Wine Tasting in the 'Nappa Valley of the Midwest'

Last weekend Josh and I went wine tasting with four of our good friends in Lake Michigan Shore Wine Country. This part of Michigan is great for growing grapes and has more than a dozen small wineries. I am by no means a wine expert, but I do enjoy drinking wine and learning more about it.

Round Barn Winery was the first stop of the day. The building itself was really impressive. Here we purchased their Gewurztraminer. Round Barn also sells beer and spirits.

{Round Barn Winery. Baroda, MI}

Our second stop was at Tabor Hill. Here I was able to get up close and personal with some grapes. We purchased their Classic Demi Sec.

{Tabor Hill Winery. Buchanan, MI}

We borrowed this lovely 90's Astro van so we could all ride in one vehicle. We affectionately referred to it as the 'Short Bus Party Wagon' and the 'Vino Van.' Given a choice, I would pick the Vino Van over a limo any day.

Free Run Cellars was the third winery of the day. We purchased their Grappa, which should be great for 'family meetings' on Thanksgiving. (note: Stef is not three sheets to the wind, I encouraged her special pose)

Domaine Berrien was our fourth stop. At this winery, there is a viewing room so you can see some of the equipment used in the wine making process. They also had a sign that said unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy.

{Domaine Berrien. Berrien Springs, MI }

Lemon Creek  was the fifth winery on our voyage. This was my favorite winery and we had the best drinking coach at this location. We purchased their peach spumante. There were two dogs that lived here and wanted to be our best friends while we were picnicking. We named the one on the left 'Wolf.'

Stef packed us a delicious spread of jams, cheese, crackers and other fancy goodies. We saw some other wine tasters who knew how to travel in style.

The last stop of the day was at Founders Wine Cellar. You can tell that the quality of my photos decreased as the day progressed. Here we used my wine tasting craft. I made numbered paddles to rate the wine. Overall the trip was a lot of fun. Hopefully this becomes an annual tradition.