Nathaniel Rose—a rose of a winemaker

By Madeleine Hill Vedel

Sun contributor

Raindrops splattered on my windshield as I passed through Suttons Bay, rendering my idea of offering my grape harvesting skills to Nathaniel Rose at his eponymous winery—formerly Raftshol Vineyards—less than timely. Nonetheless, I continued to the tasting room north of town on M-22 to see if I could catch the ever-on-the-move vintner and, since earlier this year, new winery owner.

Parking in the small lot behind the old barn, I changed into my muck boots while observing a young man in a classic fedora assist a colleague to gingerly maneuver a van hemmed in by an immobile forklift. The rain chased me into the tasting room, where Riley, Nathaniel’s assistant, was offering tastings to a couple of visitors. After saying hello I popped into the cellar space in search of Nathaniel, and was greeted by him, damp fedora atop his head.

Nathaniel has made a name for himself over a relatively short career (he graduated from Western Michigan in 2009) as a skilled and creative winemaker with classic vinifera varieties. Before purchasing Raftshol, he initiated the wine program and continued as head winemaker at Brengman Brothers for six years; previous to that he brewed mead for St. Ambrose Meadery in Benzie County, where he helped create their original recipes. His particular love is making red wines with Michigan grapes, working with the classic Bordeaux and Northern Rhône varietals: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. From years working as a field hand at vineyards across the state, and two years early in his career under the tutelage of Warren Raftshol, Nathaniel has cultivated the knowledge and connections to direct the management and purchase of top quality grapes from his favorite vineyards, down to the specific sites and rows.

Coming full circle to his new home on M22, he is looking to revitalize the vines planted by Warren Raftshol, upon which you could say Nathaniel cut his wine-making teeth. Neglected over the past 10 years, the Raftshol vines (which line a portion of the western side of M22 between Suttons Bay and Omena) are in need of Nathaniel’s skill and his assistant Riley’s careful pruning. They’ve been busy this year re-attaching the training wires, selecting out new shoots to encourage, and pruning others. Unfortunately, powdery mildew got a hold in one of his parcels before he could preventatively spray, causing early leaf loss. Not to worry, Nathaniel assures me, he’ll be using the grapes from that parcel—which lacking the leaves to absorb sunlight will not fully ripen—as the acidic balance to his mead/wine blend, Pyment.

With the rain canceling any afternoon picking, Nathaniel proposed a trip to check on the work of his morning crew at the Boskydel vineyards overlooking Lake Leelanau. I hopped into the passenger seat of his little red Honda Civic and, as we zoomed over the hills, I learned how a week earlier, Nathaniel had come to a belated agreement with Boskydel owners Jim and Andy Rink to take a maximum of this year’s harvest (excepting small parcels going to Good Harbor and Ciccone Vineyards.) The Rinks took over Boskydel after their father Bernie—Leelanau’s first wine grower—retired. Bernie Rink passed away on Nov. 29.

Boskydel and Raftshol are amongst the oldest wineries on Leelanau Peninsula. Both were started and run by men with strong character and even stronger opinions. But they differed in their planting choices. Rink followed the advice of the day (1970 is the date he first planted his commercial vineyard) and planted hybrid grapes especially chosen for their ability to grow well in the northern Michigan climate, including de Chaunac and Vignole, Frontenac and La Crescent.

Raftshol, following similar advice, also put in hybrids; in his case, Aurora and Chelois. However, not partial to their results, he decided to graft traditional Bordeaux and Burgundy vinifera varietals onto the hybrid rootstock in his vineyards: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir reds, and Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay and Riesling whites. His blend of red varietals, bottled by Peninsula Cellars as the Raftshol Red, became one of the first of its kind in the region.

Nathaniel, with his passion for vinifera reds and red blends in his wine-making explorations—you can taste the 2013 vintages in his tasting room—purchased the Raftshol Winery for this very reason. “I believe that they are some of the most interesting vines on the peninsula. The combination of hybrid rootstock and the grafted vinifera, plus the unique weather patterns of our peninsula … I think these could make excellent Bordeaux style reds. Warren was ahead of his time.”

Boskydel Winery closed on Jan. 1, 2018. The Rink family has been negotiating with the Leelanau Conservancy over management of its future. While these negotiations go on, the family continues to care for the vines, but no longer harvests the grapes themselves. A number of local wineries made tribute wines with the 2017 harvest: L. Mawby a sparkling rosé with the DeChaunac, Good Harbor a very fruit-forward Vignole, and Nathaniel took Frontenac, Geneva Red and Dechaunac to craft a black ice wine, amongst others. But this year, much of the harvest hadn’t been spoken for, and the Rink family was looking at the very real possibility of many of the grapes they’d tended for so many years dying on the vine until a phone call in early October.

“I was looking down the barrel, seeing much of the vineyard just hanging there. It was serendipitous that Nate was interested in it. My hope would be that with his hand and knowledge, the hybrids might add another point for them, another feather in the cap.” Andy Rink said.

Though originally only considering the parcels for his black ice wine, with most of the Boskydel harvest as yet unspoken for, Nathaniel decided to take as much as he could gather, even with his space and equipment limitations. But there’s no turning away from such a challenge. Thus, adjusting on the fly, he has been doing his damnedest to bring together a picking crew and brainstorm how best to make use of some of the oldest vineyards planted on the Leelanau Peninsula.

As we tour the Boskydel vineyards, tasting grapes for ripeness, Nathaniel shares with me some of his ideas for the different parcels and varietals. This particular white one? He’ll leave on the vines and make an ice wine. This solution means he can wait to harvest until far later in the season, when the yield will be drastically reduced due to the on-the-vine raisining. By that time the alcoholic fermentation of his classic wine styles will be finished, and he’ll have the time, equipment, and space to do them justice.

There’s going to be juggling—many long days and even longer nights harvesting, pressing, worrying over bubbling vats. But this is Nathaniel in his element. And having sampled the superb wines in his tasting room, I can’t wait to taste the results of this collaboration of neighbors and passion.

On Nov. 16 I visited Nathaniel Rose again. The young vintner had a wide grin on his weary face. The wine harvest was over and they were able to get everything off the vines with very few grapes falling prematurely, and very little rot. They got the whole crop, with only the grapes awaiting ice wine conditions remaining. Now it’s cellar time.