Vineyard tourism on the rise as Michigan wineries flourish
Coloma: Karma Vista Vineyards and Winery will be pouring wines from 2010, an excellent year, in the next few weeks. / JEFF GREENBERG/Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Co
It's a full-bodied trend -- wineries are popping up all over Michigan.
"We have 10 new wineries in just the last year," says Gordon Wenk, chairman of the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council.
The number of Michigan wineries has tripled since 2001, to 81.
And they are no longer only in western Michigan. They are in the Thumb, the Upper Peninsula, even down on the state line.
Some are in odd spots, such as the new Chateau Aeronautique Winery, in a hangar on a private airfield in Jackson.
Berrien Springs: Winemaker attends to the grapes at Domaine Berrien Cellars. / JEFF GREENBERG/Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Co
Some are fancy and famous, like the lush Chateau Chantal on Old Mission Peninsula or the historic St. Julian Winery in Paw Paw.
But wine has spawned all kinds of tourist offerings. The Grey Hare Inn Vineyard B&B on Old Mission offers picnics in the vineyards. Vineyard Inn on Suttons Bay has wine tours every Saturday. The Tall Ship Manitou in Traverse City offers wine-tasting cruises all summer.
"I knew there was a market. But I'm surprised by the number of inquiries," says Scott Hunter of Rochester, who started Michigan Wine Tours this year.
"I'm getting a ton of people from Chicago who want to do wine tours in the southwest part of the state," he says.
He also sees the Thumb region and the Pioneer region near Jackson to be fertile winery tour locations for metro Detroiters.
Michigan wine mojo Old Mission Peninsula: Chateau Chantal is one of three wineries in the state that also offers lodging. / Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council
Just as the idea of buying local is catching on among consumers, the quality of Michigan wines has steadily improved. Long known for fruity wines and Rieslings, the reds are coming into their own.
"It's a whole agri-tourism experience to go out and taste Michigan-grown products," says Wenk. "If a winery wants to put a region on their bottle, those grapes actually have to come from that region."
That means if a bottle says Leelanau, the grapes are from the Leelanau.
One advantage of visiting a winery is being able to taste the wine before you buy it, says Ed Gerten of the Pentamere Winery in Tecumseh. "You're not playing 'let's guess' games at the grocery store," he says.
Old Mission Peninsula: Grapes flourish at Bowers Harbor Vineyards. / STEVE SADLER/Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Coun
The other advantage for travelers is that clusters of wineries make up four wine trails (see map on Page 8E).
"I think we are getting critical masses of wineries in the central part of the state and along Lake Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. We will get enough wineries so people think of it as a destination and go there," says Wenk.
Wineries with lodging
Because most Michigan wineries are in nice places, most have nice lodging nearby. Three Michigan wineries have inns on site: Chateau Chantal, Black Star Farms and Chateau Grand Traverse, all on the elegant Old Mission Peninsula.
And hotels near wineries are getting creative. Candlewood Suites in Stevensville offers a package including a hot air balloon ride and a visit to Tabor Hill Winery.
Hidden Gardens Cottages and Suites in Saugatuck has a two-day wine adventure package that includes lodging and wine tours.
The winery's where?
It is hard to grow grapes in the U.P., but a winery is doing it. Even though it is nearer campgrounds than glamorous resorts, wine fans still manage to find the Threefold Vine Winery in Garden.
"It's weird. We live on a gravel road way down on the Garden Peninsula, and I can't believe the number of people who knock on our door," says co-owner Andy Green. Their 5-year-old winery uses grapes grown on 7 acres of their large farm. That is definitely not easy in the U.P. They've experimented with growing 70 kinds of grapes and are having luck with Swensen cold-climate varieties.
Coloma: Sign for the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail. / JEFF GREENBERG/Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Co
Down in the Thumb, the Lake Huron sandy shoreline and fertile agriculture region is proving to be a good spot for wineries. The Blue Water Winery in Carsonville and Dizzy Daisy in Bad Axe both have vineyards and tasting rooms. They are helping to create a critical mass of wineries that may lead to a future Thumb wine trail.
Still, most established wineries, wine glamour and wine trails are in western Michigan.
Vineyard or winery
If you want to see grapes growing, make sure your destination is the actual vineyard, not just a tasting room or wine-making spot.
If your choice is a simple winery where wine is made from grapes grown somewhere else in Michigan, those are sprouting up all over the state.
And if you prefer wine made from fruit other than grapes, Michigan has that, too.
Uncle John's Cider Mill in St. Johns has Uncle John's Fruit House Winery, which opened in 2001. It is next to the pie barn and cider mill. And why not? The owners were already growing apples, cherries and blueberries for wine.
Blueberry wine may not exactly be Pinot Noir, but lots of people like it.
Says winemaker and owner Mike Back, "It was a natural addition to what we're doing."