A Healthier Michigan’s A-Z Guide to Michigan Wineries: 2013 East Michigan edition
Mike Miller
| 5 min read
We recently concluded the A Healthier Michigan A-Z Guide to Michigan Breweries series: East, West, Central & Northern Lower Peninsula, and Upper Peninsula editions took us across our great state in search of great brews.
Now it’s time for Michigan’s winemakers to step into the spotlight.
Like the craft beer industry, craft wine-making has exploded in popularity and the number of wine makers on the scene has naturally followed suit. The number of wine-smiths on our list has nearly doubled sine the last time A Healthier Michigan cataloged Michigan’s merchants of merlot.
It’s still not wise to over indulge, but in moderation, wine certainly has its health benefits!
Settle back in for another trip (and a sip or two) around The Mighty Mitten as we bring you A Healthier Michigan’s A-Z Guide to Michigan Wineries: 2013. First up, the East Michigan edition.
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- Burgdorf’s Winery – Haslett: Burgdorf’s Winery brings 30 years of experience to their award winning offerings. The tasting room and gift shop are open year round, and Burgdorfs even offers the opportunity to make your own wine.
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- Chateau Aeronautique Winery – Jackson: Chateau Aeronautique offers handcrafted fine wines made from Michigan grapes. Their tasting room resides in a beautiful setting, the Upon the Williams Aero Estates airpark. Wine tastings include a tour of the winery.
- Cherry Creek Old Schoolhouse Winery & Fudgery – Brooklyn: Award winning wines, butter fudge, cherry preserves, artisan olive oil, and aged balsamic vinegar are just a few examples of the gourmet items available to from Cherry Creek. All items are freshly made or bottled on site. Pull a stool up to the knotty pine bar and enjoy!
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- Fenton Winery & Brewery – Fenton: It’s like a coffee house, but with beer and wine. Fenton Winery & Brewery offer free tastings, wine or beer served by the glass, flight or bottle, and a delightful menu of small plate style dishes to pair with your libation.
- Flying Otter Vineyard and Winery – Adrian: Flying Otter aims to make your wine experience a positive one with a warm and inviting atmosphere. Wine experts and novices alike are welcomed here and are sure to find a wine that suits their tastes.
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- Grand River Marketplace – Jackson: A perfect example of the potential for Michigan wine to excel in the global wine market, Grand River’s wines feature locally grown grapes as well as those from one of Michigan’s oldest vineyards.
- Green Barn Winery – Smiths Creek: Green Barn makes dry and sweet wines crafted with locally harvested fruits. They also offer the opportunity to make wine using your own fruit. They may be a new winery, but they have a large and unique selection of wines. They also provide free wine samples and wine tasting packages.
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- Howell’s Main Street Winery – Howell: Howell’s Main Street Winery produces specialty wines, crafting their own signature series of wines, as well as seasonal varieties. They also invite you to have your own winemaking experience by bottling your own boutique batch of wine.
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- J. Trees Cellars Tasting Room – Blissfield: J. Trees Cellars winery crafts their fruit wines and ciders from their own estate grown fruit and other top quality Michigan fruit. The tasting room is open 12-6pm Friday through Sunday.
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- K. Edward Winery – Macomb: K. Edward uses French oak barrels for the aging of their traditional style wines: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Riesling and more are produced in small, carefully crafted batches. Hours by appointment.
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- Lone Oak Vineyard Estate – Grass Lake: Lone Oak Vineyard Estate is committed to producing fine, handcrafted wines, made from estate and locally grown fruit for your tasting pleasure.
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- Parmenters Northville Cider Mill/Northville Winery – Northville: The Northville Winery is an extension of Parmenters Northville Cider Mill. They exclusively use grapes grown in western Michigan to produce their wines and hard ciders. Pressing is done in the cider mill, while fermenting and bottling are done in the winery building.
- Pentamere Winery – Tecumseh: Situated in historic downtown Tecumseh, Pentamere is the first urban winery in Michigan. Pentamere is known for their pleasantly sweet and light fruit wines as well as their bold dry red wines.
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- Sandhill Crane Vineyards – Jackson: Located east of Jackson, this small family-run vineyard and winery crafts and serves their award-winning estate-grown wines in their on-site tasting room.
- Spotted Dog Winery – Saline: As an urban winery, Spotted Dog is not attached to a specific vineyard, enabling them to source wine grapes from any growers in the world. This enables them to make and offer a wide variety of wines to enjoy.
- St. Julian Wine Company Tasting Room – Dundee – Dundee: The knowledgable staff makes the experience fun and educational for all ages. In addition to tasting Michigan’s finest wines, champagnes, and alcohol free juices you will also learn more about St. Julian’s product and any related items.
- Superior Lakes Hand Crafted Mead and Wine – Harrison Township: Superior Lakes specialty is mead. They craft their award winning meads in small batches allowing special attention to each during the wine making process. They use only the finest ingredients, including unprocessed Michigan honey straight from the beekeeper, and fruits harvested from Michigan farms.
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- Village Winery – Romeo: Located in the downtown Historic Village of Romeo, Village Winery offers a unique experience. Sample the many styles of custom crafted wines in their tasting room before making your purchase.
- Vine2Wine Custom Winery – Northville: A custom winery located in downtown Northville, Vine2Wine offers many varieties including reds and whites, as well as very low sulfite wines, all of which can be customized to your palate. Open all year, no appointment necessary.
- Vinomondo Winery – Fort Gratiot: Taste it, make it, take it home with you! Vinomondo Winery wants to be your one stop for anything and everything wine! Host your own private wine tasting and making events in their tasting room. Tastings by appointment.
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- Wolcott Orchards, Cider Mill & Winery – Mount Morris: Wolcott offers wines, spices, sauces, jams, jellies, local honey, apples, fresh cider and doughnuts and a bakery at their farmers style market in Mount Morris.
Photo credit: panpacificvancouver
