Wyncroft

Wyncroft is one of Michigan's pioneering fine-wine estates, run in the style of a tiny French garagiste winery by winemaker-owner Jim Lester, who has grown vines and made wine in Michigan for more than 30 years, together with Daun Page. The wines are single-vineyard designated from low-yield estate vineyards in the Lake Michigan Shore and Fennville appellations, farmed on the organic side of things with no irrigation and no fertilization, with vineyard and cellar work done by hand down to the labels. Lester's firsts include Michigan's first red Pinot Noir and first white Bordeaux blend, and Shou, his Bordeaux-style red, has become one of the state's most acclaimed wines.

There is no tasting room: releases are tiny, some as small as 20 cases, sold mainly direct and at a handful of restaurants under the Wyncroft and more approachable Marland labels. Summer visits are by appointment only, built around a two-hour estate tour through grounds that arrive like a botanical garden, finishing al fresco with five wines paired with local bread and cheeses. The glacial moraine hills and Lake Michigan's moderating micro-climate give the 42nd-parallel site a longer, warmer season than Burgundy, which is exactly the argument these Old World-styled wines set out to prove.

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Modales Wines

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Fenn Valley Vineyards

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Michigan Wine Company

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