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WineEast designated wines, even when he blends wines from different vineyards he will often include information on the back label about the various vineyards whose grapes are in the blend. Bryan Ulbrich and his wife Jen started Left Foot Charley in 2004. sense of ���place.��� Ulbrich described himself as ���fascinated with Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Gew��rztraminer. Their aromas, acid, juicy texture and their ability to age have me hooked.��� Gradually, he began to bring together a group of 18 growers committed to producing high-quality fruit with good expression of terroir. Most of these vineyards average 1.5-6 acres in size and were planted at least nine years ago. While Ulbrich prefers to produce vineyard- The winery Left Foot Charley began to grow, and after several years the winemaker needed more space. Again, the Ulbrichs chose not to buy land. Instead, they found the perfect place in the center of Traverse City: the laundry building of an historic former mental hospital, the Northern Michigan Asylum, now known as The Village. Originally the Asylum had about 3,000 residents and 1,000 students and staff members; the dozens of historic buildings have been renovated into shops, offices, restaurants, apartments, suites and���as of July 2007��� one winery. The high ceilings, quarry tile floors and 9,000 square feet of space in the building were definite advantages. However, converting the former laundry into a winery and attractive tasting room required detailed planning and renovations Behind the chairs and umbrella table on the patio at Left Foot Charley is a large sandbox to entertain children. that took more than six months. The most difficult task was trenching the floors to add floor drains. Because the winery had to be attached to the city sewer, the issue of waste and wastewater had to be addressed. The solution was to install pot drains and collect the solids; during harvest the pomace is collected and taken to a local composter. The original tile floors were Win es & Vin es JA N UA RY 20 13 155