November 7, 2018

Friends, Wine, and a Fruitful Vine Tour

Five years ago we celebrated my friend’s, Connie, birthday, with a Fruitful Vine Tour. Because Connie loves wine, celebrations, and bringing people together, we did it all again for her birthday this year.

Fruitful Vine Tours include a private wine coach that takes you to tastings at 4-5 different Michigan wineries as well as a stop for lunch at a local Michigan restaurant. Our coach driver, Tammy, also shared the history of Michigan wineries as she drove us to each of the four stops on our tour. This tour included – Gravity, Lake Michigan Vitners, Lemon Creek, and Red Top.

Our first stop was Gravity. Several of us on the tour have been to Gravity and already knew our favorites. But, because Tammy had done such a thorough job of describing some of their newer offerings, I was ready to try something new. For my four tastings, I had the Pull (Cabernet Franc and Lemberger), Cabernet Rose (Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon), Liquid Gold (bright and bubbly), and Blueberry.

Entrance to Gravity winery in Michigan — Entrance to Gravity winery

Wine tasting at Gravity winery in Michigan — Ready to start this wine tasting!

Next up was Lake Michigan Vitners. A unique feature is that it’s the tasting room for wines made by Lake Michigan College Wine & Viticulture students. I was looking forward to trying their Inaugural Red Blend (Tammy had really talked it up on the drive over), but they were sold out! Guess it was as good as Tammy said. I really liked the Wavelength Red and ended up buying a bottle for one of the birthday girls.

The birthday folks. Cheers! — Cheers to October birthdays!

We stopped for a brief lunch before hopping back into our wine coach and making our next stop at Lemon Creek. Lemon Creek had the widest range of options, and it was hard to narrow down my choices. In addition to reds, whites, and sparklings, Lemon Creek also serves Ice Wine. Ice Wine is made from grapes that have been frozen on the vine. It’s a bit sweet, a little too sweet for me, but if you have the chance to try it, you should.

Ready for Ice Wine from Lemon Creek winery in Michigan — Ready for Ice Wine from Lemon Creek winery.

Our final stop on this Frutiful Vine Tour was Red Top, one of the newest wineries in the area. Opened in 2017, Red Top sells a variety of ciders, uncommon wine flavors like Pina colada, and all on tap! It was definitely our least favorite taste-wise, but we did love the outdoor seating area.