The Best Wineries in Northern Michigan
Call me basic, but I love wine tasting. And I especially love wine tasting with my girlfriends—double basic. Much to my surprise, when I moved to Michigan I discovered that there’s actually a pretty decent wine region “up north” (as they call it here). It turns out that a little strip of the northern part of the state sits on the 45th parallel, which just so happens to also run through Italy’s Piedmont Region and the Rhone Valley and Bordeaux in France. You know, some of the world’s most famous wine regions.
What this means is that northern Michigan has ideal growing conditions for grapes that produce wines like, Pinot Grigio/Gris (my fav), Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc. Who would have thought, right?
I’ve done many a wine weekends up north with my gal pals, and from trial and error (hey, someone has to do it), I’m pretty confident that we’ve compiled a solid list of the best of the best.
So, if you find yourself in the Traverse City area and are looking to hit the wine trail, here are my tried and true recommendations for the best wineries in northern Michigan.
A tasting at 2 Lads Winery with my girlfriends Kim and Jocelyn
Leelenau Peninsula Wineries
Mawby: This is a sparkling winery. Do you really need to know anything else? They also have the best snacks here, like soft herbed cheese and white fish paté served with little fish shaped crackers. If you only go to one winery, go here.
Bluestone Vineyards: This place has a beautiful modern tasting room with great outdoor seating and fire pits for when it’s chilly. It’s the perfect spot to order a glass and enjoy the afternoon.
Chateau Fontaine: I come back to this place again and again, because although the tasting room is a little hokey, I think the wine might be the best on the whole peninsula. This is the first place i tried “unoaked” Chardonnay and it totally blew my mind—in a good way.
Rove Estate: One of the last places we stopped on our most recent trip and we all loved it. A beautiful spot not too far from downtown Traverse City up on a hill with great wines and a nice outdoor seating area (with perfect sunset views).
Brengman Brothers Winery: We ended up here on a Monday morning and had the whole place to ourselves. The wines were great and the girl who did our tasting was awesome. I have a feeling this one will become a staple.
Green Bird Organic Cellars: The only organic winery on the peninsula, this place wins for cutest as well, I fell in love right away. I thought the wines were really unique and they had some great cider and sangria on tap too—not to mention to best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had in my life.
Old Mission Peninsula Wineries
Bowers Harbor Vineyards: Probably my favorite spot on Old Mission, we always have such a great time here. Great wines (and cider), snack options, and a lot of places to sit outside in the vineyard. Another good spot for parking it for a while.
2 Lads Winery: A super Scandinavian building with great views and top-notch wines. This is one of the places that I often end up buying a bottle to take home.
Bonobo Winery: Beautiful, modern tasting room with a ton of indoor and outdoor seating. Great wines and equally great views of Grand Traverse Bay.
Brys Estate Vineyard & Winery: If you’re tired of tasting (yes, it happens) and just want to sit down for a full glass, Brys has a separate bar area with a lot of drink options, including frosé (frozen rosé), which is obviously a girl’s weekend crowd pleaser.
Chateau Chantel: This one is pretty classic, but it’s solid. There’s also a B&B on-site so it’s a good option if you’re looking for somewhere nice to stay.
Top to bottom: The outdoor ordering area at Tandem Ciders, frosé from Brys Estate, the Tandem Ciders entryway, a glass of rosé and the whitefish snack plate at Mawby, and the inside of the tasting room at Tandem.
Best Cider in Northern Michigan
I know this post is supposed to be about wineries, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my favorite cideries as well, because they are well worth a stop.
Tandem Ciders: I tell people all the time that Tandem is my favorite place in all of Michigan and it’s true. It’s a magical little white barn that’s nestled in between orchards and vineyards and the tasting room is…just perfect. This is where I had my first pickled egg and it was love at first bite. In additional to the ciders, try their homemade soda, they have seasonal flavors that are so, so good. Everything is perfect here, no trip up north should be without a stop (or two).
Suttons Bay Ciders: Tandem will always be my #1, but this place is pretty great too. Loved the cider (I sampled a ginger one that was A+) and there are beautiful views of the the lake.
My friend Jocelyn living her best life at Suttons Bay Ciders
Did I miss your favorite spot? Let me know! We love to try a few new places every time we go.
