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Page 1 of 2 When most people think of doing a girls weekend winery tour they automatically think of California, but what about Michigan?
Southwest Michigan has great sandy fertile soil which gives the area the name “fruit belt” of Michigan. Another great quality that helps the grapes grow so well is the proximity to Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan moderates the temperature for this area which helps wine grapes grow so well. Southwest Michigan is designated as a American Viticultural Area (AVA) just like Napa Valley or Sonoma Valley. This viticultural area contains 11 wineries plus other tasting rooms as listed on the Michigan Wine Trail.
Three Southwest Michigan wineries that top my list when I want to take a quick girls weekend getaway are Karma Vista, Lemon Creek, and Round Barn .
Karma Vista Vinyard
Karma
Vista
has such a great laid back feeling when you walk in that you could almost stay there all
day. They have a tasting area and a patio area where you can chill and look
out at the vinyards and have some food pairing with your bottle of wine you
just bought. One of the things you will notice about their wine bottle
labels is that they are similar to record covers.
That is not a mistake
they are! The according to Karma Vista's website, "Our kids will never understand the thrill of buying an
album and studying the cover in all its glory, reading every word of every song
printed somewhere on the inside and trying to figure out what the lyrics really
meant. Cherry Amour, Starry Starry White, and Pink Side of the Moon all take us
back to a time when we were younger and everything was analog instead of
digital. There might even be a few hidden messages on the back labels."
It truly is a special place and one place you can not miss if you are doing a
wine tour in Southwest Michigan.
Looking for more info about Karma Vista year round? Try their DeVine blog!
Lemon Creek Winery
Lemon Creek Winery is
also a u-pick fruit farm. When you enter the tasting room get ready to taste some of the best wine ever. Seriousley, they have
some great tasting wine. Forget California, France, Italy, and Spain ... these wines are some of my favorites and my girlfriends agree! If you like ice wine they have a couple of
that you can taste. Ice wines are very sweet wines and are unlike any wine you might have tasted previously. The reason for the name ice wine, is because the grapes that are used for that wine are picked
later in the season after the first frost and are usally frozen when they are pressed. This makes the wine much sweeter and almost like syrup because the excess water is removed as ice. Lemon Creek's tasting room, like most others in Michigan are free, but ice wine is an additional charge since it is such a rare and expensive delicacy.
One of the other things that is great about Lemon Creek Winey is that a few wine names and labels reflect the area and a couple give
homage to the local beach town near by St. Joseph, MI, including Lighthouse White, and Silver Beach Sauterne.
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Chick Travel Ideas 
