Where you can buy Vision Cellars wines
Vision Cellars in Windsor, Calif., in Sonoma County, has a rare back story to it, which you can read in my column dated June 11, 2009. In a nutshell, Mac McDonald, 66, has led a charmed life from his humble beginnings in rural Texas, where he was introduced to a first-class French Burgundy wine at the tender age of 12 and determined that day to be a winemaker. That eventually led to a 32-year-career at a utility company in San Francisco and endless weekends learning to grow and make wine at Caymus in Napa Valley.
He specializes in Pinot Noirs, and also makes a rose and one white wine -- a Sauvignon Blanc with dollop of Pinot Gris. He makes the wines at Caymus.
If you see some Vision Cellars labels, don't wring your hands over which one to buy. Just try one. The Pinots are not cheap, and they are made in the style that French Burgundies used to be -- not overoaked, not ponderous like port, elegant fruit and good acidity. They are from notable vineyards in Sonoma's Russian River and Monterey's Santa Lucia Highlands -- gold-plate addresses.
There was not room to list all the stores and restaurants in the printed newspaper column about Vision Cellars, so here is the complete list:
Angelina Italian Bistro, Detroit
Art of the Table, Grand Rapids
Atlas Bistro, Detroit
Caucus Club, Detroit
Forest Grill, Birmingham
Grape Expectations, Plymouth
Northville Hills Golf Club, Northville
The Hill Seafood & Chop House, Grosse Pointe Farms
Townsend Hotel, Birmingham
Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor
Cloverleaf Market, Royal Oak
Cose di Lusso, Rochester
Cost Plus Wine, Detroit
Holiday Market, Canton
Joe's Produce, Livonia
Oxford Wine & Beverage, Oxford
Papa Joe's, Birmingham
Plum Market, Ann Arbor, West Bloomfield
Fine Wine Source, Livonia
Village Corner, Ann Arbor
Wens Prescription Shop, Ann Arbor
Whole Foods, Troy
Winebuys.com, Ferndale
