Tastemakers: 24th Annual Leland Wine & Food Festival

June 7, 2009

Tastemakers: 24th Annual Leland Wine & Food Festival
Rick Coates 6/8/09



After much speculation and a lot of last-minute negotiations, the 24th Annual Leland Wine & Food Festival will be held this Saturday in its traditional location at the Leland Harbor next to historic Fishtown. All the fun starts at noon (the lines start forming around 10 a.m.) and continues till 6 p.m.
The Leland Harbor is undergoing a much needed multi-million dollar renovation and government red tape has delayed the project. But the great thing about the community of Leland is they have always found a way to work together to make things happen and so festival organizers and constructions crews got together and figured out how to make this year’s festival happen, as planned.
The Festival got its start 24 years ago with two goals in mind: promote the emerging wine industry in Northern Michigan and to kick off the summer season in Leland. Proceeds from the festival have been used to beautify the community.
Since its inception the Leland Wine & Food Festival has been about celebrating the good life and the good people of Northern Michigan. While summer officially starts in another week, regulars to the Festival know this day marks the first official day of summer in Northern Michigan.
This celebration is rooted in the wines and foods of the region. When it started, the Festival included wineries from around the state, but with over 30 wineries in Northern Michigan, the downstate wineries have given way to 15 participating (space limits the number of wineries) wineries from the two peninsulas. The format allows for participants to taste a variety of wines from different wineries. Most wineries send their winemakers, proprietors or tasting room staff so the experts are on hand to answer questions.
The food has always been phenomenal, with several restaurants from in and around Leland participating. Festival favorites over the years have included the blackened whitefish from Bluebird and the escargot in a bread bowl from The Cove. Certainly, cheese is the perfect complement to wine, and the Leelanau Cheese Company puts out a nice sample plate of their award-winning raclette (won best cheese in North America a couple of years ago).
This year’s Festival will have a different dynamic and will be emotional on two fronts. First one of the Festival co-founders, winemaker Bruce Simpson, passed away earlier this year. Simpson organized the wineries each year and his vineyard staff takes care of setting up the tables and chairs and keeps the grounds clean throughout the Festival. He will be missed by all this year, and plenty of glasses will be raised in his honor, as his children Taylor and Sam have taken the reins of Good Harbor Vineyard, and their smiling faces will replace his this year at the Festival.
Also after 24 years of co-chairing the Festival, Cris and Kathy Telgard will step down at the end of this year and turn their baby over to the “next generation.” The Telgards, along with Simpson and winemaker Larry Mawby, founded the Festival, and it has been their passion and commitment that has made this the best wine festival in the Midwest. After 24 years of serving festival-goers, the couple deserves to kick back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Be sure to thank them at the Festival or stop into their store Tampico in downtown Leland.
The 24th Annual Leland Wine & Food Festival takes place June 13 from noon to 6 p.m.; the Fabulous Horndogs (another Festival favorite) will provide the musical entertainment. The collectable commemorative posters are available around Leland. For additional details just ask anyone in Leland. --Rick Coates