Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail
They call Lake Michigan Shore Wine Country the Napa Valley of the Midwest. Like the hills of Califtornia, this land is ideal for handcrafting fine wines.
Michigan Wines, the official website of the state’s wine industry, has put together several wine tasting trails. This one is your guide to more than a dozen southwest Michigan wineries and tasting rooms, each with its own style. Follow their map to create your wine tour.
Why drive here, Road Trips Foodies? Planted on hills that crest and fall like waves beyond Lake Michigan’s eastern shores are vineyards. This is Lake Michigan Shore Wine Country, an American Viticultural Area, stretching across the southwestern corner of Michigan from the Indiana-Michigan state line, north to the Kalamazoo River and east toward the City of Kalamazoo.
Lake Michigan, 307 miles long by 118 miles wide, is the sixth largest freshwater lake in the world. Its watery expanse creates a temperate climate in this region that prevents extremes of heat and cold, protecting fragile buds in spring and ripening fruits in summer. The deep, lake-effect snows insulate the rich soil so the vine roots won’t freeze. And a consistent annual rainfall produces juicy clusters of grapes, the nectar of fine wines.
Decades ago, winemakers realized that this land and climate were like those found in some of the finest wine-grape-growing regions of France and Germany. So they planted European stock on these hills. Built wineries. Aged their handcrafted wines. Began reaping awards. Then invited people like you who enjoy good wines to come taste their art. So, says Michigan Wines, this is wine country. Drink it in.
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