Julia Sayers

2 weeks ago | midwestliving.com | Julia Sayers

Our travel writers, editors and contributors to Midwest Living are always on the pulse of the latest and greatest things happening in the Midwest. This April, I'm especially excited about a new International Dark Sky Park, a museum dedicated to barbecue (!), a couple of fun sports happenings, and a new restaurant from a fave chef of mine. Here are the 15 things we're buzzing about this month.

1 month ago | midwestliving.com | Julia Sayers

Kosicek Vineyards has been growing grapes on their land for almost 100 years. Photo: EE Berger Barrels stack floor to ceiling in the small aging room at Kosicek Vineyards. Emma Kosicek clambers up one of the racks and contorts herself between barrels to get to the one she really wants: a Merlot aged in French oak. She extracts a taste via a wine thief and dribbles it into my glass. I take a sniff. Plum. Black cherry. And is that coffee? My taste buds confirm what my nose has picked up.

1 month ago | midwestliving.com | Julia Sayers

Laurentia Vineyard and Winery is one of several estate wineries in the Grand River Valley. Photo: EE Berger Ohio's Grand River Valley Wine Region, an hour northeast of Cleveland, is quickly and quietly becoming one of the region's best wine destinations. Winemakers in the Grand River Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) have shifted tastes and perceptions away from syrupy sweet Midwestern fruit wines to dry, bold, mature wines worthy of the spotlight.

1 month ago | midwestliving.com | Julia Sayers

Molly Yeh's newest cookbook focuses on all things sweet. Courtesy of Molly Yeh Molly Yeh always knew she'd write a cookbook focused on sweet treats. Sweets are her number one creative outlet, she says, and always have been since she started her blog back in 2009. She loves the act of physically building cakes and cupcakes, as well as decorating. Add to that the fact that she married a sugar beet farmer, and it was written in the star-shaped sprinkles. "I speak fluent sugar," Yeh laughs.

1 month ago | midwestliving.com | Julia Sayers |Gary Thompson |Hannah Agran

Glamping spots are a dime a dozen these days, but The Woods stands out from the pack: A-frames and glass houses painted in striking black and decked with contemporary furnishings, oil paintings, shelves of books, vases of flowers and more. Even the bathhouse is Insta-worthy. The adults-only getaway offers 18 accommodation options and is only a five-minute drive from Lake Michigan. Mackinac Island prides itself on a way of life that hearkens to a simpler time.