I’ve had a couple of decent reds from them, but I think the climate there is so marginal, it’s hard to grow ripe red grapes reliably. I’ve also had a perfectly good Bordeaux-style red from Wynncroft, located in the southwest of MI.
The distributors’ stranglehold on freer out-of-state sales is a major impediment, imo, to broader recognition of the wines and a larger market that might let them specialize more in their high-quality products. It’s a shame. My two cents’.
I visit Traverse City, more particularly Crystal Lake every year where my family has a lake front cottage on the south shore. For the past 25 years or so, whites especially Rieslings and L. Mawby sparklers are my go to wines.
I usually buy all my wines at the Blue Goat. Anyone have a better choice?
I’m originally from traverse city and love the area. Mawby, brys, left foot Charlie’s, and two lads are my favorites I’ve tried so far although there are many new ones I’ve not had.
Best places to buy wine are burritts and fogarellis.
TITCR. Da UP is da UP, you betcha.
-Another troll
I didn’t ever use an avatar. You must be thinking of someone else.
That’s embarrassing for me; apologies.
Last week we attended a charity event in Harbor Springs where the dinner included L. Mawby sparklers. They were great. I mean, really good.
So, on Wednesday I had to drive my grandson to Traverse City to catch a plane. I just had time to run up to Mawby’s and buy a mixed case. I sampled about 8 wines and bought 5. A Blanc de Blanc, Blanc de noir, a Rose, a Demi sec and their Mille which is a 2005 from estate grapes.
Average price was about $22.00 except for the Mille ($42). Every one was excellent and four were the ones served at the event.
I don’t know of any sparklers that approach this quality at this price.
Give them a try if you can find them.
Don’t sleep on the Cab Francs, if you like Can Franc that is. I think the climate is perfect for Cab Franc.
Had wonderful Cab Francs from Longview and 45 North on Leelanau.
Brys is great on the Old Mission Peninsula, as is 2 Lads.
Steve, this is a timely post as I will be in the area next month for a week at our family cottage on Cristal Lake. I know about L. Mawby and have had a few of the sparklers each time I visit. I agree, they are really good and a good QPR. The 05 Mille is new to me and Ill get it a buy.
The best MI Riesling I ever had was actually a vendage tardive styled one from Wyncroft in SW Michigan. Not sure if they are still making wine though (not many updates recently: Facebook). They also make really good Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and a fairly good Bordeaux blend also.
Hi Jim. Wyncroft is in a class by itself IMHO.
In the pinky area (not northern MI) I think the best red I’ve had was the Blaufrankisch from Circa. It compared favorably with the grape from Austria and Hungary and I’ve had plenty of both. It’s a serious wine from a cool climate and a good job of it. Secondly, there have been a few Cab Francs that were as good as many from elsewhere. Maybe not in the league of those from Veneto, but certainly credible and enjoyable.
But the whites are all in all the best bet, as they are from most cool climate regions.
The cherry wine is a different story. After I got over my initial reaction, i.e. “it’s not made from grapes,” I was actually very impressed. Very similar to an inexpensive Chianti and you don’t have to say it tastes like sour cherries, it IS sour cherries. And why not? There’s no reason not to use other fruits and those sour cherries seem like a pretty good idea actually. There’s a Pinot Noir called something like Cherry Pie and it’s got a pic of a sour cherry pie on the label - why not go for the real thing?
That said, I’m still not touching the apple wine. As a stupid 17 year old, I drank a gallon or so of it one hot summer afternoon when we were playing softball in the park. To this day, the idea of apples and alcohol makes me nauseous.
I confirmed with George Heretier that Wyncroft is still in business. They just aren’t super savvy with social media. 
I agree the 05 Mille is excellent. I had it at the winery 2 months go and bought 3 of them, along with a bunch of others.
Other wines we liked on our trip:
Peninsula Cellars Gewurztraminers, especially the Manigold. They also had some good Rieslings.
2 Lads Rieslings and Roses.
Shady Lane Gewurztraminer.
45 North Rieslings
For anyone interested in or stopping by Mawby, the Leland Rose and latest Sandpainting are very, very good. I agree the 05 Mille is something special, but these other 2 are also outstanding. If you can buy anything in Magnum, I’d recommend that too. They don’t make a lot of Mags and only for a limited amount of the range, but I really like how the wines age in Magnum.
Another Michigan sparkler producer to watch is Big Little. They are attached to Mawby for right now and it is run by Larry Mawby’s co-winemaker Mike Laing and his brother Pete Laing. They do still and sparkling and their cuvee close Tire Swing is a very, very good effort that is perfect for fun, fruity, un-complex drinking on a warmer day. They also just released their first traditional method sparkling C3-Pinot and have a nice selection of still whites.
So nice to see a little talk about Michigan wines. Why LEFT FOOT CHARLEY is not on every person’r radar on this board is beyond me. The upper Tier Rieslings from Chateau Grand Traverse are also remarkably good.
Brad, although I know you reside in the Detroit area and should have a handle on Michigan wines, I`m happy you know about these wines and will certainly seek them out when I visit the area in August. Many thanks.
Thw Wyncroft Riesling VT is indeed terrific. I still have some of the half-case Jim Lester personally delivered to me (we met in Ann Arbor, I am from Ohio). I have two notes:
11/25/2011 - 93 Points
Brilliant light gold. Nice nose of wax and overripe stone fruits. Viscous and a little savory palate, loads of sweet peach, pear, apricot flavor, but with no discernible sugar. Nicely balanced and long finish, with a hint of bitters. Like many Sherrys, this is the type of wine I call ‘adult dessert’, but an interesting contrast to the Jerez version.
11/15/2010 - 93 Points
Fresh floral nose, extraordinary intense tropical palate, clearly tastes like there is some residual sugar, with plenty of complementary acidity, along with distinct citrus zest, and finishing with a slight and pleasant bitterness, Long, long return of those tropical fruits, as well as a slight pucker. While light enough for an apertif, this wine is really dessert on its own.
sorry for the dup
Jim, do you know how I could contact them? We’ve got a place in Buchanan, and I’d love to learn more about local wines here, particularly ones liked on this board. My limited experience with Southwest MI wines has been underwhelming so far.
I was out in July, when I tried GT’s Lot 49 and Left Foot Charley’s dry Riesling. Normally I’m a cheerleader for these wines, but neither of these bottles did much for me. GT’s and Peninsula Cellar’s semi- and dry Rieslings are still among the best for me - and well-priced.
Went through four bottles of Wyncroft’s Bordeaux blend a few years ago, with up to ten years on them. Perfectly good wine in the style, but not excelling french (or Virginia) renditions, nor offering especially good value. Nevertheless, good work happening there.