Winery Wanderings: A Visit to Western Michigan

I booked a trip to Western Michigan earlier in the summer when we were in the midst of a Virginia heat wave.

I really enjoyed my trip, but wish I had booked a few more days! Quick tip: everything is further away in Michigan than what it looks on a map. I didn't even have a chance to explore the Upper Peninsula because it was 6 hours away from the town of Holland on the western coast.

Most of Michigan's wineries are situated on the western coast and are grouped in two clusters- south of Holland to the Indiana border (my choices were about 90 minutes away) and the area north of Traverse City (about 2.5 hours from where we stayed). One nice thing about Michigan wineries that is not common in Virginia is that about half of them have a second location in a more populated area, making it convenient to try wines without the drives and to reach populations that may not be able to or don't feel comfortable visiting farm wineries.

Michigan obviously has even more challenges than Virginia does in terms of combating cold temperatures and how late in the spring that cold could be present. As a result, Michigan grows some different varietals, but those I tried grown in both states had similarities in how the wine presents itself. This is a very generalist description, but Michigan typically has more sweet and fruit wines than Virginia while still being able to produce some full-bodied reds if you're looking in the right place.

If you have visited other Michigan wineries and have favorites please comment below!

Stop #1: Lemon Creek Winery

The drive to this winery was very scenic, with miles of leafy vines lining the highway preceding the entrance leading to a slightly rustic and down-to-earth winery setting.

Lemon Creek Winery is part of a larger farm that was founded in 1855- they have a cute little market where you can buy fruits, vegetables, and local snacks and at certain times of the year you can pick your own. The winery itself is older than most Virginia wineries, founded in 1984 and now has 170 acres under vine.

This winery had a lot of wine options which resulted in a dozen combinations of self-guided tasting of 5 wines each. I chose to try a flight of dry whites and then a second of off-dry and fruit wines. I quickly realized that I'm not used to drinking sweeter wines anymore, but I appreciated being able to try different wines that you don't find in Virginia!

Flight #1 Favorite: The first flight offered Chardonnay, Seyval Blanc, Pinot Blanc (a genetic mutation of Pinot Gris and before that Pinor Noir), Gewürztraminer, and a dry Reisling. My favorite was the 2018 Gewürztraminer - this was only my second time drinking this varietal and I found this one to be not super sweet as I have read they can be, but rather more like a Chardonnay with sweeter fruit notes.

Flight #2 Favorite: The second flight offered a Cherry wine, Raspberry Spumante (sparkling wine), Peach Spumante, a Sauterne (sweet white wine made from Sémillon, Sauvignon blanc, and Muscadelle grapes), and a late harvest Seyval Blanc dessert wine. I continued my affinity for peach wine and bought a bottle of the Peach Spumante despite not normally liking bubbly drinks! I also liked the bright tartness of the Raspberry sparkling wine as well.

Stop #2: Hickory Creek Winery

What's cool about this winery is the owner has a Virginia connection- veteran Adam McBride purchased the winery in 2017, and in talking to him I found out he was previously stationed at Langley Air Force Base and visited Williamsburg Winery when he was first starting to discover wine. He focuses on making small batch wine of both

bold reds but also offers

four off- dry/sweet wines including a sweet rosé.

Hickory Creek Winery was started in 2006 by a group of local wine growers and focused on dry and off-dry wine, but is owned by McBride today. The style of wine definitely reminded me of a Virginia winery but with some grapes grown more often in colder regions like the Marquette, Niagara, and Riesling.

Between a red barn-like tasting room, a dirt road winding around the property, and a field of sunflowers as you drive in, this winery definitely has a farm-like, relaxed setting.

The winery allowed you to choose 5 wines from a selection of 12. I liked everything I tried, even the sweet ones because they were smooth rather than syrupy and still had a distinct flavor profile - the Gentil Rosé had the fruit and spice of a light mulled wine. I found the reds, including the Pinot Noir and Merlot, to be on the lighter end of their spectrum without the high amount of tannins that often dry out the taste for me.

My Favorites: Both the Marquette wines - Marquette is a complex cold-weather red hybrid introduced in 2006 that is a 'grandchild' of Pinot Noir. The Marquette rosé had nice fruit notes with just the right amount of dryness on the end, and the regular varietal is a medium-bodied wine with distinct blackberry notes.

There is a lot of variety to explore at Michigan's wineries, and I'm looking forward to going back one day and traveling a little further north! I hope this post gives you a glimpse of what the state has to offer. See below for a couple more tidbits from my travels!

Stacy's Spots

There's a couple spots that I wanted to give a shout-out to that aren't winery-related:

- New Holland Brewing Company Yes, I can drink something other than wine sometimes! I really enjoyed my visit here and there is something for everyone, from fruitier beers to double IPAs to several stouts (which I discovered I like), including a stroopwafel. And yes, they have a pumpkin ale coming out for those that need their fall fix! They have lots of seating options inside or two patios outside and everything is very safely spaced.

- State Capitol Building, Lansing - If you're a politics nerd like I am, this is a beautiful capital building that is definitely worth a visit and such a different style than Virginia's. Make sure you take the tour for the full experience!

- Meat BBQ, Lansing - I randomly chose this restaurant because I was in the mood for BBQ after my capital tour, and I definitely made the right call. They have the typical BBQ platters, sandwiches,

and tasty sides, but just take a look at the nachos which I could only eat half of :)