With bars in Traverse City and Bellaire writing lengthy pleas to the public to respect their employees, to refrain from cursing, spitting and worse, it was time to check in with Leelanau County’s wineries and see how they’ve managed the COVID-19 requirements of mask-wearing, distancing, sanitizing surfaces, and more.
The clinking of bottles fills the air as I sit down with Larry Mawby, founder of Mawby Vineyards in Suttons Bay, and Mike Laing, who, with his brother Pete, has taken the reins from Larry and is now running Mawby Vineyards as well as their still wine company Big Little Wines.
I am sitting on the patio at Mawby Winery, admiring the lush green vines stretching out from this point, covering the slopes rising from the bowl of the valley where Mawby’s tasting room and original facility is located just south of Suttons Bay. Within minutes, I see the slender form of Megan Budd striding towards me, her blond sun-brightened hair waving in the breeze, her packed lunch in an isotherm bag swinging in her hand. Ellie, her 10-year old spaniel (aka the vineyard dog) trots at her heels.