This Thanksgiving I thought I needed a wine to baste my turkey. I wanted something from my hometown region where there are dozens of fine wineries of Grand Traverse County and Leelanau County (aka UP North and M22), Michigan. I went to the region section to select my wine and I was surprised to see a few wines named after DOGS! I selected a white wine from Bowers Harbor Vinyards named “Cooper,” and later learned that it was from a winery called Dog Paws Winery in Paw Paw Michigan.
I have not visited Dog Paws Winery , but I have visited Bowers Harbor. Bowers Harbor is a popular Inn where the famous Bowers Harbor ghost lives. Legend has it that a Chicago lumber baron J.W. Stickney built the Inn and lived there with his wife Genevive. When Genevive became ill, Mr. Stickney hired a nurse to care for her. The nurse later had an affair with Mr. Stickney that drove poor Genevive to hang herself in an elevator shaft in the Inn. She as haunted the place ever since and many patrons and workers of the Inn have seen her and her shananigans. For more of this story and information about the Inn go to http://www.bowersharborinn.net/aboutus.html.
My turkey turned out fabulous! I used Martha Stewarts’ Turkey 101 recipe (1 stick of butter and 2 cups of white wine) The gravy was to awesome! To see Martha go to www.marthastewart.com. The wine was delicious on it’s own and would make a wonderful and unique gift for dog and wine lovers alike.