Once used as an equestrian facility, Black Star Farms on Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula is much more than an award-winning winery. The property is a 160-acre agricultural destination complete with an on-site creamery, a summertime farmer’s market and an eight-room, plantation-style B&B tucked away amongst the vineyards and pastures. A bottle of the winery’s house red comes with your room.
Wake up to a gourmet breakfast including just-laid eggs, fresh fruit, juices, homemade baked goods and granola, tea and locally-roasted coffee. Then get out and enjoy miles of orchards, vineyards and wooded trails.
What northern Michigan lacks in warm temperatures, it reaps in just the right amount of sunlight to grow more delicate grapes, the winemakers say. Also important is Black Star’s location along the 45th parallel, just like other world-class wine producers like France’s Rhone and Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
For wine lovers, there’s nothing better than settling into the sunlit tasting room to sample pinot noirs, delicate chardonnays, bold merlots and a wine that’s garnered plenty of praise in recent years — Black Star’s Arcturos Dry Riesling. It has a classic gooseberry nose, a delicate apple flavor and pairs well with nearly any food you can think of. While you sip, taste the Leelanau aged raclette, and watch the cheese makers at work.
As an aperitif, or just to satisfy your sweet tooth, try the Sirius maple dessert wine — a port-style wine made from Black Star’s special blend of apple cider, apple brandy and artisan maple syrup.