Good Harbor Vineyards' Simpson was a Leelanau wine pioneer

Bruce Simpson was a soft-spoken son of the land, a third-generation cherry farmer in Leland, Mich., who was instrumental in the growth of the Michigan wine industry -- but was too unassuming to ever tell you that.

The founder of Good Harbor Vineyards in 1980, Mr. Simpson was one of the earliest Michigan vintners to blend hybrids and European varietals and give them proprietary names. He was one of the founders of the Leland Wine Festival, the biggest wine event up north, which is almost a quarter-century old. And he assisted numerous Leelanau County wineries in selecting vineyard sites, and then helped plant them.

But more than that, he was described by those who knew him as the definition of a kind man.

Simpson, 56, died March 11 at University Hospital in Ann Arbor.

"My dad was magnanimous -- the nicest guy I ever met in my life, my best friend," said son Sam Simpson, 22, who canceled plans to be a financial analyst at General Mills to help run operations at the winery. He will join his mother, Debbie, who was married 30 years to Bruce Simpson, and sister, Joanna, 28, who gave up her position at a prestigious wholesale house in Chicago.

"You can't let the business die," said Sam, who studied enology and viticulture at Michigan State University.

"My dad had a really curious mind. He was always pondering and thinking. He had a holistic approach to farming. First and foremost, he was a farmer, and made his wine out in the vineyard," Sam said.

Bruce Simpson worked on his father's farm when he was growing up, and since it was never an option in the Simpson family not to get a college degree, he graduated from Michigan State University, and showed an interest in wine. At the urging of his father, he went on to study winemaking and viticulture at the University of California-Davis.

"My grandpa had the foresight to see there was not a dynamic future in cherry farming," Sam Simpson said.

"My mom always told the story of the first time Dad got all the new wine in the tanks. He was purple from head to feet and said, 'I learned more today than I ever learned at UC-Davis.'"

Good Harbor Vineyards was the fourth winery established in Leelanau County, following L. Mawby Vineyard, Leelanau Wine Cellars and Boskydel, and was one of the earliest planters of Pinot Grigio. Besides the popular Trillium, Fishtown White and Harbor Red, Moonstruck sparkling wine is one of Simpson's most applauded wines, earning high marks from British wine authority Tom Stevenson and numerous gold medals.

From the early days, Good Harbor ( www.goodharbor.com), located on M-22 just south of Leland, was designed to let visitors view the whole winemaking process from the tasting room.

"Bruce was one of the really, really nice, decent folks you'd ever run across," Larry Mawby said, remembering how the two of them worked together to plant many other vineyards. "Bruce saw there was a need for more vineyards, and he helped people get started."

Lucie Matthies of nearby Chateau Fontaine experienced his wisdom and generous help when she and her husband, Dan, put in their vineyards and started making wine. "He was so good all the time," she said.

Simpson was one of the founders of the Leelanau Peninsula Vintner's Association and wine trail. Long before that, he was the first to honor local artists in Leland by putting their works on his labels. He also served on the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council from 1989-1993.

He is survived by wife Debbie, son Sam and daughter Joanna.

Simpson's life will be celebrated at a memorial service at 2 p.m. April 4 at Leland Community United Methodist Church, in Leland. Donations can be made to the John Worth Simpson Scholarship Fund, established by Simpson's father to help needy children, in care of the Leelanau Children's Center, 111 N. Fifth St., Leland, MI 49654.