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Exploring Lakeshore's Michigan Wine Trail
by Lisa Diggs
If you’re looking for a wonderful way to kick off the fall season, consider exploring Michigan’s wine country. The Michigan Wine Trail has several paths, and we recently explored a portion of the Lake Michigan Shore section in the southwest.
There are about twenty possible stopping points along the coast, representing twelve different wineries, including as far east as Paw Paw, and as far north as Saugatuck. With one afternoon to dedicate to this excursion, we traveled south to one of the most concentrated areas, where the grapes are grown and wine is made. Within just a few miles of each other, in the small space between Baroda and Berrien Springs, you will find Lemon Creek, Domaine Berrien, Free Run, Tabor Hill, Round Barn, and Hickory Creek.
We made it to five of the six before running out of time on our Thursday afternoon. It’s worth noting that some are open later than others, so you may want to do your homework, and factor that into the plan. My companion and I opted to start with the southernmost stop, Hickory Creek, and work our way back north.
Hickory Creek is a relatively new kid on the block, having been operational for only a few years. Because it’s a little lesser known, we were able to have a great, long conversation with our host, while enjoying some free tastes. Not being wine experts, we learned a lot about how to distinguish between different flavors when they hit our palates.
Our next stop was Round Barn, which is unique in more ways than one. Not only is there an actual “round barn,” but they have expanded from wine into creating vodka and beer as well. That makes this a really fun destination if you have members of your party who prefer beer to wine, since you can center your tasting around either one. We opted for wine, primarily.
Tastings at Round Barn ran five dollars, which included a wine glass, and the option to try up to five different wine pours, a taste of one beer, and their Divine vodka. You can also bring your glass back for another visit to avoid the cost the next time around. We liked most everything we tried here, but best of all was seeing their recent renovations, expansion, and foray into new segments of the beverage market. The tasting area was packed on a weekday afternoon, providing further evidence that this seems like a company that is really on the rise.
From Round Barn we headed to another well known name, Tabor Hill. For planning purposes, this is a great midway or even last stop, as they have an excellent restaurant for either lunch or dinner. You can dine indoors or, weather permitting, out on a spacious deck that overlooks the vineyards. With a slight roll to the hills, and row upon row of vines, one can easily be reminded of Napa or Sonoma. Pours here were also without cost, with many wines from which to choose. Fortunately, we got great guidance from the friendly staff about what they considered to be the best of the best and most unique.
With time winding down, we headed off to see if we could squeeze in one or two more before our fantastic afternoon came to a halt. Our next stop was Free Run, the sister winery to Round Barn, both of which are actually run by brothers, Matthew & Christian Moersch. The tagline for this piece of their business is “evolving Michigan wine,” and the selections seem to have an heir of sophistication and a definitive French style. While polar opposites, two of our favorites here were the Cabernet Franc and Vidal Blanc Ice Wine. Both of these are categories, where Michigan has an opportunity to capture the nation and the world’s attention, so it’s exciting to experience.
If you’ve never had an ice wine, it is a sublime, though incredibly sweet treat. In order to qualify as a true ice wine, the grapes must freeze naturally on the vine, which as you can imagine, is a definite possibility here in the Great Lakes State. That also means that each grape yields barely one tiny drop of juice, so these wines tend to be less available and more expensive. That’s what makes finding them available at a tasting even more fun.
As luck would have it, we found ice wine available one more time at our final destination, Lemon Creek, where we once again purchased a $5 glass that entitled us to up to five pours, and the offer to return again for free. We also found another knowledgeable staff eager to share their favorites. While my traveling companion and I may not have the most sophisticated of wine palates, we were often surrounded by people who did, and who were having an equally magnificent time.
Even if you are not a huge fan of wine, or do not drink any at all, this is a part of our state that is worth exploring, particularly as fall arrives. You’ll find yourself on back roads, surrounded by surprising hills, orchards, vineyards, and friendly people who are delighted to share their passion and pride with each visitor.
User Comments (2)
There are actually 12 wineries on the Lake Michigan Shore wine trail, as far east as Kalamazoo, where Lawton Ridge Winery is located. Thanks for covering Michigan wineries.
A new winery opened in this same area in August called Founders Winery in Baroda. A newer one in South Haven is McIntosh.
Check them out.
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