Michigan has come a long way since a handful of intrepid producers decided to try their luck planting Vitis vinifera varieties in the 1970s. Now world-class wine is being made across this geographically diverse state, from the hilly farmlands edged in bluffs on the Old Mission Peninsula to the gently rolling valleys and sandy dunes of the southwest.
“It seems every year there are more skilled producers embracing cool climate rather than trying to emulate the style of warmer regions,” says Amanda Danielson, advanced sommelier and owner of Trattoria Stella in Traverse City. “In the past we tended to focus more on the tourist side of things—frosé slushies and busloads of bachelorettes. We’re seeing more winemakers out there striking a balance, focusing on better barrel selection and more judicious use of oak and working with our acids and aromatics rather than suppressing them.”
With almost two dozen nationally recognized scenic byways, Michigan might be best experienced by car—and in winding, leisurely fashion if you can spare the time. Your route will be dotted by vineyards, especially if it traces the contours of Lake Michigan, where the vast majority of wineries are clustered.
The Lake Michigan Shore and Fennville AVAs are in the relaxed-paced southwest corner of the state, above the border with Indiana and directly across Lake Michigan from Chicago. The other appellations hug the rolling northernmost coastline of the mainland: Leelanau Peninsula, which unfurls from Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes to the western arm of Grand Traverse Bay and
This Article was originally published on Wine Enthusiast
