Your Guide to a Fall Color Wine Tour

Planning a fall color wine tour in Northern Michigan this year? We’ve gathered a few tips to make the most of your next wine-tasting trip from Traverse City to Leelanau or Old Mission Peninsula. We’ve updated this post since it’s original publication in 2012.

Planning Your Fall Color Wine Tour

With over 50 wineries in our tip of the mitten, it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out where to start. Here are a few tips on planning a wine tasting route from Traverse City.

• You can’t see them all. Make a list of favorites or recommended wineries you want to be sure to visit and squeeze in others as time allows.
• Stick to one peninsula. There are two distinct AVAs in our region: Leelanau Peninsula and Old Mission. Stick to one or the other for a one-day trip. The wineries are scattered throughout each peninsula, making it difficult to jump back and forth.
• Plan your route. Pick up the large map from the Traverse City Visitor Center. If you’re not a smartphone user, this will be a hands-on resource for finding your way around both peninsulas.
• Beware of high traffic times. If you’re wine tasting during peak fall season, your best days are midweek. If you must come on a weekend, be prepared for crowds. Most of our wineries have small tasting rooms with even smaller tasting bars, but they have expanded their outdoor offerings. In the fall this may be chilly so dress accordingly.
• Go off the beaten path. Most tasting rooms in Leelanau and Old Mission are lucky to be located near the vineyard. But that vineyard isn’t necessarily on a major highway. Part of the fun is exploring and discovering new locations. Start at the top of the peninsula and work your way south. Or make a plan to stay inland and visit some of the smaller boutique wineries.
• Book a private tasting. For a more personal experience make a reservation for a private tasting, tour or wine dinner. For example, at Left Foot Charley’s barrel room, shown in the photo above, your reservation includes a guided tasting, food pairing, and history of their winemaking journey.

What to Bring

• Camera. The wineries are beautiful any time of year, but especially in the fall during harvest season. You’ll want a few pics to remember your trip. The best camera is the one you have, so a smartphone will be perfect.
• Money. Many of the wineries have tasting fees. Bring cash or a card to cover fees where you might not purchase a bottle of wine. Each winery’s policy is different.
• Bottled water. Here’s a tip we picked up at Bel Lago, “For a successful wine tour, drink as much water as you do in wine. And be sure to eat.”
• Snacks. Cheese spreads, breads, crackers and fruit all pair well with wine and won’t spoil your palette for the wines you’ve yet to taste. You’ll find several local wineries also sell charcuterie boards, small plates and even full meals on site. So if you brought your own picnic, keep it in your car for between stops.

What to Leave at Home

• “Don’t wear lipstick.” This tasting tip we picked up at 2 Lads Winery. It’s not just the marks on the glass that are left behind. Lipstick imparts flavors like petroleum and other chemicals when wine passes over your lips.
• No perfume. It ruins your tasting experience, and everyone else’s. The scent of one person’s perfume can contaminate the air in a tasting room for hours.
• Cigarettes. Your sense of smell is a large part of the wine-tasting experience. And, smoke is a very strong scent. Like perfume, it affects those around you. So please leave the smokes in your car.
• Gum. You can’t taste past it, especially mint. So stow the Altoids and TicTacs too.
• Dogs…Maybe. This tip has changed over the years as more and more local wineries have expanded their outdoor seating and now welcome dogs. Just call ahead or search on their website to find out if the winery you’re visiting is pet-friendly.

Group Travel

There are some special considerations to planning a wine tour when you’re traveling with a group. Here are some tips to maximize the fun and minimize the hassle when planning a group wine tour.

• Size matters. Wine tasting with friends can be a wonderful experience. But if your group is too large, it can cause problems which detract from your enjoyment. In our experience, a group of 10 or less is the ideal size. Larger groups will have additional limitations on where you can go, how quickly you will move from place to place, and tasting room fees.
• Carpool. Part of the fun of a group wine tasting is comparing notes about each winery with your companions as you travel. Pile into one person’s vehicle, rent a van, or book a wine tour with Traverse City Wine & Beer Tours. And if at all possible, assign a designated driver. The wine tour companies have a saying, “Don’t come on vacation and leave on probation.”
• Large groups call ahead. For wine tours larger than 10, you should call ahead to each winery. Some tasting rooms are so small they do not allow buses or tours at all, and others have per-person tasting fees for the entire party. These are not things you want to discover after you’ve driven across the peninsula to visit.
• Label wine purchases. Hopefully, your group will discover many wines they like and purchase bottles at each location. Pick up a box from the first stop. Using a Sharpie marker, label each wine purchased with your initials, or use color-coded garage sale stickers. Add additional boxes as needed. When the tour is complete, it will be easy to determine which wine was purchased by whom.
• Pack a picnic. It’s important to eat and drink water throughout your wine tour. For a fun experience, pack a cooler with cheese, fruit, crackers, and bite-sized appetizers or sandwiches. Many of the wineries have picnic tables or areas outside where you can stop and enjoy your snack along the route. There are also markets and farm stands scattered throughout the peninsulas to pick-up snacks along the way.
• Be patient. “Be respectful of other tasters and wait patiently if there’s a crowd,” good advice from Forty-Five North Vineyard & Winery. When you’re traveling as a group, this is especially important since you may have to break into smaller groups or taste in shifts.

We’ve been on several group wine trips and completely agree with Kyle from Riverside Canoes, who says, “My best wine tasting tip is to go tasting with your closest friends. The wine always tastes better!”

A wine tour is a great way to explore Traverse City and the countryside in Northern Michigan. And a fall color wine tour is a great way to soak in all the warm hues of autumn. With these handy tips, you’ll be sure to make the most of the adventure. For more fabulous day trips in northern Michigan this fall, check out our post: 22 Reasons for a Fall M-22 Roadtrip.

For more wine tasting tips and trips watch our videos below