Brewvine: Getting Ready for Fall at Good Harbor Vineyards

For this week’s Brewvine, Andrea Ludema and chief photojournalist Jeremy Erickson take us to Good Harbor Vineyards in Leelanau County, where they’re enjoying what’s left of summer and getting ready for a busy fall.

“We’re not excited that summer is coming to an end. Nobody is. But with summer coming to an end, that always mean that means that harvest is upon us.”

Summer may be drawing to a close, but the great growing conditions have Good Harbor Vineyards optimistic about the coming grape harvest.

“It has certainly been a warm, growing season, a really good growing season,” said Taylor Simpson, co-owner of Good Harbor Vineyards. “We did have a stretch of drought. Everybody experienced that. But luckily Mother Nature did send some rain our way. So the the fruit is progressing really well. This next month is going to be pretty critical for the development of the sugars. And we’re going to be going through a version where the fruit is going to start to turn. And we’re just gearing up, just kind of it’s a waiting game and hoping Mother Nature gives us the weather that we need.”

While mother nature is working in the vineyard, Good Harbor is taking care of customers in the tasting room and getting ready for fall wine tours.

“So as we’re gearing up for color tours and people who are going to come up and experience the awesome northern Michigan fall, we’re bringing out our fire pits, you know, switching over to mums and pumpkins on the patio and gearing up for more wine tasting and people just coming to enjoy what what we love up here in northern Michigan,” said Simpson.

Whether you’re hanging on to the bright, refreshing tastes of summer or you’re ready for the bold flavors of fall, Good Harbor has wine for every occasion or season and has a great environment where you can enjoy it all.

“This fall season, we are excited. We do have a full menu of options. We are a full production facility, so we offer a range of products. Sparkling wines, white wines, rosé, red wines. And certainly our our hard ciders are always popular in the fall,” said Simpson. “We’re pretty excited about the new tasting room renovations. We completely redid and updated the inside. We added a fireplace. So certainly as it gets colder outside, people are welcome to come and sit, grab a glass and sit by the fireplace and enjoy a cozy, new, newly renovated atmosphere.”