Brys Estate Vineyard & Winery

Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery is one of the defining stops on Michigan’s Old Mission Peninsula AVA: a 155-acre family estate just north of Traverse City, with 53,000 vines planted across 44 vineyard acres less than a mile from Lake Michigan. Walter and Eileen Brys bought the former cherry and apple farm in 2000, planted their first vinifera vines in 2001, and opened the tasting room in 2005. The estate now grows eight European varieties — Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, and Gewurztraminer — with an early decision to take red wine seriously in a region better known for whites.

That red-wine push is backed by longtime winemaker Coenraad Stassen, who arrived on Old Mission Peninsula in 2003 after training in South Africa. Under his direction, Brys Estate has earned hundreds of competition medals, including Jefferson Cup wins for the 2021 Dry Riesling Reserve and 2017 Cabernet Franc Reserve, plus a 2018 Critics Challenge Best of Show White Wine for the 2017 Gewurztraminer Reserve. Visiting feels bigger and more built-out than the average peninsula stop. There is the main tasting room, an elevated deck with broad views over the vines and East Grand Traverse Bay, a casual Lawn Bar for walk-ins and larger groups, and a 12-acre Secret Garden with 6,000 lavender plants. If the standard tasting feels too quick, the two-hour Wine Wagon tour is the move: an open-sided electric shuttle takes guests through the estate, into the Cabernet Franc blocks, and through the production areas.