How “someday” became “now” for Amoritas Vineyards

By Madeleine Hill Vedel

Sun contributor

Looking out at the misty, gray day, noting yet another day of rain and cool weather, Emily Goodall mused, “Well, it’s good to have one of those years once in a while to show the whole range. If it continues this way, it will be a great year for bubbly, and dry, crisp whites. But we wouldn’t be upset if the weather took a turn towards the hot and dry soon.”

These are the words of a vintner who has seen a plethora of possible weather since she and her family first invested in their dream property in Leelanau County. They had only just started planting when the now famous Polar Vortexes of 2013 and 2014 came through (“Luckily we came out OK. We had snow cover and we didn’t have fruit production yet.” And then there was the storm of 2015, hail falling from the sky, trees down all over Leelanau. “A 70% loss of the Rose Crest/Hail Mary fields. The Mary’s Folly field had already suffered a 30% vine death earlier in the year and didn’t have more fruit to lose. Which is a pretty tortured silver lining,” said Emily.

Wine has always been a family passion. “My dad [Michael] would say he’s been in the industry as a consumer. My brother Matt and I grew up playing hide and seek in wine caves in Italy and France.” But it was their mother Mary’s diagnosis of cancer that pushed the winery from a dream to a reality. 

“The thing about cancer,” said Michael, “is that, well, we’d always talked about someday. But someday becomes now. There’s now a finish point on this projected life. We can’t say someday anymore.” So in 2011 the family purchased 150 acres on Amore Road, much of it forested, with plateaus and valleys, low points and high, west and south exposed slopes. 

By this point, Emily had a Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science and Botany from Cornell University, and was finishing up her Master’s in Oenology and Viticulture at the University of California at Davis, during which time she interned in Oregon at a large winery, and in the Mosel (Germany) in a small family winery. Matt had obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona in the Agriculture Department’s Consumer and Retail Sciences, which he then followed with an Associate’s degree and Viticulture Certificate from Michigan State University (MSU) through the Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance (VESTA) online program and Northwestern Michigan College. This last offered Matt the chance to focus on Midwestern and Michigan wineries—their strengths, the dominant soils, weather patterns, and years of experimentation learning the grapes and techniques that work best here. The blend of experiences between the siblings is a powerful plus as they build their portfolio of estate-grown wines.

The family planted 14 acres with white vinifera grapes: Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Auxerrois, Chardonnay, Muscat Ottanel, and soon, Gewurztraminer. They are currently prepping new fields to plant red Gamay and the Hungarian, cold climate deep colored red vinifera, Saperavi aka Teinturier), with the goal to have 24 acres in production. They currently produce approximately 2,000 cases per year.

The production from these young vines has been a delightful discovery for both the family and the many visitors to their Lake Leelanau Tasting Room, open since December of 2017.

“The first wine we tasted was the Pinot Gris,” said Michael, “and Mary was able to taste it before she passed [July 2016].”

“You were really delighted that we could make good wine.” Emily said, jumping in. In fact, when surrounded by these three creators of Amoritas, thoughts are shared, sentences are completed by the interweaving trio of voices. All three participate in all aspects of the project, from out in the fields: harvesting and pruning, planting and preparing; to the vinification and into the tasting room, where one of them is always present to share stories and guide the eager taster.

Mary, the fourth party to this venture, is clearly in the room. She is why there is still a large oak tree in the middle of the field known as “Mary’s Folly.” (She wouldn’t let them cut it down though its shade affects the growth of the vines beneath and around it). Michael shares the story of how she was there for that first wine-worthy harvest in 2015, of how she made a delectable harvest feast of Mexican food for all involved.

“In every rom-com set in a winery there’s that scene with the big long table, laden with food, and a spectacular vista before you. She got to make this happen.” Michael said. “Though it was served out of the back of the SUV, up on the Rose Crest Vineyard.”

Visitors can now taste 10 wines in the tasting room, which include what have become the house classics (made in larger batches of 200 cases) as well as the year’s experiments (as little as 20 cases). Tasting with the Goodall family, I sensed a preference for the bright and lightly acidic, and for minimal filtering (i.e. none at all for a few of these) or fining, leaving hints of bubbly carbon dioxide that lend an extra zing to the mouth. The morning of my visit I tasted the Bohn Dry Riesling (available in very limited quantity) and was entranced by its rich bouquet of honeysuckle blossoms, green apple and honey-dew melon; the smooth and elegant un-oaked Chardonnay (white flowers, notes of lightly sweetened pears, a hint of delicate citrus); a delightfully surprising Pinot Blanc (notes of bubblegum in the bouquet, crisply dry in the mouth); their Semi-dry Riesling (notes of grapefruit sorbet, smooth and adapted to accompany foods as varied as quinoa with tomatoes and roasted red peppers, and nachos); the Dry Muscat (the Fascinator) which sings with notes of white flowers, delicate thyme and exotic litchi and candied melon.

With only a few short years of production under their belts, the Goodall family can proudly speak of their numerous medals won in competitions from MSU (a gold, a silver, and two bronze in 2018), Best of the Midwest (a gold and two silvers in 2018), The Pacific Rim (two silvers in 2019) and the Tasters’ Guild 2019— “A couple of silvers, a couple of golds. Oh, and a couple [actually three] more silvers at the Sommeliers’ Choice Awards 2019. We just got those the other day. And we’re up there with some exalted company, including William Hill,” said Emily, including details her father hadn’t yet heard.

It is still early in the life of this winery. “Right now, we’re doing small experimental lots [in their own tiny space], playing with what we can do, such as the Sparkling Grosse Point Blanc, which is a blend of everything in our fields last year. I am getting to experiment with some older wine making techniques. It’s good to not have the pressure of having to do the large-scale wine making off the bat [most of their wine making is done through French Road Cellars’ custom crush facility]. It’s been fun to figure out what we like and what we might want to experiment with on a larger scale,” said Emily. But as is said in the wine industry: you only get one chance a year to make wine—as opposed to a baker who can make bread 365 times in a year—if you don’t have the skill—or knack—early, you can waste a lot of time and money. But if you do, and from all signs it appears the Goodall family does have it, then each year before you is a chance to tweak, improve, and reach for just a little bit more, weather depending.

Visitors are welcome at the tasting room, open in Lake Leelanau (6701 East Duck Lake Road) daily from noon-6 (slow-season from Thursday–Sunday). By appointment, visitors are welcome to tour the family’s vineyards on Amore Road (231-994-2300).