Michigan wine tour weekends herald spring

The tasting room at Black Star Farms, one of the wine-tour stops on the Leelanau Peninsula in northwestern Michigan.

I offer a toast to spring and Michigan wine-tour weekends, which are creeping out like cautious crocuses. Here's a taste:

-- Tours and tastings at three popular wineries on the Leelanau Peninsula, Black Star Farms, Shady Lane and L. Mawby Vineyards, are included in packages offered by Grand Traverse Resort & Spa near Traverse City.

The resort's package includes two nights accommodations (Friday and Saturday nights) and a Saturday shuttle to the three wineries.

Package prices start at $144.50 per person, double occupancy in the hotel and $184.50 per person, double occupancy in the Tower, plus taxes and fees. Condominium rates also are available. The package is available April 3-4, 17-18, 24-25, and May 1-2, 8-9, 15-16, with check-in on Friday and check-out on Sunday.

For more information, call the resort at (800) 748-0303, or visit grandtraverseresort.com.

-- Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association and Traverse Bay Inn & Lodge also are partnering to offer wine tours.

Check on rates and use an interactive map to view the 10 member wineries and learn more about them and how to find them by going to: traversebayhotels.com/wine-tours.htm.

-- For a taste of another region of the state, consider the Southeast Michigan Pioneer Wine Trail, pioneerwinetrail.com.

Take a self-driving tour along the trail April 18 or 19.

Each winery will feature a tasting of one of its wines paired with an appetizer or dessert made with its wine and prepared by a local chef. Visitors will receive a small, Michigan-related gift at each winery.

Wineries included are: Cherry Creek Cellars (Parma and Cement City locations), Lone Oak Vineyard Estate, Pentamere Winery, Sandhill Crane Vineyards in Jackson and St. Julian Winery (Parma and Dundee).

Your ticket allows one visit per winery during the event weekend. Bringing a designated driver is encouraged.

Hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. April 18 and noon-6 p.m. April 19.

Tickets are $25.

Chefs compete

If you've ever wanted to watch a Chef Challenge in person, consider the Chef's Challenge for Challenge Mountain, April 24-26 at Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire.

Food seminars and competitions begin Friday with a free seminar on gourmet cooking and food choices for fitness with Chef Michelle Bommarito, who appears frequently on the Food Network.

During the day Saturday, chef teams from northern and southern Michigan compete in a North vs. South Tasting Competition (tasting tickets are eight for $25, or four for $15, and are good for food, wine and/or microbrew tasting). Tasters vote for the winners, who face off during an Iron Chef competition Saturday evening. Tickets for a four-course dinner, which is during the competition, are $100 per person. Proceeds go to benefit Challenge Mountain, a nonprofit organization near Walloon Lake that provides adaptive recreation for those with developmental disabilities.

Shanty Creek is offering a Chef's Challenge package: $116 per person/double occupancy, plus tax per night for two nights and two breakfasts per guest. Tickets to the Saturday night charity dinner are sold separately.

For details, visit shantycreek.com or chefs-challenge.com/index.php or phone (800) 678-4111.

 him home for the go-ahead run on a double to shallow left.

Reliever Ryan Ignas pitched the final two frames for Penn State and recorded the win in relief of starter T.J. Macy. Macy tossed seven innings and struck out eight but left with a no-decision.

The win marked the Lions' sixth comeback victory of the season, and they'll return to action versus the Bears at 1:05 Saturday afternoon.