My husband and I toured Napa for our honeymoon, and we try to do little mini-trips to taste the local vines wherever we are. We've done Missouri (pretty good sweet/dessert wines), Texas (definitely up-and-coming) and even Arkansas (not much to say there).
Recently, we received a tip from a friend to drive no more than two hours and see what Michigan has to offer. So, off we went. Like the other three I listed, we weren't really expecting much. We really just enjoy the laid-back atmosphere of a day of tastings and walking through pretty vineyards. But we were happily surprised to find very tasty dry and semi-dry Rieslings and even some sturdy reds (great for a wine and pizza night) in our neighboring state.
Here was our itinerary if you're interested. I hear the wineries futher north near Traverse City are also great, but that will have to wait for a long weekend.
It was probably the smallest winery we visited with a one-counter tasting bar. The man pouring the wine has been studying to open his own winery and has already purchased land to put down vines in Michigan. Great, quaint little winery with pretty vineyards. We bought a bottle of their (really good) Dry Riesling.
This is one of the largest and most popular wineries we visited. It also boasts a nice restaurant and bar with patio seating overlooking a beautiful vineyard. At least three servers were staffing the tasting bar, and the winery also had a nice gift shop stocked with wine gear. Tabor Hill had plenty of wines to choose from on the tasting menu (pick 5-6 to taste), all of which were pretty good. I really appreciated their 2007 Lake Michigan Shore Kerner (semi-dry white) and, of course, their Blanc de Blanc--can't pass up the sparkling!
3) Round Barn Winery and Distillery
Round Barn was definitely a favorite. They do it all: make great wines, brew their own beer and distill their own vodka from grapes (DiVine Vodka -- available at Sam's and Binny's). And the staff was super-friendly.
This was the only winery that charged for tastings, but it is no more than $5-$6, and it gets you four wine tastes, a taste of one of their fruit wines, beer tasting and vodka tasting (straight or martini-style mixed with one of their fruit wines).
The grounds are beautiful, and their round barn (tasting room is in a different building) hosts receptions. Another plus is the outdoor cafe overlooking the vineyards. Great pizzas and cheese and charcuterie plates (with by-the-glass wines) are pretty reasonably priced.
And another plus is your tasting ticket also gets you tastings at Round Barn's sister winery, Free Run Cellars.
One of the newer wineries, Free Run Cellars has some pretty good wines, but not the largest selection quite yet. We purchased one of their fruit wines, Balaton Cherry.
They also have an outdoor patio behind the tasting room and pretty grounds with a pond out back.
This winery had some great varietals, including one of my favorites, a Viognier. The staff was very friendly, and they also have pretty grounds with deck seating in the back overlooking the vineyards and a pond.
We got a bottle of their Wolf's Prairie Red (a red table wine) that made for a great pizza wine.
6) (yes six in one day) Lemon Creek Winery
The great thing about Lemon Creek is that it's also an orchard. For a set amount for each fruit, you can pick your own and take them home. Coming up: red raspberries.
It was one of the more popular wineries of the day, and I enjoyed a few of the tastings, especially their Peach Spumante.
St. Joe's
So we ran out of time to get to some of the other wineries, but after 5 p.m., St. Joseph is a great place to stopoff for some dinner and lounging on the beach across the lake from us. There are plenty of restaurants along the boardwalk that serve Michigan wines.
Silver Beach is beautiful and a great place to watch the sun set over Lake Michigan. And if you're tuckered out after a long day of awesomeness and don't want to make the 2-hour drive, there are plenty of hotels to drop in without reservations.
Enjoy!
Print
E-mail
Comments
As a proud son of St. Joseph, I applaud your comments on our fine town, which does indeed sport some of the best beaches I've seen anywhere.
You know, I went to a really good winery in Tennessee called the Apple Barn - I'm going back down there in October - do you want me to bring you back a bottle? Also, a little known secret in Angola, Indiana is the Satek Winery. They have excellent dessert wines. It's about a 2 hour drive from Chicago with great outlet shopping nearby so definitely check that out.
Post new comment