cute for a date night, no?! There is another one called "US" that would be equally cute for date night. I also love the special varieties named Grand Rapids and Detroit. And for a special occasion, the J'adore was fabulous.

If you are planning a trip to Wine Country in Michigan, make sure to add this to your list! Fall is such a great time to visit, the air is crisp and all the colors on the trees are starting to change, making for a gorgeous drive up.

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L. Mawby - Fine Leelanau Peninsula Sparkling Wines
4519 Elm Valley Road
Suttons Bay, MI 49682
231.271.3522
Website
Tasting Room Hours through end of October:
Mon-Sat, Noon- 6 PM
Sun, Noon-5 PM

Words for Wednesday

From my kitchen :)

A brie love affair

And no, it's not brief, it's very much on-going. This started back in my East Lansing days (see glory days) during a trip to Beggar's for Wine Wednesday. It was always half-off appetizers and wine on Wednesdays. One of my friends ordered the baked brie and the rest is history!

I love to make this rendition for parties and gatherings. It is SO simple and tastes delish. Just add vino...

You start with a wheel of brie, your choice on the size depending on how many you want to serve. You will also need one or two packages (depending on wheel size) of Pillsbury crescent rolls or comparable pastry crust.

Preheat the oven to 350. Then flatten out the crescent rolls and knead together along the seams if you bought more than one package. Wrap this around the brie and place it, seam side down, onto a baking sheet. This will need to bake for 20-30 minutes or until the crust becomes golden in color and flaky in texture.

While the brie is baking slice up an apple or two and arrange crackers on a dish. When the brie is done, serve warm! I find a perfect bite to have cracker, apple and brie, and of course a glass of wine in your other hand.

I served this with an Italian wine, one of my favorites from Montelpulciano, a town in Tuscany I visited in 2006. This region actually has a special kind of grape called, Montelpulciano d' Abruzzo and every single wine I have had made with this grape is fantastico! This variety, from Trader Joe's, actually happens to be made with organic grapes which I think is cool. More, much, much more, on Italy later!!