I try not to let more than a few months elapse without seeing my out of state kids so it was time to see my son; rather than spend a summer weekend in Chicago, we opted to meet him and his girlfriend in southwestern Michigan for a weekend of wine tasting and biking. Originally, we thought we could combine the two – biking from winery to winery, but quickly discovered that the roads were winding with no shoulder and not very conducive for cyclists, especially those drinking wine! So we did our wine tour by car which enabled us to sample a greater variety of wineries in more distant locations in southwest Michigan.
The Lake Michigan Shore American Viticultural Area is a collection of 21 wineries and growers in the southwestern corner of the state. Its proximity to Lake Michigan and the resulting ‘lake effect’ weather, snow with warmer temperatures, plus the rolling hills and sand dunes protect the grapes from early spring frosts and extend the fall growing season. Consequently 90% of the state’s grapes are grown here. Strolling through some of the vineyards, we saw bunches of voluptuous grapes beginning to ripen.
Our first stop was Domaine Berrien Cellars, an 80 acre vineyard and boutique tasting room in Berrien County. Formerly a cherry orchard, the vineyard has been producing grapes for local vintners since 1992. In 2001, Domaine Berrien opened its own tasting room and began selling its own wine brands. The room was lively and crowded as we entered, but patrons squeezed aside to make room for us at the bar; our winerista, Anna, took us though the various selections, pouring and chatting about the winery and its award winning vintages. Although known more for dry reds, we particularly liked Domaine Berrian’s Gold Medal Vignoles and left with our labeled wine glass and a couple bottles.
Our next winery, Lemon Creek was almost directly across from Berrien Domaine on Lemon Creek Road, aptly named for the family that owns and operates this 160 year old farm. The winery was founded in 1984, but the Lemon family has grown fruit on this land for generations. Before heading to the modest tasting room, we walked the property, paralleling a large cat-tailed pond blanketed with crusty green scum, beautiful but pungent.
Our winerista was a young man new to Lemon Creek Winery but very knowledgeable about the wine making process so we learned as we tasted. Lemon Creek is one of the few wineries in the area that makes ice wine – a complicated process in which grapes are left on the vine until the first freeze and then immediately harvested and pressed while frozen. The longer growing time and subsequent freeze causes the grapes to have a higher than normal sugar content, which makes for a very sweet dessert wine. Lemon Creek’s vidal ice wine was excellent and modestly priced for ice wine, so we added a bottle to our day’s collection.
The patio at our next stop, the Dablon Winery and Vineyards, was the main attraction on a warm sunny afternoon so rather than do a tasting inside, we each choose a glass of wine to enjoy outdoors. The striped umbrellas provided some welcome shade. The patio was surrounded by blooming white hydrangea bushes accented with purple lavender plants; the view overlooking the terraced vineyards was breathtaking.
Dablon is a fairly new winery; 44 acres of vineyards were planted in 2009, with an additional 30 acres acquired and planted over the next few years. The estate was named for Claude Dablon, a French explorer and Jesuit priest, who was one of the first Europeans to arrive in Michigan in 1600s, when it was still a part of New France. Father Dablon was believed to be one of Michigan’s first vintners, making wine from wild grapes he found in the New World.
Built in 2105, Dablon’s tasting room is elegant with its stone fireplace, leather couches, wood paneling and long curved tasting bar. This would be the perfect place to cozy up with a glass of wine around the fire on a cool fall evening, blustery winter afternoon or damp spring day but in the middle of summer, we passed through to enjoy the outdoors.
Free Run Cellars, our next winery, bills itself as ‘a haven for wine experts and novices alike’. Free Run has dual meaning – the winemaker and culinary director have ‘free run’ to create food and wine pairings that tantalize the palate, but it is also the term used for the first and sweetest juice that flows freely from freshly picked grapes, when they are stacked on top of each other and the sheer weight breaks their skins.
Free Run’s tasting room is modest but the back patio is shaded by large oaks and surrounded by lush vineyards; couches, chairs and tables are strategically situated to enable people to drink and dine among the vines. We took our wine and cheese to the patio to enjoy but eventually decided that cheese and crackers were not enough to absorb the alcohol; we needed to eat a real lunch. A cellar employee recommended a restaurant, Lake Street Eats, in Bridgman, a 20 minute drive away. Taking her advice, we had a satisfying lunch of soup, salad and sandwiches sans alcohol in this quaint small town pub. We thought we’d visited enough wineries for the day but our waitress told us that we absolutely had to check out Round Barn Estates. Not just a winery, but a brewery and distillery as well, this multi-building event venue is located on a sprawling estate surrounded by acres of vineyards and a 1912 round barn brought back by the owners from Indiana. In addition to the winery, there is a separate beer bar and distillery, food trucks and an entertainment pavilion complete with dance floor, plenty of tables and spaces for people to mingle and drink and beautiful flower beds with the biggest hollyhock blooms I’d ever seen.
Even though we arrived within an hour of closing, the place was packed. A band played 60s and 70s rock-n- roll as people danced; families picnicked, young people socialized and everyone was either drinking wine, beer or mixed spirits. We sat on the second floor balcony of the winery sipping, not wine, but beer and pomegranate spritzers. Precisely at closing time, the band packed up their instruments, people gathered up their children and things; we watched as the chaos diffused to calm. By the time we’d finished our drinks and headed to the parking lot, the only evidence that remained of the large crowds were the overflowing trash bins.
From Round Barn, we headed towards Lake Michigan, driving along the shoreline, stopping periodically to enjoy the view. We reached St. Joseph, a quaint town of 10,000 people perched on the bluffs of Lake Michigan and discovered the LakeHouse Restaurant. This restaurant with its large westward facing patio appeared to be the best place in town to not only dine but watch the sun set over the lake. We put our name on the wait list and enjoyed the music of the solo guitarist entertaining guests.
The Lake House has an interesting history. The historic home that now houses the restaurant was originally built as the summer residence of a Chicago family, the Smiths, in 1892. Unfortunately, Mr. Smith committed suicide during the 1929 stock market crash by jumping from his office building in Chicago. His destitute widow sold the property to Otis Colby who lived in the house and used it as a base of business, operating a used car lot to the north and a produce stand on the lake shore. The home was purchased in early 1990 by its current owner and renovated and leased as a restaurant, first as a bar and grille, then as a Mexican cantina. In 2014, this historic old home was restored to its original character and named for its original intent – the LakeHouse and a renowned chef was hired to prepare menus using locally produced ingredients.
The only inauthentic artifact and a bit of a mystery in this beautiful restaurant was the large swordfish gracing the entrance. Swordfish are not indigenous to the freshwater great lakes; our waitress could not explain why the LakeHouse prominently displayed one other than for a conversation piece!
We enjoyed a light leisurely meal on the patio of the LakeHouse. Even better than the food, music and conversation, was nature’s magnificent day ending extravaganza.
From yellow to orange to purple to pink, the setting sun colored the few clouds on the horizon, glistening on the still lake, and eventually disappeared, heralding the darkness. We finished our meal, satisfied with a great day and its spectacular ending. No more wine tomorrow, but a day of biking!
