Enjoy Wine Country Close to Home

By Barbara Voris Eastman

You’re enjoying a beautiful glass of white wine with a few close friends.  The coolness of the wine produces condensation on the outside of the glass giving it a frosty look and the wine refreshes you as you look out over acres of vines, heavy with grapes that will be harvested in another month or two.  With every sip you inhale an intoxicating aroma—hints of citrus or peaches. The birds are singing, the bees are buzzing and you find yourself relaxed and thoroughly enjoying the idyllic setting.  So where are you?  The Napa Valley?  Sonoma?  Tuscany?  No—you’re in the verdant wine country of southwest Michigan.  You feel like you’re in a different world, yet you haven’t left The Beach Coast. 

The Southwest Michigan Wine Trail begins just a few miles past the state line.  There are about 20 tasting rooms and wineries along the Wine Trail and they are close enough together that, technically, you could visit every one of them in a day.  However, once you get started, you’ll find places where you’ll want to linger, so I recommend planning on two days so you can do the Wine Trail at a leisurely pace and savor the entire experience (not to mention the wine). 

To demonstrate how easy it is to plan a lovely day in wine country, I recently got in the car and took my own self-directed tour.  Here’s how it went…

Round Barn
Only a few miles into Michigan at exit 6, I made my first stop at the side-by-side tasting rooms of The Round Barn and St. Julian wineries.  At the Round Barn Tasting Room I chatted with George Seifert, who was enjoying a relatively quiet weekday.  There were several couples lined up at the bar, but on the weekends, people can be 3 or 4 deep.  George says the popularity is at least partially influenced by the fact that the tasting rooms are virtually at the end of the exit ramp and stopping is an “easy on-easy off” proposition.  On busy weekends they serve hundreds of people per day.

St. Julian
I walked next door to the St. Julian Tasting Room and there, too, they were doing a brisk business.  With the economy as it is, more and more people are taking “staycations.”  They are discovering places close to home, and visiting the wineries and tasting rooms make people feel like they are getting away without the cost of airfare, hotels, rental cars, etc.  According to Wine Consultant Betty Walter, St. Julian is Michigan’s oldest and largest winery, having been founded in 1921.  A special port and sherry blend, called Mariano Meconi Founder’s Pride, was recently introduced in honor of the winery’s 90^th year. 

Hickory Creek
My next stop was Hickory Creek, a four year-old winery owned by Mike de Schaaf and David Leslie.  Many Michigan wineries offer sweet wines, but at Hickory Creek, the focus is on dry wines and food pairings.  Rosemary Zirille, the Tasting Room Manager, says that Hickory Creek is served in some of the most prestigious dining rooms in Chicago including Everest, Epic, Tru, Naha, Blackbird, North Pond and others. 

Tabor Hill
I stopped at Tabor Hill and enjoyed a late lunch in their award-winning restaurant.  Chef J.P. Verhage was featured in the premiere issue of The Beach Coast.com and he is well-respected throughout the region for his fresh and innovative cuisine.  After a delicious lunch I stopped in the tasting room where, in addition to wine and gifts, Tabor Hill offers a wide selection of beautiful Norman Love Chocolates—each one a work of art.  

Contessa
This beautiful winery is perched on a hillside overlooking 24-acres of grapes.  Although they have been in business for 8 years, they harvested their own grapes for the first time in fall 2009.  Owner Tony Peterson worked in a family winery for 18 years before starting Contessa.  Lauren Kniebes was on duty in the tasting room and she told me that their most popular white is Bianco Bello, a semi-sweet French/American blend and their most popular red is Lago Rosso, a semi-dry blend.  There will soon be an outdoor tasting bar at Contessa—the first in the state.

Karma Vista
My final stop of the day was at Karma Vista, which occupies a beautiful hilltop in Coloma that is dotted with grapes and fruit trees.  The vista was something to behold and I felt for a moment that I had been transported to a hill town in Tuscany.  Owners Joe and Sue Herman invite visitors to linger a while and, as they state on their website, “Join us at our tasting room as we watch traffic on the highway far below us and try to decide why everyone else is in such a big hurry.”  There are many reasons to stay at Karma Vista—a beautiful tasting room and a wide selection of wines. 

Famed New York wine merchant, William Sokolin, once said, “What is the definition of a good wine?  It should start and end with a smile.”  I found that my day on the wine trail began and ended with a smile, and there were many in between.  If you haven’t done the Wine Trail before, you should make a day (or two) of it and enjoy the beautiful wines and wineries of Southwest Michigan.

Round Barn Tasting Room
9185 Union Pier Road
Union Pier, MI
www.roundbarnwinery.com

St. Julian Tasting Room
9145 Union Pier Road
Union Pier, MI
www.st.julian.com

Hickory Creek Winery
750 Browntown Road
Buchanan, MI
www.hickorycreekwinery.com

Tabor Hill Winery & Restaurant
185 Mount Tabor Road
Buchanan, MI
www.taborhill.com

Round Barn Winery
10983 Hills Road
Baroda, MI
www.roundbarnwinery.com

Contessa Wine Cellars
3235 Friday Road
Coloma, MI
www.contessawinecellars.com

Karma Vista Vineyards & Winery
6991 Ryno Road
Coloma, MI
www.karmavista.com

For a complete listing of the wineries on the Southwest Michigan Wine Trail:

www.miwinetrail.com

Leave the driving to the professionals at Fruitful Vine Tours

www.fruitfulvinetours.com