Cancer battler McKenzie Gallagher fulfills dream with Rove Estate
By Madeleine Hill Vedel
Sun contributor
McKenzie Gallagher greets me with a warm smile as I enter her and her husband’s winery atop the highest point of Leelanau County—1,165 feet. Rove Estate is the dream made possible by Creighton Gallagher of the Gallagher family, which has farmed in Leelanau and Grand Traverse Counties for multiple generations, and McKenzie, his wife and partner and a Gallagher for 10 years’ now, who brings her entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen to the project.
The couple took the first step towards their dream in 2010. Creighton—raised cherry-farming and with a few years interning and working under Coenraad Stassen at Brys Estate on Old Mission Peninsula—and McKenzie began by replacing aging cherry orchards on his family property north of M-72 with vinefera vines. The Gallaghers’ custom-built tasting room and winery opened in 2016. By this time the couple had four children, the youngest still nursing. As enthusiastic accolades and ever-busier days arrived, so did a most frightening pronouncement.
Two days after Christmas of 2017 McKenzie felt stabbing pains in her breasts. Concerned, but hoping it was not serious, she convinced her doctor to order a mammogram even though she was only 34 years old. Three tumors were discovered, and the diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer was given: terrifying cancer that is untreatable with the less invasive hormone treatments currently used for other types. Only heavy doses of chemotherapy and surgery were advised.
For the next six months McKenzie was in and out of the hospital, lost all her hair, struggled to keep food down, and suffered “chemo brain” leaving her feeling fuzzy, a distant reflection of her normal sharp and capable self.
On the day I visited the winery, July 8, she shared with me that it had been one year since she had undergone a double mastectomy. For the moment, she is in remission, fully back in her busy life as a mom of four growing kids and the co-owner of a thriving and growing winery. Her hair may no longer be long and straight (it’s short and curly now), but the dark locks still frame a face illuminated by her clear blue-gray eyes and focused determination.
“[At the time of my diagnosis] our business was only a year and half old. The two of us do everything here. We are the pillars of the business. It was a challenge to keep up with reporting, payroll, social media, event inquiries. My white blood cell count was low. I couldn’t go to church, or Meijer. I was in a mask, bald. This industry is very public and I couldn’t be here while people were here,” said McKenzie.
She worked from home, relying on her employees at the winery: “I have a really strong team. They did what they could. I also had tons of family and community support. Offers to take my kids, dropping off meals. I was on so many prayer lists. Somehow, I got through it all, but it is still a kind of a blur.”
The business was barely into its second year, a key time for growth and ironing out the kinks in any new business. “We were able to keep it together. I—looking back—did more than I expected. I feel that if I hadn’t been sick we would have done a lot better. But we survived a year during such a critical time. Our guests didn’t suffer. We kept on chugging. Part of the magic of Rove is Creighton and my passion. We’d put so much in over so many years. We were able to coast. Creighton held down the fort. He still worked and farmed. Close friends helped out. The important things got done.”
And now she’s back, 100%, making plans to build a production facility on the property (no time line for this yet), covering the business side of things: marketing, events’ inquiries, the tasting room, payroll. Alongside her husband and their advisors/mentors Coenraad Stassen of Brys and Drew Perry of Aurora Cellars, decisions are being made which vines to plant next, which wines to make with the fruit crop of each year. Outside the winery, McKenzie assists in promoting the Traverse Coast Wine Region alongside her colleagues.
“One of the beauties of this region, this wine region, is that it’s all small businesses. Owners make the passion. There’s no cookie cutter template. We’re very passionate about spreading the message and getting the industry to recognize what we’re doing here, all the coastline we have, the terroir.”
Behind her on the wall are the 19 wines currently for sale at the winery and a long row of medal adorned bottles. She’s excited by their new rosé cuvee that has passed through oak barrels and by whatever this year’s harvest will bring. Creighton tends the vineyards, aiming to produce the best fruit possible given the year’s climate and weather patterns; and next fall they will harvest and vinify, continuing their multi-year discussions with Coenraad and Drew, looking at the possibilities of single varietals, blends, to oak or not oak, to bottle young, or let age. “I love that I don’t know what our wine will be next year. Every vintage and every season are different, never stagnant, and always exciting.”
In the meantime, McKenzie is grateful for her family’s roots in farming as the winemaker’s life is filled with challenges on so many fronts. She’s grateful for their friends and community who supported them through such a difficult period. She’s grateful her kids and her husband are no longer living with the fear of her dying. She’s grateful for the good stresses of being a very busy business owner. And, she’s grateful she can again drink a glass of wine and taste and smell the many notes of her land, not a chemo-induced metallic aftertaste.
She’s not completely out of the woods. There will be follow up scans and blood work on a precise schedule over the next three years. The cancer was caught early, but there’s a significant chance of recurrence. However, she’s determined to not be in the thrall of what she can’t control. “I can’t live in the space of the what ifs. I’m practicing being in the moment, embracing where I’m at. I can control how I react and live in the moment, count my blessings, hug my babies, and drink really good wine whenever possible.”
Visitors can meet McKenzie and her staff at Rove Estate Winery and taste some of their award-winning wines, pair local cheeses and charcuterie plates out on the wrap-around deck, and play games with their children and even furry friends (outdoors). Rove is located at 7007 E. Traverse Highway (M-72), 3.7 miles west of Traverse City and 18.5 miles east of Empire. Summer hours are Monday to Saturday 11 am-6 pm and Sundays 12-5 pm.
