by stambrose | May 31, 2016 | Tasting Room
Starting this Friday, June 3rd, St. Ambrose Cellars will host – in addition to our weekly music series – games of Ultimate Frisbee on the lawn. One of our brilliant beverage makers, Scott, will be hosting the fun out front. This is a great way to spend a summer evening and get a bit of exercise. All are welcome to join. Curious about ultimate frisbee? Here’s a rundown on the rules:
The Field
Ultimate is played on a rectangular field, with endzones at each end – similar to a football field. Regulation fields are 70 yards long by 40 yards wide, with a 25 yard deep endzone.
Play
A point beings with each team lining up on the front of their end zone line. The defense throws the disc to the offense (like a kickoff). Each team should have 7 players.
Scoring
Each time the offense completes a pass into the other team’s endzone, the offense gets a point
Movement
The disc can be thrown in any direction to a teammate. PLayers cannot run with the disc. The person with the disc has ten seconds to throw the disc. The defender guarding the thrower is responsible for counting to 10.
Change of Possession
When a pass is not completed (out of bounds, dropped, blocked, interception) the defense takes possession of the disc and becomes the offense.
Substitution
Players not in the game may replace players in the game after a score or during an injury time out.
Non-Contact
No physical contact, picks, or screens are allowed. When contact occurs, a foul is called.
Fouls
When a player initiates contact, a foul occurs. If a foul disrupts possession, the play resumes as if the possession was retained. If the player committing the foul disagrees with the call, the play is redone.
Self-Officiating
Players are responsible for their own foul and line calls.
Spirit of the Game
Ultimate is about sportsmanship and fair play. Be competitive, but never at the expense of respect, the rules, and basic joy of play.
There you have it. Basically – be cool. And if you’re confused, don’t worry! We’ll help you out. See you Friday!
by stambrose | May 25, 2016 | News
Memorial Day weekend is upon us, and with it, the unofficial beginning of summer. We’ve got plenty going on for the extended weekend, so let’s cut to the chase!
Memorial Day Hours
First order of business – we’re going to be rocking some extended hours over the weekend. As seen above, we’ll be open late and on Memorial Day to serve all your meads.
New Frisbees!
If you like flying discs, we have got a treat for you! These beauties are available now in the tasting room. We have a Pulsar disc (ideal for Ultimate Frisbee) and an Innova Roc disc to add to your disc golf collection. These come in a crazy variety of colors and we only have a limited supply for this first run – so you better come down and grab one quick.
Alfredo Improvisational Quartet Returns
The prodigal sons return for another Friday night special in the tasting room. Fresh off their roaring set at the John Lemon release party and the release of their new CD, Alfredo will be in the tasting room from 6-9 PM once again. Refresh yourself on the history of the band with our post from last month!
Crystal Mountain Beer n’ Brat Festival
St. Ambrose returns to the always enjoyable Crystal Mountain Beer n’ Brat event on Saturday. Enjoy a beautiful day and chow down with some of your favorite brewers. We will be there all day to serve your beautiful faces. More information available here.
Non-Alcoholic “Sasparilla”
Did you know we have a non-alcoholic option on our taps? For all your DD’s and people who just plain love root beer, we’ve got this tasty option available every day.
New Shirts
The tasting room mavens have cooked up some great new merch designs lately. Time to refresh your St. Ambrose gear with one of the fashionable shirts seen above. We’ve got plenty, stop by the tasting room this weekend and try some out.
Whew!
by stambrose | May 24, 2016 | News
We’re in a period of exciting growth here at St. Ambrose Cellars. It seems like every day we see a new location with our mead pop up on Untappd or leave a comment somewhere on the web. It really makes our head spin to think about how far our humble beverages have spread.
Around the Grand Traverse Bay area we have recently added some new locations to the lineup. We wanted to take just a few moments to let you know about these great places!
The Coho
320 Main St, Frankfort, MI 49635
Located in the heart of downtown Frankfort, The Coho Cafe is back just in time for summer and offering up the St. Ambrose juice along with their own classics. Check out their website for a sampling of the deliciousness that awaits you.
Villa Marine Bar
228 Main St, Frankfort, MI 49635
Right down the street in Frankfort, we’ve got the Villa Marine Bar which has added a selection of our draft meads to their roster. If you’re looking for a relaxing spot to have a drink or three in Frankfort, Villa Marine has got your back. We’re happy to add them to the lineup and they’d love to see your smiling faces.
What about meeeee?
If you’re looking for St. Ambrose and you don’t happen to be in Frankfort, you are still in luck. We’ve got a handy store locator right here that features over 200 Michigan locations that carry our products. You can sort it by which of our lines they carry. This list includes both party stores and restaurants/bars. And if you can’t find something close to you, just ask your local establishments! We work with a statewide distributor that your local store owners can work with to get our products. If you aren’t in Michigan, we also list all of our products for sale via the web in our store.
Happy hunting!
by stambrose | May 23, 2016 | News
Our own Bill Ward was recently elected the president of our neighboring village, Honor, Michigan. We’re pretty proud of our team here at St Ambrose and Sleeping Bear Farms. We have so many passionate, intelligent & community minded folks on our roster. We’ve got high school sports coaches, community theater actresses, volunteers, festival organizers, after school specialists, teachers, advance degree holders, musicians, master gardeners, and of course bee whisperers. But Bill is our first president.
