Fall Color Wine Tour
Color in the Grand Traverse region typically peaks from late September into mid October, with the exact week shifting year to year. Harvest runs in the same window, which is why fall is the classic time to do this.
Late summer through fall is the classic window, when the weather is warm, the harvest is underway, and the color comes in. Summer is the busiest and liveliest stretch. Spring and early winter are quieter, with some rooms on reduced hours, which the planner accounts for when it checks each place against your date.
The three drives
Center Road, M-37, up Old Mission
Water on both sides for most of the drive, vineyards and orchards turning along the ridge, and the lighthouse at the tip. Worth a stop: Old Mission Distilling, Peninsula Cellars, Tabone Vineyards.
M-22 along the Leelanau shore
The bay-side run through Suttons Bay and Omena to Northport, with the water holding the light while the hardwoods turn. Worth a stop: Three Trees Vineyard, Dune Bird Winery, Green Bird Organic Cellars & Farm.
M-204 and the inland cut
Through Lake Leelanau and the interior hills, where the maples go earliest and hardest. Worth a stop: Northern Latitudes Distillery, Bel Lago Vineyards & Winery, Chateau Fontaine.
Rooms with the view (19)
These rooms’ own notes earn the view, bay water or an overlook from the tasting room: Leelanau Wine Cellars (Omena), The Ridge at Verterra (Northport), Chateau Fontaine (Lake Leelanau), Ciccone Vineyard & Winery (Suttons Bay), Hawthorne Vineyards (Traverse City), Mari Vineyards (Traverse City), Brys Estate Vineyard & Winery (Traverse City), 2 Lads Winery (Traverse City), Chateau Chantal Winery and Inn (Traverse City), Bowers Harbor Vineyards (Traverse City), Bonobo Winery (Traverse City), Rove Winery at the Gallagher Estate (Traverse City), Suttons Bay Ciders (Suttons Bay), Two K Farms Cidery & Winery (Suttons Bay), Tandem Ciders (Suttons Bay), Nocturnal Bloom Brewing (Traverse City), Hop Lot Brewing Co. & Beer Garden (Suttons Bay), Silver Leaf Vineyard & Winery (Suttons Bay), Brengman Family Wines (Traverse City).
Pair a drive with a ready-made loop from the one-day itineraries, and check verified hours before you set out; fall hours shift.