Still the Simpsons at Good Harbor Vineyards
By Madeleine Hill Vedel
Sun contributor
Taylor Simpson, her warm smile framed by long brown hair, welcomed me as I arrived at her family winery, Good Harbor Vineyards on M-22 west of Leland. Settling under the shelter of the covered deck out front, hanging baskets of flowers brightly blooming beside us, she began sharing her story with me.
She grew up at the winery. Her dad, with his degree from the University of California at Davis where he studied wine making and grape growing, managed the back of the house, tending the grapes, making the wine, along with the family fruit farm, while her mom ran the tasting room. “The school bus would drop us off here and we would wash glasses from the day’s visitors.”
The family had been fruit farmers for decades. In the 1940s they sold fruit to Gerber, shifting to a focus on tart cherries in the ’50s, and in the ’70s started one of the region’s first wineries. “My grandfather was a visionary. He saw that the farm needed to be more diverse. He sent my father out to California to learn about wine and grapes,” Taylor says. Once back in Michigan, her father planted the first 10 acres of vines. And slowly but surely, the winery, one of only four in Leelanau County for the next 20 years, grew.
“Growing up in a farming family, in the family business, you never really think about what you are absorbing. So much of what is involved in the wine industry—the crush, the harvest, walking through the vineyards—was simply our life.”
Taylor studied Spanish and Latin Studies at university. Once out of school she was hired by one of the largest wine distributors in the United States, Southern Wine & Spirits, at their offices in Chicago. There she worked in sales and distribution for six years, learning to network and sell wine, focusing on on-premise restaurant accounts. During this period she studied for and obtained her Certified Wine Specialist from the Society of Wine Educators (CSW). Her job led her to travel around the world, visiting wine regions, tasting wine, meeting vintners and producers. Hitting her sales targets and signing accounts that others had failed to acquire, she made her mark in this male dominated wine field, receiving recognition from her colleagues and bosses along the way.
It was the untimely death of her father at the age of 55 in 2009 that brought both Taylor (28 at the time) and her brother Sam (23 at the time) back to the family winery, 30 years into its history.
“We moved home and we more or less split duties. He knew wine making and viticulture [having spent a year in the Wine Making Program at Michigan State University], and I handled sales, distribution management, marketing, and the books. With Sam’s education in finance, he also oversees the over-view—the big, financial projections.
In the past 10 years Taylor and Sam have both carried on their father’s legacy at Good Harbor Vineyards, and reimagined the business from all angles. Together, they chose to bring on wine maker Drew Perry, and vineyard manager Peter Rigan. In 2014 they leased—subsequently purchasing in 2015—Aurora Vineyards, expanding the family business to include Custom Crush, Vineyard Management, and Mobile Bottling Services, as well as an elegant event space. From 30 employees at the time of their return to the winery, the siblings now manage 60. They have also expanded the vineyards, thoughtfully replacing unproductive vines with better choices and varietals, and as their family cherry trees aged out, planted vineyards in their place: from 75 acres in 2009 to 125 acres today.
“It’s a massive financial commitment making sure we have our own sources of fruit that we control … We’ve set a different path from what my father did. For a long time I don’t think they [my parents and grandparents] knew what they could grow and commercialize … My dad had one focus, in addition to running the cherry farm. Now we’re more specialized in what we are doing. We have hired people for specific jobs and let them dedicate their passion to that.”
When her father passed, much of his knowledge passed with him. The siblings jumped in, figuring it out day by day, year by year. Taylor, applying her experiences gained in Chicago, is looking to expand the sales of their wines beyond Michigan and Chicago, to the markets of Florida, Texas, and Washington, D.C. In the past year the siblings legally became full owners of the winery. It is a good time to tell the story of the next generation coming in, all the while honoring what their parents and grandparents built. They have updated the winery labels and signage to reflect this shift.
“We’re hoping that people will come in to taste our wine and learn about our history and the farming family we were, are, and will continue to be.”
As a winery owner and one widely familiar with the industry on a national and international level, Taylor has lent her time and energy to the Traverse Wine Coast. A member of the board, she has worked with her colleagues to research which competitions national sommeliers consider the most important, which publications the most worthy and respected. “As a unit we are sending more bottles out. Hopefully, as a group we are going to get more attention. We know we’re making great wine, but sometimes people need to see scores of medals.” Daily receiving visitors to her winery who are passing through the region for the first time, discovering its many riches, Taylor is fully aware that, “a rising tide rises all boats.”
Good notices for one reflect well upon all. Her father was there at the beginning, one of only four, and today her family can drive just minutes east, west, south, or north to visit, meet, and consult with colleagues. It’s an exciting time to be a winery owner in northern Michigan, and Taylor is focused on taking the family winery forward for many years to come.
