Wine Splash!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We love going to Southwest Michigan for a variety of activities but it’s been awhile since we have done the wine trail until this year. So we find ourselves in front of Lemon Creek Winery and Fruit Farm in Berrien Springs, Michigan and things have drastically changed. The last time we were here, we were sampling wines in a small tasting room next to the Lemon Family’s home. Now they have a large wine tasting room in one building and a fruit farm market in the large building next door, plus a gazebo, outdoor picnic area and lots of photo taking opportunities. So yes, they have grown quite a bit since we were last here!

Another highlight was on the way in to the wine tasting room, we were greeted by a true celebrity. Shadow, the black mix breed dog, met us at the door with a smile and a wag. Shadow was written about in the book “Wine Dogs USA” by Craig McGill and Susan Elliott and the book highlights many of the dogs that live at wineries in this country. The other friendly dog was a golden retriever named Annie. It was difficult to resist her persuasive powers when it came to giving her treats! The tasting room had a quaint, rustic look to it with a gift shop, full wine racks along the wall, and two tasting bars to handle any size crowd, including tours. With almost 28 wonderful wines, this is a popular spot to try and experience new wines!

We were lucky to have two informative wine hosts, Aubrey and Jerry. They told us that the Lemon family has over 155 years of farm experience which they put into producing quality wines and fruits. Lemon Creek has 140 acres of wine grapes and about 60 acres of other varieties of fruit. And all wines are 100% estate grown in the Lake Michigan Shore AVA so the wine flavors are varietally correct and distinctive to this region. All this background was very helpful in choosing the wines we were going to taste that day. Lemon Creek offers some great tasting dry red and white wines, some German varietals, sweet wines, and some fruit Spumantes. We bought some favorites to take home to enjoy later. A few wines we recommend trying is the 2009 Chardonnay Reserve which has a wonderful citrus flavor with a vanilla oak finish. We also liked the Compass Dry Rose which had a sweet strawberry nose but raspberry flavors and a dry finish. We also loved the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve which was medium to full-bodied with rich blackberry, cherry, and oak flavors with a soft finish. And our Best Buy choice at Lemon Creek Winery is the Pheasant Run Red. For $10 a bottle, this off-dry table wine blends some of Michigan’s most flavorful varietals and is a perfect pairing to most any occasion!

We bought a couple of glasses of wine and sat at a picnic table underneath the trees and sliced up some of our cheeses which paired perfectly with the wines. Shadow and Annie stopped by to make sure we were enjoying ourselves and we definitely were! This is a winery we will definitely come back to so we can also shop the Lemon Creek Fruit Market or experience one of their music events. In the summer, the Lemon Creek tasting room in Grand Haven, Michigan has “Sampling Sundays” which offers complimentary food samplings from local businesses. Count us in! Check out the Lemon Creek website at www.LemonCreekWinery.com for more information about wines, events, hours, and directions. Cheers!