Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail
Leelanau is the little finger of the Michigan mitten, a broad peninsula of hills, orchards, and small harbor towns bounded by Lake Michigan on one side and Grand Traverse Bay on the other. It became Michigan's second federal wine appellation in 1982, and it is where the region spreads out: 33 tasting rooms scattered among Suttons Bay, Lake Leelanau, Leland, Northport, Omena, Cedar, and Glen Arbor. A Leelanau day is less a straight line than a story you assemble, a few tastings stitched together with a harbor town lunch, a beach, or a detour to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
The wines run the same cool-climate range as Old Mission, Riesling and Pinot Gris and Chardonnay grown slow on lake air, but Leelanau has a particular claim: some of Michigan's best sparkling wine is made here. If bubbles are the point of your day, start with 45 North Vineyard & Winery, Glen Arbor Wines, MAWBY Sparkling Wines. The cideries clustered around Suttons Bay are the other thing this peninsula does that nowhere else in the region quite matches.
How to plan a Leelanau day
Distances are real here, so the routing matters more than on Old Mission. Pick a side of the peninsula or a cluster of towns rather than trying to cross the whole map, keep it to three or four rooms, and let the planner order the stops against each room's actual hours for your date. Suttons Bay alone claims 13 venues in and around one village, which makes it the easiest base on the trail; the Suttons Bay guide maps each room's real distance from downtown. Out-of-state visitors pairing wine with Sleeping Bear usually run the western side: a Glen Arbor tasting, the dunes, and Leland's historic Fishtown on the way back. The one-day itineraries include that exact shape.
Every Leelanau tasting room, by town
All 33 venues the planner can route on the peninsula, grouped by town, with first-hand notes from the dataset.
Suttons Bay
- Big Little Wines, Suttons Bay [Winery] • Small-batch still-wine label co-located with MAWBY on Elm Valley Rd (shares the property and phone). Intimate room, attentive pours.
- Black Star Farms (Suttons Bay), Suttons Bay [Winery] (food on site) • Flagship destination with an inn, bistro, distillery, and tasting room. Polished and family-friendly; can get busy.
- Ciccone Vineyard & Winery, Suttons Bay [Winery] • Hilltop vineyard and event barn with vineyard, bay, and rolling-hill views. Dry reds and Gewurztraminer. Founded by Madonna's father, Silvio Ciccone.
- Gilchrist Farm Winery, Suttons Bay [Winery] (food on site, dog friendly) • Farm-to-table kitchen and winery in one. Rare-for-the-region Albarino and Gruner, a real lunch and dinner menu, and gluten-free friendly.
- Hop Lot Brewing Co. & Beer Garden, Suttons Bay [Brewery] (food on site, dog friendly) • Suttons Bay beer garden with fire pits, BBQ kitchen, live music, and winter igloos. The main brewery on the Leelanau side and family and dog friendly.
- MAWBY Sparkling Wines, Suttons Bay [Winery] (food on site) • The region's sparkling specialist and arguably its most famous label. Methode champenoise focus, no still reds; the bubbles benchmark for any loop.
- Shady Lane Cellars, Suttons Bay [Winery] (food on site) • Laid-back former farm with fireplaces and Adirondack chairs under the pines. Strong dry whites; one of the few genuinely good winter visits.
- Silver Leaf Vineyard & Winery, Suttons Bay [Winery] • Off-the-beaten-path hilltop winery near Suttons Bay with a cabin-in-the-woods feel and sunset views. Small and personable; the sangria gets singled out.
- Suttons Bay Ciders, Suttons Bay [Cidery] (food on site, dog friendly) • Hilltop cidery with one of the best West Bay views around, a wide cider range, wood-fired pizza, and a bonfire area. A nice non-wine change of pace.
- Tandem Ciders, Suttons Bay [Cidery] (food on site) • Beloved small cidery in a quiet rural setting north of Suttons Bay. Generous flights, friendly bar, dry to sweet range.
- Three Trees Vineyard, Suttons Bay [Winery] • Small estate-only producer with a quiet, pine-scented room. Limited lineup led by Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and open later than most.
- Two K Farms Cidery & Winery, Suttons Bay [Cidery] (food on site) • Graft-to-glass estate cidery and winery with bay views. Dry ciders, heritage single-varieties, and apple wine; everything grown and made on site.
- Willow Winery & Vineyard, Suttons Bay [Winery] • Small, warm room under owners Tracy and Harry. Short but solid lineup leaning to dry Pinot Noir; strong on hospitality.
Lake Leelanau
- 45 North Vineyard & Winery, Lake Leelanau [Winery] (food on site, dog friendly) • Friendly Lake Leelanau estate with tiered flights, yard games, and a fire pit. Mostly dry wines plus a sparkling peach that gets named often.
