Ever dream of living in a vineyard, surrounded by a wine-making community and overlooking Lake Michigan? Sounds a bit too romantic to be true, but that’s just what Douglas Valley, Michigan’s first organic vineyard community offers.
Douglas Valley, a 640-acre historic fruit farm just north of Manistee, offers farmsteads set in orchards and vineyards where you can build your dream house and the remainder of your parcel is dedicated to agriculture. You can farm your land yourself or contract with Douglas Valley farm management.
The ability to live in a wine community is a relatively new phenomenon, but one that has caught fire in the U.S. "Before the 1990s, the only people who lived on vineyards were the vintners themselves," says Adam Ducker, a senior principle at Robert Charles Lesser & Co., a real estate consulting firm based in Bethesda, Maryland is quoted as saying in Spotlight: Vineyard Communities: Vintage Vacation. "For a residential project, green space is a good thing and not just because it’s environmentally correct." Winemaker dinners, cooking classes, even a stake in the wine sales? These communities are often a haven for people who love everything about wine and the wine-making process, but also who want to live in the usually gorgeous vineyard environments.
The first 18 estate farm lots at Douglas Valley, each with a spectacular view of Lake Michigan, come in two to six acre parcels offer rural living amidst organic vineyards and orchards. Each lot has a one- to two-acre designated dwelling site, chosen for optimal scenery.
Find out more at douglasvalley.net or visit Douglas Valley by taking M-22 north from Manistee two miles to Schoedel Road. The farm is one-half-mile up the hill. 231-233-6563.
Add a Douglas Vallay hard-cider or sparking cider to this year’s festivities.