Salut! Vineyards vital to Michigan's agribusiness

Ganges Township, MI — Doug Welsch looked out the window at the rolling hills lined with grape vines at Fenn Valley Winery, the business he started more than 35 years ago.

“You’re literally rooted here,” he said last month, with a sweep of his hand. Good soil. Good temperatures. Good location. They all add up to good business for Welsch and good news for the county and state.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm has designated April as Michigan Wine Month because wine and grape industries contribute nearly $800 million to the state’s economy each year.

Sales of Michigan wines rose 5 percent in 2008, while total wine sales experienced no increase.

“Michigan’s wine industry is an important component of the state’s $71.3 billion agri-food business sector and is vital to our tourism efforts,” Granholm said.

Felicia Fairchild of the Saugatuck-Douglas Convention and Visitors Bureau agrees the wine industry has helped enhance tourism along the lakeshore.

“Fenn Valley, as a local winery, has built a wine reputation for the area,” she said.

That reputation includes three wine tasting rooms in Saugatuck — Fenn Valley, 310 Butler St., Tabor Hill, 214 Butler St., and the Round Barn Winery, 439 Butler St.

Fenn Valley’s location at 6130 122nd Ave. in Ganges Township is key to its success in two ways, Welsch said.

First, the good sandy soils are important and Lake Michigan keeps the area’s temperatures moderate, he said.

“Snow is harmless,” he said, referring to the lake effect. “Cold kills grapes.”

Second, he said, are the area’s bed and breakfasts.

“What better place to locate than 5 miles from the resort mecca of the Midwest,” he said, referring to Saugatuck-Douglas.

More than half of the visitors to the winery are from the Chicago area, Illinois and Indiana.

Paulette J. Clouse, owner and operator of J. Paule’s Fenn Inn Bed and Breakfast, 2254 58th St., said the winery has been a help to her business — “especially in the off-season,” she said, when she links lodging deals with winery events such as dinners and music festivals.

“It helps them and it helps us,” she added.

Clouse also uses Fenn Valley wines at her bed and breakfast and has had her own labels put on the bottles.

“Guests like it. Some of them take them for keepsakes,” she said.

Allegan County’s location between Saugatuck and South Haven has drawn Daniel Nitz to plan a winery, tasting room and banquet hall on 114th Avenue east of Glenn in Ganges Township.

The area is No. 2 for tourism in the state, topped only by the Traverse City and Mackinaw City region, he said.

Nitz already owns Arrowhead Vineyards in Baroda in Berrien County.

He has about 25 acres of grapes for Vinterra Winery in Allegan County and is waiting for a final bank approval before beginning construction of the facilities. He hopes to open by late fall this year or spring 2010.

Bruce McIntosh is looking forward to a good year this tourist season.

“People will stay closer to home. This area is a great spot,” said the owner of McIntosh Apple Orchards, 6431 107th Ave. in Casco Township in Allegan County’s southwest corner.

His customers come from Detroit, Battle Creek, Chicago, Indiana and Ohio.

McIntosh specializes in fruit wines and hard ciders made from his 30 acres of apples, peaches and pears that surround the winery.

He and his real estate agent searched for 10 years to find the right property to start the business.

“The lakefront is the Cape Cod of the Midwest,” McIntosh said. “People are rediscovering Michigan.”

The family-operated business uses local products and displays local artists.

“Everything is local Michigan fruit. Everything is here,” he said.

Taylor Ridge Vineyard, 3843 105th Ave., in Cheshire Township southwest of Allegan, has been supplying grapes and juice for home winemakers since the 1970s, said owner Bryan Taylor.

Taylor and his wife, Chicago natives, came to Michigan to learn more about wine and bought a farm to grow the grapes and make wine.

“It’s a lifestyle,” the 70-year-old said from his field where he was working on the vines Wednesday, April 8.

Taylor’s farm is 100 acres, and he grows wine grapes on 8 of those acres. Sales for home winemaking were big in the 1970s and 1980s, he said.

“That’s returning a little,” he added, because the recession has people thinking about saving money by making their own wine.

Michigan vineyards start tapping into draft wine

With the temperature rising and baseball in full swing, many Michigan residents may head to the bar for a cold beverage directly from the tap.

American light lagers, Canadian pilsners, Irish draughts, Michigan microbrews and a nice red wine will all be flowing smoothly from the tap.

Wait a minute — red wine? From the tap?

Wine on draft is already popular at one Northern Michigan vineyard and has potential to become more popular in the future, winemakers say.

“When we make wine, we at the winery drink it out of the tap,” said Bryan Ulbrich, owner of Left Foot Charley Winery in Traverse City. “It’s very common in Europe. We wanted to see how people responded.”

Ulbrich began serving wine straight from his tanks on Valentine’s Day.

“It’s been extremely popular,” Ulbrich said. “People come and fill up a one-liter growler. It’s a good amount of wine for two people over dinner.”

Growlers, or handled jugs used for holding draft beer and wine, come in 750 milliliter and 1, 1.5 and 3-liter sizes.

Chris Moersch, general manager of Round Barn Winery, Distillery and Brewery in Baroda, said he first heard about tapping wines from Left Foot Charley and thinks it’s a great idea.

“It makes a lot of sense,” he said. “You can save on corks, glass and labels. It’s the same reasons bars get kegs for beer.”

In addition to saving money on supplies, Moersch said wine keeps better because of nitrogen regulation in the tanks.

Round Barn offers seasonal wines such as sangria on tap, but sees draft wine as a viable way to more regularly serve customers in the future.

While popular in Europe and some trendy bars across the country, draft wine in Michigan is still rare.

For now, Left Foot Charley is the only guaranteed place to get your Michigan wine on draft — but only through July. Ulbrich said he needs to see if demand will be enough to serve year-round.