It was still the month of September and we decided to make a little getaway to Grand Rapids, Michigan; which is also known as Furniture City or Beer City which were always mentioned in the last series of “Pure Michigan” advertising campaigns narrated by Michigan’s own Tim Allen.  We decided to kill two birds with one stone as the old adage goes, because ArtPrize was just starting and I figured we could go see the Meijer Gardens see some old friends and have a couple of different dinners; actually, it was more than two birds, but who is counting.  I am becoming a tourist in my own state late in life, but that is fine, my Bride with her job, was much more immersed in the state, but she is getting to see the state through my eyes as well.  

The Frederick Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park was created in 1995 by the West Michigan Horticultural Society.  It was a fusion of Frederick’s love of sculpture and his wife Lena’s love of flowers.  The park is one-hundred-fifty-eight acres, so make sure that you have a good pair of walking shoes, though there are curated trams that you can take as well.  There are two-hundred sculptures in a permanent display, though while we were there, they were moving some to new locations.  Though I guess the one that is a must-see is Nina Akamu’s “Homage to Leonardo and Leonardo da Vinci’s Horse” in several different sizes, and that photo has no trick photography.  There are many different gardens, some are enclosed like in conservatory settings and museum collections.  It is outside that is amazing.  There is a Children’s Garden, the Sculpture Park, an Amphitheater, a Japanese Garden with its own waterfall and lake, and a Michigan Farm Garden focusing on the horticulture that was prevalent during the Great Depression, and there is a walk way around this working farm.

We actually went to the Meijer Gardens as soon as we drove to Grand Rapids to give us a day walking around.  You know that I had to check if they had any beverages to make me happy, and yes, they did, but at the same time, not really happy.  We went to the James & Shirley Balk Café in the main building.  My Bride had the Michigan Maple Salad, with grilled chicken breast, candied pecans, dried Montmorency cherries, goat cheese, heritage greens and a Michigan Maple vinaigrette.   I had the Smoked Brisket Quesadilla with a house-some beef brisket, sweet corn, caramelized onions, mushrooms, Cheddar cheese, chipotle barbecue sauce on a jalapeño cheese tortilla. The restaurant was like a cafeteria and I encountered the Cabernet Sauvignon and then the Chardonnay as we progressed down the lane with our tray going to the checkout register.  I lamented about the wine, only for the reason that I thought that two Michigan wines could be featured, but instead we had two California wines to choose from.  We both had Coastal Ridge Chardonnay California NV in a one-serving glass pour bottle like for an airplane.  I couldn’t find any information about the winery other than they produce about eleven classic wine offerings and did some more detective work and I found out it is part of the Bronco Wine Company.   Bronco Wine Company originally begins with the Franzia Family that started in the wine industry in 1893.  Two brothers and a cousin from the Franzia families began Bronco Wine Company in 1973.  Today they are the largest privately held US vineyard holder with vertical integration and they cover a wide variety of price points and they are especially popular to the food service industry.  I am sure that the wine is totally bulk produced in Stainless-Steel tanks.  The wine is seventy-six percent Chardonnay and twenty-four percent Proprietor’s White Blend.  It was also the first time that I had ever seen a glucose/fructose listing for wine.  The wine had a soft golden-yellow color and offered notes white fruits, oak, and vanilla.  On the palate there were tones of apple, pear, and pineapple, some more oak and crisp acidity.  I have to surmise that they must have a formula for using oak chips in the tanks to get that oak taste.  The only good thing is that I hope that some of these bulk wines actually get people to try other wines, and some will become wine enthusiasts.