Michigan may not be your first thought when imagining wineries in the United States, but the wineries in Traverse City and Northern Michigan might change your mind. Northern Michigan is home to 40 wineries, all set against beautifully scenic backdrops. And the wine is surprisingly worth drinking.
The focus of our Traverse City adventure was to visit wineries and taste as many local wines as possible. But since we were traveling during Covid, the trip was a little different than normal. Most wineries weren’t doing vineyards or cellar tours, or even formal wine tastings. But wines by the glass were available everywhere and many places served wine flights, so we were more than satisfied.
The wineries themselves were hit and miss. Some because of the service, others because of the wine. So here’s a guide to wineries in Traverse City and Northern Michigan.
A Guide to Wineries in Traverse City & Northern Michigan
How to go Wine Tasting in Traverse City and Northern Michigan
But first, how to go wine tasting in Michigan. The best way to go wine tasting in Traverse City is by hiring a driver or joining a pre-planned tour. There are plenty of tours throughout the region but with four of us traveling during Covid, we opted for a private driver. We booked a four hour tour through Traverse City Wine & Beer Tours, who provided us with a friendly driver and a luxury Cadillac SUV. (This driver is another option.)
The four hour tour felt a little rushed at times because we visited four wineries, giving us less than an hour at each stop. But without knowing which wineries we were going to like in advance, it was tough to know which ones we would have wanted more time at.
In addition to our private winery tour, we also drove to a few wineries ourselves. They were ones we knew we wanted more time at, thanks to the view or the winery.
Chateau Chantal Winery
Go to Chateau Chantal for a delicious wine pairing dinner with a beautiful view.
Chateau Chantal is a beautiful European-style winery perched above the Old Mission Peninsula. Overlooking both sides of the Grand Traverse Bay and surrounded by vineyards, the winery is also a bed and breakfast. They host cooking classes, live jazz nights, and wine pairing dinners. We visited Chateau Chantal for a wine pairing dinner, where we enjoyed a four course meal on the patio while the sun set.
Like many wineries in the region, Chateau Chantal is known for dry Riesling. “White wines are the strength of this region,” our host explained. White grapes grow well and many winemakers who are attracted to the region have white wine backgrounds. At Chateau Chantal, their senior winemaker is from Michigan but learned wine making in Germany. But Chateau Chantal also makes beautiful red wines, like the Trio Proprietors Reserve, several types of white wines, sparkling wines, and even cherry wine.
Boathouse Vineyards
Go to Boathouse Vineyards for a relaxing wine flight.
Boathouse Vineyards feels more like a homey cabin than a winery. Nestled up against a narrow river-like stretch of Lake Leelanau (known as The Narrows) and surrounded by greenery, the winery has a large lawn perfect for watching boats go by. The grapes grow four miles south of the tasting room, where they serve wine flights and wines by the glass.
There are plenty of wines available at the tasting room, many with cheeky names. Boathouse Vineyards makes red, rosé, white, and sparkling wine, and the build-your-own flights allow you to taste them all. Plus they are served in mini carafes, so you can share them if you want.
MAWBY Vineyards & Winery
Go to MAWBY for delicious sparkling wines, outstanding service, and vineyard views.
Over on the other side of the Leelanau Peninsula, MAWBY Vineyards & Winery specializes in sparkling wines. Surrounded by rows of vines, the partially outdoor tasting room offers a beautiful view while sipping on wine flights. While MAWBY doesn’t have a huge selection of wines, they were some of the best we tasted in Michigan.
MAWBY has a small selection of snacks available, making it one of the few wineries in the area serving food. And the smoked whitefish pâté was surprisingly delicious, especially paired with the wine. The service at MAWBY was fantastic; our server instantly felt like a familiar friend. Plus we even got to keep our tasting glasses! It was easily one of our favorite wineries.
Willow Vineyards & Winery
Go to Willow Vineyards for the beautiful vineyard-and-water-view, plus the boutique gift shop.
Willow Vineyards is another winery with a view, overlooking rows of vines and the Grand Traverse Bay. But the tasting room is tiny, with only a few wines available — and, unfortunately, none that we loved. But the tasting room doubles as a boutique, with wine-focused gifts that made the stop worth it.
One of the original five wineries in Leelanau County, Willow Vineyards makes and bottles wine onsite. They make white, red, rosé, and — of course — cherry wine.
Black Star Farms (Suttons Bay)
Go to Black Star Farms relaxing wine flights and taking in the green scenery.
Black Star Farms is a 160-acre inn, farm, horse stable, vineyard, and distillery. The estate is breathtaking. Rows of grapes run along one side of the inn (pictured at top), which overlooks horse stables, while green forests run alongside the other. There are several tasting rooms serving wines by the glass or flights, plus a restaurant, Hearth & Vine.
It’s one of the few wineries in the area that doesn’t require advance reservations. So we stopped in for wine flights on the terrace patio, relaxing on patio chairs and taking in the scenery. Black Star Farms is also one of the few wineries with an on-site restaurant, so we followed our tasting with lunch at Hearth & Vine. (Black Star Farms also has a tasting room in Old Mission.)
Verterra Winery
Go to Verterra Winery Tasting Room for good wines by the glass; go to The Ridge at Verterra for a beautiful view (but risk rude service).
The Ridge at Verterra Winery came highly recommended for both the wine and the view, plus it’s one of the few wineries offering vineyard tours during Covid. But it took three phone calls, two emails, and a facebook message to get them to respond to our requests for reservations — only to find out they weren’t offering tours the days we were in town. Still wanting to see the view, we stopped at The Ridge at Verterra only to receive incredibly rude service, which completely tainted the taste of our wine flights. The view was pretty, but not worth the time and effort.
But luckily we stopped at Verterra Winery’s tasting room in Leland the day before. The tiny tasting room sits in the center of adorable Fishtown Leland, a historic town straight out of a storybook. They only serve wines by the glass while standing up at the bar, but the bartender was friendly and informative. And we actually enjoyed the wine! A reminder that a little bit of friendly service goes a long way.
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Of course these are just a small handful of the wineries in Traverse City and Northern Michigan. Let me know in the comments what other wineries are must visits for next time!
Related :: Visiting Traverse City During Covid and What to Do in Traverse City
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For as many wineries as there are there, only going to that few felt bare. It would’ve been nice to give some wine descriptions too.
Thanks for your feedback, Gale. We went to a few other wineries that weren’t really worth writing about (neither good nor bad, just not memorable). I would have liked to write more about the wine, but most wineries didn’t tell us much about them because they couldn’t do guided tastings. And I feel that my taste assessment wouldn’t do the wines justice since I drink and study whiskey over wine.