Verterra Winery opens in Northport
From staff reports
This summer, for the first time, Verterra Winery is opening its Swede Road vineyard near Northport for public wine tastings and tours. Guests will have a chance to see unparalleled views of Grand Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan, surrounded by vineyards on the Leelanau Peninsula.
The source of many of Verterra’s award-winning wines, the Swede Road vineyard is located on the highest point in the northern part of the peninsula.
The public wine experience offers flights of wine and salty and sweet morsels under a canopy high on a hill. The flights, either five or three two-ounce pours, are named after islands visible from the Verterra vantage point: Gull and Fox islands.
In addition to the wine tasting, owner Paul Hamelin will host private vineyard tours by reservation. Hamelin will escort guests into the vineyard with a glass of wine and explain the New World winery techniques being used to produce wines inspired by the Old World. Afterward, guests will gather in the Loft to enjoy Verterra’s library wines, including a 2015 Pinot Noir, which scored an 88 by renowned former wine critic James Suckling of the Wine Spectator. Guests will also be able to sample a 2017 Malbec, made from estate-grown grapes, expected to be released in September.
Verterra Winery, a family-owned winery with a tasting room in Leland, focuses on estate-grown grapes; plantings began in 2006. The tasting room, located across from the Bluebird Restaurant and Tavern in Leland, opened in 2011. The winery opened its Swede Road vineyard as an event center in 2016 and the spectacular site has become a popular venue for weddings.
The Terrace at Swede Road Vineyard is open for tastings noon-5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, beginning June 19 and continuing through mid-August. The address is 8080 Swede Road, just east of M-22. For more information, please email events (AT) verterrawinery (DOT) com.