Bill moved here two years ago from St Clair Shores, Michigan, after retiring from special education, specifically, working with autistic individuals. He joined our ranks and that determination to make an impact keeps shining out from him. We see you Bill! In his ‘spare time’ he tries to “garden & fish as much as possible”.
The village of Honor elected him in a nearly unanimous victory, after a shake up with the previous leadership. Ever humble and ready to get his boots dirty, Bill is looking forward to moving forward to helping restore the village legacy that is small but mighty. Around here Bill is known for helping where he’s needed. Sometimes that means he’s on the road making deliveries and other times it means he’s helping out in production. Wherever we find him, his positive attitude and gracious smile brighten up our days. So thank you Mr. President, and congratulations. If your reputation here is any indication, you are sure to be an inimitable asset to your village and the greater community.
by stambrose | May 19, 2016 | Tasting Room
Betsie Bay Furniture
Thursday – 5.19
You’ll find our wine at Betsie Bay Furniture’s 3rd Thursday Benefit Night. This benefit for Benzie Beds for Kids & DUNE GRASS SOCIETY helps our local Benzie County children with beds, bedding & more! It will also feature an act we’ve had here at the tasting room twice this winter – Saldaje. It’ll be a great time!
Empire Asparagus Festival
Friday and Saturday 5.20 & 5.21
Summer in the north means festivals, and festival season kicks off this weekend with a perennial favorite – the Empire Asparagus Festival. Featuring the world famous Asparagus Parade, a beverage tent, amazing food, and the music of K. Jones and The Benzie Playboys, this is sure to be a fantastic time. Of course, St. Ambrose Cellars will be pouring the mead you crave at the tent on both Friday and Saturday night. You can check the full schedule of events here.
Deadlight Holiday & Friday Night Flights
Friday 5.20
Deadlight Holiday returns to the tasting room on Friday night. You can learn more about the band in our post from earlier this week.
In addition to the music, we’ll continue our Friday Night Flight series. It’ll be so much easier to let Crystal, our kitchen magician in charge of this delight, to explain what we’ll be offering this week:
“We will have a half an Italian panini (cut into two smaller triangles – so that two people can share if desired) with some root vegetable chips. The half panini will be on crescent bakery bread with the same pepperoni sausage that goes on our usual food plates, along with ham, salami and provolone cheese and just a little Italian dressing.”
Sounds amazing, eh? For the flight special, we’ll be pairing with Secret Beach, ’13 Riesling Reserve, Clockwork Orange and XR Cyser.
Why these four? Let’s go back to Crystal:
“The fruitiness and sweetness of the Secret Beach will make a complimenting contrast to the slight spiciness of the panini. The flavors will balance on the palate without either one overtaking the other. You can pick up some of the different fruit flavors as they mingle with the contrasting flavors of the meats. Very nice pairing.
’13 Riesling Reserve because a Riesling is a great pair with foods like this. As with the Secret Beach, the sweetness creates an blend on the tongue that is just plain nice. Neither the food or the wine takes the lead here…they dance on the tongue in an equal balance.
The tiny mellow flavored bubbles of the Clockwork Orange break up the heaviness of the bread and allow the panini flavors to come forward but yet they don’t get lost either…you can still taste the light flavors of the mead. These balance well, but in a different way than the wines…it’s not something easy to explain but enjoyable to taste.
XR Cyser … as if we needed another reason to love it?!? The apple actually really meshes with the Italian flavors. I didn’t really expect it and just tried it on a whim but this pair has a lot going for it. The tiny bubbles really do add a new dimension to the palate…kind of like how a lot of people just love a soda or beer with pizza…the carbonation just pairs well on tongue with the other textures. It’s also amazing that you can pick up the cinnamon and apple but still get all the spice of the meats…and they all work. The sweetness, as with the other pairs, works well with the panini flavors in an opposites attract kind of way.”
Well thank you Crystal!
LuLaRoe at St. Ambrose Cellars
Sunday 5.22
This Sunday in the tasting room and out on the porch, St Ambrose will be hosting our second Lula Roe party for our cherished customers!
Lula Roe, a pop up boutique of women & girl’s clothing, was quite a hit back in March for our Women’s Wellness Wednesday series. The consultants TOOK OVER the tasting room with their extensive stock of fashionable apparel. The great thing about Lula Roe is that you take home your order as you shop!
Each party features new designs of dresses, skirts, shirts and have you heard about their leggings? The softest material we’ve ever worn, with solid colors across the rainbow as well as fun & funky designs.
For May’s Lula Roe you’ll be able to shop for the upcoming summer weather, that IS COMING, we can feel it here on the property! The birds and blossoms are primed for a fun day of shopping and of course our delicious wines, meads and food pairings.
We will also have available some brunch offerings to sustain you as you shop til you drop! Chef Crystal will prepare small plates of beautiful fresh fruit salad, bagel chips and a creamy honey and cheese “schmear”. And how about Mimosas made with our tantalizing Secret Beach and white sangria made from our Marsanne Viogner?
Sunday sounds like a great Girls Day, so grab your sisters and your sistas and join us from 12-3 Sunday May 22 at St Ambrose Cellars, 841 S Pioneer Road in Beatific Beulah Michigan!
More information on this event is available here.
Alright Then
Wheeeeeeeeeew. Busy weekend. It’s looking like sun, 70s, and early summer beauty will be abundant. We also recommend stopping out during the day so that you can catch the bees hard at work on the tree blossoms in front of the tasting room!