- Amoritas Vineyards, Lake Leelanau [Winery] (food on site) • Low-key Lake Leelanau winery with porch seating, an organic-leaning approach, and story-rich hosts. Seasonal pours like the blackberry basil get named often.
- Aurora Cellars, Lake Leelanau [Winery] (food on site) • Vineyard and wedding venue a touch off the main routes. Warm room and a broad, approachable lineup; quieter than the marquee stops.
- Blustone Vineyards, Lake Leelanau [Winery] (food on site) • Modern hilltop room with floor-to-ceiling windows and a fire-pit terrace. Often reservation-only on busy days; check ahead.
- Boathouse Vineyards, Lake Leelanau [Winery] • Waterfront room on the Lake Leelanau narrows with a couple of boat slips. Dry reds lead; lawn seating runs down to the water.
- Chateau Fontaine, Lake Leelanau [Winery] (food on site, dog friendly) • Cottage-style room that puts the wine first over the view. Award-winning Chardonnay and a wide flight; welcomes kids and dogs.
- Good Harbor Vineyards, Lake Leelanau [Winery] (food on site) • Established estate a few minutes from Leland and Fishtown with a broad, easy lineup. Albarino and Pinot Noir blends stand out; heated patio.
- Northern Latitudes Distillery, Lake Leelanau [Distillery] (food on site) • Lake Leelanau's distillery, with four complimentary tastes, inventive cocktails (the horseradish-vodka dirty martini), and a kitchen. The spirits stop for a Leelanau loop.
Northport
- Dune Bird Winery, Northport [Winery] (food on site, dog friendly) • Relaxed Northport spot with wood-fired pizza and pond-side pergola seating. Dog and kid friendly, with room to spread out.
- Green Bird Organic Cellars & Farm, Northport [Winery] (food on site) • The region's only fully organic, off-the-beaten-path cellar. Quiet, with farm animals on site and dry, regenerative-farmed wines.
- The Mitten Brewing Company (Northport), Northport [Brewery] (food on site, dog friendly) • Northport taproom of the Grand Rapids-based Mitten Brewing, with 14 taps, wood-fired pizza, and local wine and cider. The far-north Leelanau beer stop, dog friendly.
- The Ridge at Verterra, Northport [Winery] • Verterra's hilltop estate and wedding venue with sweeping West Bay views. Some of the biggest vistas on the peninsula, but seasonal.
Omena
- Leelanau Wine Cellars, Omena [Winery] (dog friendly) • One of the region's largest and most widely distributed labels. Bay-view room in Omena with a something-for-everyone lineup; an easy, low-pressure stop.
Leland
- Verterra Winery (Leland), Leland [Winery] • Year-round tasting room in downtown Leland near Fishtown. Reds, whites, and a well-regarded ice wine; an easy walk-in stop.
Cedar
- Bel Lago Vineyards & Winery, Cedar [Winery] (food on site) • Lake Leelanau estate known for dry Gewurztraminer and aromatic whites, with Market 22 pizzas on site. Sister winery to French Valley.
- French Valley, Cedar [Winery] (food on site) • Dressy-casual Cedar estate known for its raclette experience and vineyard picnics by golf cart. Sister to Bel Lago; a special-occasion stop.
Glen Arbor
- Cherry Republic Winery (Glen Arbor), Glen Arbor [Winery] (food on site) • The wine bar arm of Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, pouring cherry-based wines and slushies. Distinct from the adjacent gift shop and the Cherry Public House restaurant.
- Glen Arbor Wines, Glen Arbor [Winery] (dog friendly) • Homey, dog-friendly wine bar and shop in downtown Glen Arbor with its own local label, regional wines, and hard cider, plus firepits and a backyard. Confirm on-site production versus curated selection.
Traverse City
- Brengman Family Wines, Traverse City [Winery] (food on site) • Hillside estate west of TC (formerly Brengman Brothers at Crain Hill) on the Leelanau trail's Grand Traverse Bay loop. Pours by the glass rather than flights, with an acclaimed on-site restaurant, Cafe Exalt.
- Rove Winery at the Gallagher Estate, Traverse City [Winery] (food on site, dog friendly) • Hilltop estate on the Leelanau trail's Grand Traverse Bay loop, on the ridgeline west of Traverse City. Family and dog friendly, open late, with a big outdoor tent; a natural stop to or from Sleeping Bear.
Making a weekend of it
Two days is the honest amount of time for this side of the region. Give Leelanau its own day, give Old Mission the other, and if your group mixes wine people with beer people, the Traverse City brewery and distillery guide covers the evenings in town. Groups of six or more should read the group planning guide before booking anything.