It’s Time to Rethink Michigan Wine
A fantastic emerging wine region sits across Lake Michigan from Chicago. Are you ready to check it out?
A few years ago, I was talking to a friend who is an admitted wine snob. He’s a big fan of all things Italian and Napa. So when I told him I had recently had some wine from Michigan I really enjoyed, he scoffed at me. I pushed back and he scoffed louder. No amount of arguing on my part could convince him so I told him I wanted to do a blind tasting. Suffice to say, when the pandemic started, our wine tasting never happened. I look at his immovability as his loss. And honestly, it’s a shame some people have closed-minded opinions about a wine region they aren’t even willing to give it another chance.
In his defense, for years Michigan’s wine had a bad reputation. There were many wineries in the western part of the state that produced sweet fruit wines or from native grapes like concord and niagara — and that was it.
Then winemakers along the Lake Michigan Shore and Fennville AVAs (American Viticultural Area — a designated grape-growing and wine-producing region; fun fact: Fennville was the third in the U.S., behind Augusta, Mo., and Napa), both in Southwest Michigan, and Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission Peninsula AVAs north of Traverse City started experimenting more with well-known grape varieties like cabernet franc, pinot noir, riesling, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, grüner veltliner, pinot gris, and gamay. As the quality rose, so did the area’s reputation and today Michigan claims more than 200 wineries.
In late 2020, I wrote an article for VinePair about Michigan wine and interviewed Eduard Seitan, a partner at One Off Hospitality. A longtime fan and champion of the wines, he said:
“If there’s one word to apply to Michigan wine, it’s freshness. They’re bright, zippy, and the best part is the acidity.” — Eduard Seitan, One Off Hospitality
That acidity comes from the vineyards’ close proximity to Lake Michigan, which impacts the outcome and quality of the wines (not to mention hot days and cooler nights, wind, soil, and longer growing seasons). This shows in many of the whites, reds, and sparkling wines being produced from a number of wineries like Wyncroft Wine Estate, Mari Vineyards, Shady Lane Cellars (from which I had a blaufränkisch – like a pinot noir – this week at the newly opened restaurant Thomas & Dutch in Evanston and it was super fresh and bright), Mawby, Dablon Vineyards, Black Star Farms (which I wrote about for WSJ magazine), and Modales Wines.
That last one — Modales — is doing something really special. I first learned about Modales in the summer of 2020 when Drew and I went up to South Haven for a weekend at Seedling Farm. It was still very much the height of the pandemic, but at a time when a) we needed to get the hell out of Chicago and b) people were OK gathering outside, still at somewhat of a distance. In addition to having a private tour and tasting at Wyncroft (which produces some excellent wines that often sell out), we popped by Virtue Cider to hang out with founder Greg Hall. While sipping on cider and eating cheese and charcuterie on a picnic table a stone’s throw from the giant heritage hogs who live there, Greg asked if I knew about Modales. “You have to check them out,” he said. “Their winemaker is a young guy who recently moved here from Napa and he’s making some of the best wine in Michigan.” Needless to say it didn’t take long for me to reach out to winemaker Andrew Backlin, who sent me some wines to try. I was impressed with the acidity and freshness of the pinot noir, riesling, and pinot blanc.
About a month ago, my friend Judy Gadiel and I drove up to Modales from the New Buffalo area to meet up with Andrew for a tasting. We arrived in Fennville around lunchtime and I was surprised to see how modern and expansive the 70-acre property (with 40 planted acres), production facility, and tasting room were. I expected a small mom-and-pop type of operation and I couldn’t have been more wrong.
At the tasting, Andrew brought out a number of bottles starting with the 2018 Assemblage, a traditional method sparkling wine made from 50 percent each of pinot gris and pinot noir. That was followed by the 2020 dry riesling; 2021 chardonnay; 2022 orange wine from vidal blanc and rkatsiteli, a native Georgian grape and one of the world’s oldest varieties; 2021 cabernet franc (and a sparkling cab franc); and a couple of really well-balanced red blends like the 2021 El Suelo with pinot noir, blaufränkisch, and chambourcin.
Modales practices organic farming and will be certified with the 2024 vintage. It just shows what is possible in an emerging American wine region like Michigan when people take the time to invest in better quality viticulture and bring in winemakers and other staff who see the potential to bring more attention to an area.
You can find Michigan wines at many restaurants and wine shops in Chicago and can order directly from a number of the wineries. If you live nearby, just drive over to Michigan and spend some time exploring.
SG LIST: 7 Michigan Wines to Try
Modales 2021 Pinot Gris
Stone fruit, ginger, citrus with a creamy and full-bodied mouthfeel.
Modales 2021 El Suelo Red Blend (pinot noir, blaufränkisch, chambourcin)
Super juicy and fresh with notes of cherry, blueberry, balsamic, herbs, and spice with a nice earthy finish.
Shady Lane Cellars 2020 Blaufränkisch
This cool climate red that hails from Austria is reminiscent of pinot noir with cherry, some pepper, nice acid and tannins that continue to soften as the wine opens.
Black Star Farms Arcturos 2019 Cabernet Franc
I had and loved the 2017 with its lightly fragrant nose with blueberry and blackberry so I can only imagine the 2019 is as delicious.
Mari Vineyards 2021 Scriptorium Riesling
Riesling is one of the premier grapes grown in Old Mission Peninsula. This off-dry bottle shines with melon, citrus, beeswax and nice acid.
Wyncroft 2020 Shou, LePage Estate
A Bordeaux blend of 40 percent merlot and 30 percent each cabernet sauvignon and cab franc, expect a bold wine with balanced tannins, red and black fruit, some pepper, and spice.
This sparkling wine house turns 50 this year so celebrate with a bottle of its dry anniversary brut blanc de blancs made from chardonnay and riesling.
And one more …
If you’ve been to Three Oaks, Mich., you know how damn quaint it is with its Main Street vibe and Norman Rockwell small-town feel. We discovered Patellie’s Pizza a few years ago and get it whenever we’re up there. Two friends told me to check out their wine shop behind it so I popped by and met owner Ellie (with husband Pat – get it, Patellie’s?) Mullins who grew up around the wine industry and is super passionate about it. She fills the space with wines you might know and others you’ll get excited to discover from all over the world. Next time you’re in Harbor Country, go in and pick up a bunch of bottles. I did.
Does substack have the ability to create a little "Almanac" section of the "Somethings Glorious" in the myriad towns within a day or half-day's drive? Have driven past Three Oaks a thousand times without stopping through
Well written. Illinois could be one of your next subjects. @bark4compassion can give you a lift to Shawnee Hills AVA :)