Please call or check each winery's website/Facebook page for: current hours/days of operation, events/live music schedule, and food options. You can also keep in touch with current events at wineries on our Facebook page: Taste Michiana.

Most wineries are open year-round!

Enjoy beautiful vineyards and bountiful orchards

Maybe you're just exploring Southwest Michigan on a lazy weekend. Maybe you're looking for a great weekend getaway. Perhaps you are specifically looking for amazing wineries. Whatever your plans might be, we would say that SW Michigan has it all. Highlighted by the beautiful Lake Michigan shoreline, starting from New Buffalo, going all the way up towards Saugatuck, then moving about 50 miles inland, is the area known as Southwest Michigan. Visiting Southwest Michigan wineries are quickly catching on as a "must try" for something fun and inexpensive to do.

You may have already heard of a few wineries (such as Tabor Hill or Round Barn), but the area is actually loaded with over 30 fantastic wineries about which you may have never heard.

Since we've explored most of these great wineries, we'd like to share with you what we've discovered about them. Whether it's tasting the excellent quality of award-winning wines, sampling some of their great food and chocolate, listening to live music, or having a glass of wine while watching a beautiful sunset, we think you'll love it as much as we do.

Let us paint the picture for you

You're spending the afternoon traveling through the beautiful, hilly countryside of Southwest Michigan where you can see the many grape vineyards, as well as the plentiful presence of fruit orchards: apples, blueberries, and peaches. You can stop and browse--or pick your own fruit at one of the wonderful fruit farms. At your own pace, you can also visit one of the many picturesque Southwest Michigan wineries where you can taste and enjoy the carefully harvested wines of the Lake Michigan Shore Appellation* (grape-growing region).

Imagine yourself sitting in a friendly tasting room, on the winery patio or veranda overlooking the beautiful vineyards. You take in the scenery while sipping your favorite new wine, relaxing, and maybe listening to the live music there that makes you feel so good. This is your chance to breathe, slow down, enjoy conversations or quiet time, relax and enjoy life. The vineyards seem to hold a calming power.

[*For more detailed information on the Lake Michigan Shore Appellation (the defined area of grape-growing in this region) go to: http://appellationamerica.com/wine-region/Lake-Michigan-Shore.html]

The Advantages of Wine Tasting

What exactly is wine tasting?

Simply put, it's tasting wine before you buy. Each of these wineries produce many varieties of delicious wine. You can often choose red, white, sweet, fruity, dry, blends, hard ciders (or any type you want to try) by ordering a "taste" or "tasting flight," which typically consists of small samples of 4-8 different wines.

The price of one of these tastings typically range from $5-$20 per person*, often depending on the size of the pour. The advantage of tasting is if you don't find anything you like, you don't buy anything. But if you do, you have the opportunity to buy it right there on the spot.

Some wineries also offer the accompaniment of crackers, chocolate, cheese/appetizer plates, or even meals if you wish.

Your choices of how to do wine tasting:

1. You and your friends (or just you) take your own vehicle for tasting at your own pace. There are no seminars, classes, or scheduled presentations; It's just sitting or standing in their tasting rooms, trying the wines with your friends. Stay as long as you want, but a typical wine-tasting will take less than 30 minutes. We recommend choosing a specific, concentrated area of Southwest Michigan so you can visit more than just a couple of wineries per day.
2. You and your group can book a private tour bus; or you can just hop aboard one of the many tour bus options available to the public. Many area cities have pick-up and drop-off locations and times (please refer to the section below). Wine tasting from a tour bus takes you to specific wineries at specific times and ends at specific times. They then drop you off where they picked you up.

The winemakers, owners, and their staffs are happy to share their wealth of knowledge about their wines, how they're made, etc. If you want to know about all of that, just ask them - they love sharing their story. If not, just taste your wine, have your own conversations with your friends, and go at your own pace. It's all your choice, so relax, sip, and enjoy.

Do you need to be a wine expert to go wine tasting?

Not at all! You will need absolutely no wine knowledge to go wine-tasting. Just have fun and find your favorites. Take advantage of sampling these unbelievably good Southwest Michigan wines. This is a great place to learn about wines if that's what you're looking for.

[*Our Sip Happens Winery Coupon Card is a way for you to drastically reduce--or eliminate--your tasting costs.]

Life is fun; drink it in!
Barry and Rozy Coker