Start at Traverse City’s urban winery then cruise north on the spine of the slender, fruit-sprawled Old Mission Peninsula, flanked by the vast blue of West and East Grand Traverse Bays, to find the seven wineries of Old Mission. They are all along the scenic main drag of M-37 or just a quick dip off the road into the vine-covered hills. Sample wines that receive national and international acclaim, and find your own best-loved vintages—to stock your cellar or sip this very night.
Left Foot Charley’s award-winning winemaker Bryan Ulbrich transformed the old laundry facility at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons (formerly the Northern Michigan Asylum) into a spacious, airy tasting room where you can sample stellarRiesling, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay inside or sip by the glass or bottle outside on the breezy patio by the creek.
At Black Star Farms sip an amazing Late Harvest Riesling, a handful of reds and pick up a bottle of the coveted A Capella Riesling Ice Wine which the White House paired with a huckleberry cobbler with caramel ice cream at the Governors dinner in February.
At Peninsula Cellars’ tasting room located inside a 116-year-old, red-trimmed, one-room Maple Grove Schoolhouse sample the bright, fruity Old School White or the just released Rosé called Homework.
The view of West Grand Traverse Bay at the swank, European-style Château Grand Traverse will stop you in your tracks. So will their dry and late-harvest Rieslings, perfect for sipping on a hot summer night.
Wend past the rows of estate vines to get to the secluded, sumptuous tasting room at Chateau Chantal Winery, 400 feet above Grand Traverse Bay. We like Celebrate, their sparkling Chardonnay, and their Naughty and Nice Reds make for lively dinner parties.
2 Lads Winery—the two lads behind this striking, modern hilltop winery have made a name for themselves with reds like the 2 Lads Winery Cabernet Franc and a luscious dry sparkling wine.
A gracious, vine-draped pergola leads you into the cozy tasting room Bowers Harbor Vineyards, where you can sample the fantastic Pinot Grigio, unwooded Chardonnay and Dijon-clone Pinot Noir.
Stop in the old-world mahogany and brick Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery tasting room for fully estate-grown wines. Don’t miss the Gewürztraminer, Signature Red or Ice wine, paired with a bite of cheesecake.
Tips, Tours and Travel in Traverse City, Old Mission and Leelanau Wine Country
- Savor Leelanau’s Wine Country
- Old Mission Peninsula Wine Country
- Northern Michigan Sparkling Wines
- Water and Wine Weekends
- Michigan Beer and Wine Dinners at Boyne
- Traverse City’s Urban Winery
- See Wine Country by Bike
- Subscribe to MyNorth’s Food & Wine Newsletter: It’s free!
- Romancing the Riesling
Planning a Vacation in Wine Country? Here’s some great places to start!
- The Traverse City Vacation Directory: Listings to lodging, galleries, restaurants and more along with an interactive map.
- Traverse City Digital Vacation Guide: Browse the pages of the complete digital Guide and click to hundreds of websites.
- Video: Traverse City’s Guide to Fun!
- The Complete Traverse City Restaurant Guide
- Plot your day in Traverse City using this Interactive Map: Choose an activity in "I’d like to find" and choose Traverse City for "in a town near." Then click away!
- Rent a Cottage in Traverse City
- Traverse City music, festivals, arts and hundreds of events