Published in the Battle Creek Enquirer
Of all of the indulgences I enjoy, one of my favorites is wine tasting. And who would have thought so many opportunities exist right here in our home state of Michigan? Even my husband, who is a snob when it comes to wine, says Michigan offers some exceptional tasting choices for oenophiles.
Since the 1970s, Michigan’s wine industry has grown in size and the state is now a nationally recognized emerging wine producing region and one of the top grape producing states in the country. Michigan’s 100 or so commercial wineries produce more than 1 million gallons of wine annually, and the vast majority of this production is from Michigan-grown grapes.
Michigan wines are receiving high honors at national and international competitions. The wines are typical “cool climate” wines — clean, crisp, and balanced — and include many styles, from dry to sweet, including ice wine, sparkling, fortified and fruit wines.
The best part of this story is Michigan wines are everywhere — in local restaurants and stores, and at tours, tastings and winery visits. Michigan wine country is a mosaic of wineries and vineyards offering the best in agri-tourism.
Michigan contains four American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), regions whose wines share similar and distinct characteristics: Fennville, Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula. All four regions are located in proximity to Lake Michigan, and almost all of Michigan’s wine grapes are grown within 25 miles of the lake.
We have visited two major areas of Michigan’s wine country — the southwest near the Lake Michigan Shore and the Traverse City/Leelanau Peninsula area in the north. Both have their own charm.
In the southwest, you’ll find gems like Hickory Creek, Free Run Cellars, Lemon Creek Winery and The Round Barn Winery.
At Lemon Creek near Berrien Springs, the Lemon family farms approximately 150 acres of wine grapes and about 60 acres of a variety of fruits (pre-picked and U-Pick are available). If you’re interested, a wagon ride will take you into the orchard!
The Round Barn Winery in Baroda features a unique tasting room in the barn that is its namesake. And with a distillery and brewery — in addition to the winemaking — you can hit the trifecta of spirituous liquors, all in one place.
Saturday is the 6th annual Traverse City Wine & Art Festival at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons. Sorry for the late notice. When we visited the festival last year, we didn’t get close to tasting all 200 local wines from 32 local wineries, but we gave it a good try. Even if you missed the festival, you can still visit all 32 wineries one by one.
We have several favorites. L. Mawby Vineyards produces world-class sparkling wine, and serves up samples in a charming tasting room near Sutton’s Bay.
The winery’s owner, Larry Mawby, once appeared in an ad, floating Zen-like above a wine barrel, which gives you an idea of his sense of humor.
Mawby sparkling wines are made using the champenoise method, and are aged in the bottle before disgorging. They currently produce around 100,000 bottles of sparkling wine each year, in a never-ending effort to help consumers “become bubbleheads.”
Black Star Farms, in Sutton’s Bay, is another spectacular Michigan winery with a tasting room reminiscent of Napa. This “agricultural destination” is also an eight-room, year-round luxury inn nestled below a hillside of vineyards in the heart of Leelanau Peninsula wine country. The inn features boarding stables and wooded recreational trails that are great in any season.
So much wine, so little time, goes the old adage. Isn’t it nice to know a great deal of it is waiting only a relatively short drive away here in Michigan?
Of all of the indulgences I enjoy, one of my favorites is wine tasting. And who would have thought so many opportunities exist right here in our home state of Michigan? Even my husband, who is a snob when it comes to wine, says Michigan offers some exceptional tasting choices for oenophiles.
Since the 1970s, Michigan’s wine industry has grown in size and the state is now a nationally recognized emerging wine producing region and one of the top grape producing states in the country. Michigan’s 100 or so commercial wineries produce more than 1 million gallons of wine annually, and the vast majority of this production is from Michigan-grown grapes.
Michigan wines are receiving high honors at national and international competitions. T we gave it a good try. Even if you missed the festival, you can still visit all 32 wineries one by one.he wines are typical “cool climate” wines — clean, crisp, and balanced — and include many styles, from dry to sweet, including ice wine, sparkling, fortified and fruit wines.
The best part of this story is Michigan wines are everywhere — in local restaurants and stores, and at tours, tastings and winery visits. Michigan wine country is a mosaic of wineries and vineyards offering the best in agri-tourism.
Michigan contains four American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), regions whose wines share similar and distinct characteristics: Fennville, Lake Michigan Shore, Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula. All four regions are located in proximity to Lake Michigan, and almost all of Michigan’s wine grapes are grown within 25 mile s of the lake.
We have visited two major areas of Michigan’s wine country — the southwest near the Lake Michigan Shore and the Traverse City/Leelanau Peninsula area in the north. Both have their own charm.
In the southwest, you’ll find gems like Hickory Creek, Free Run Cellars, Lemon Creek Winery and The Round Barn Winery.
At Lemon Creek near Berrien Springs, the Lemon family farms approximately 150 acres of wine grapes and about 60 acres of a variety of fruits (pre-picked and U-Pick are available). If you’re interested, a wagon ride will take you into the orchard!
The Round Barn Winery in Baroda features a unique tasting room in the barn that is its namesake. And with a distillery and brewery — in addition to the winemaking — you can hit the trifecta of spirituous liquors, all in one place.
Saturday is the 6th annual Traverse City Wine & Art Festival at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons. Sorry for the late notice. When we visited the festival last year, we didn’t get close to tasting all 200 local wines from 32 local wineries, but
We have several favorites. L. Mawby Vineyards produces world-class sparkling wine, and serves up samples in a charming tasting room near Sutton’s Bay.
The winery’s owner, Larry Mawby, once appeared in an ad, floating Zen-like above a wine barrel, which gives you an idea of his sense of humor.
Mawby sparkling wines are made using the champenoise method, and are aged in the bottle before disgorging. They currently produce around 100,000 bottles of sparkling wine each year, in a never-ending effort to help consumers “become bubbleheads.”
Black Star Farms, in Sutton’s Bay, is another spectacular Michigan winery with a tasting room reminiscent of Napa. This “agricultural destination” is also an eight-room, year-round luxury inn nestled below a hillside of vineyards in the heart of Leelanau Peninsula wine country. The inn features boarding stables and wooded recreational trails that are great in any season.
So much wine, so little time, goes the old adage. Isn’t it nice to know a great deal of it is waiting only a relatively short drive away here in Michigan?