Michigan's Wine Industry Continues to Grow

Michigan's biggest industry right now is manufacturing. But with all the bad news surrounding the auto industry, who knows how long that will be the case.

The relatively young Michigan wine industry, on the other hand, has nearly tripled in size over the past decade. Wine sales have steadily increased for the past several years, and now the industry contributes about $300 million to the state annually.

But before you get too comfortable with the image of you, strolling through your vineyard with a bottle of wine in one hand, and some cheese and a baguette in the other, let's have a little price check.

Take Willow Winery on the Leelanau Peninsula, for example. It happens to be sale. Real estate agent Shelly Burnett describes it as, "the premiere Michigan winery. It's a boutique style winery with 11.5 acres, a tasting room, barrel cellar and a residence here along with an equipment barn."

Sounds ideal, right? Well, if you've got $2.3 million, it's yours.

Linda Jones calls wine "a capital-intensive industry."

Jones is executive director of the Michigan Grape and Wine Council.

"Above cost of buying land," explains Jones, "the estimated cost to establish an acre of vineyard is $15,000-$20,000 per acre." She says 10 acres is the size of a typical vineyard.

Jones says there are some entry-level positions in the industry. Nothing too glamorous, mostly just picking grapes in the field or pouring wine in the tasting room.

"But in order to grow," says Jones, "we need some more structured, accredited educational opportunities for people to get basic training." That way, she continues, people can "walk into a winery or a vineyard and instantly be able to contribute to that facility."

Michigan State University had an Ag Tech program for wine growers, but it got cut for budget reasons.

Still, that hasn't stopped Michigan from creeping into the Top 10 list of wine producers in the country. California, Washington, Oregon and New York are at the top.

In the next tier you'll find Michigan, Texas, Virginia and Missouri.

Now if you're at a restaurant in California, chances are you won't find any wines from Michigan or Missouri listed on the menu. That's because the regions are considered "emerging wine markets" which means they don't produce enough wine for national distribution.

That's where a couple from Elk Rapids hopes to get their big break in the industry.

Chantal LaFave and her husband, Michael Newman, own Moon Dog Vineyards. They moved from Boston to Michigan two years ago to catch what LaFave calls "the wine industry wave."

They bought 26 acres for $125,000 in a small town half an hour north of Traverse City.

"Ideally down the road there's always the possibility that we'll make our own wine," says LaFave, "but right now we're just going to be selling our grapes to a local winery and they'll be making a wine."

Now, purchasing $125,000 dollars of farm land is obviously way cheaper than buying a ready-to-go winery, but it's still a lot of money.

And with no formal training programs in the state, jobs in the wine industry won't surpass that of the auto industry any time soon, if ever. But still, it's always good to diversify, as long as you remember to not mix.