Green Bird Cellars & Organic Farms

Green Bird Cellars is a small Northport winery and cidery where the farm is the point, not just the backdrop. Owners Tim and Betsy left New Orleans behind, shifted into farming in 2015, and carried that work to Leelanau County in 2018. On their 15-acre farm on the Leelanau Peninsula, they grow grapes and apples, make fewer than 1,000 cases a year, and fold the rest of farm life right into the visit: sheep in the pasture, chickens underfoot, vegetables in season, even eggs for sale alongside bottles.

The wines and hard ciders are 100 percent estate-grown and made in small batches, with farming practices that lean hard into compost, fish fertilizer, neem oil, seaweed, herbal teas, and kaolin clay instead of the standard chemical-heavy playbook. For visitors, Green Bird feels more like being invited onto a working farm than stopping at a polished tasting bar. The property sits just south of Northport off M-22, and the drive in through pasture sets the tone. Tastings are casual, reservations usually are not necessary, and Friday farm tours from June through October walk guests through the vineyard, garden, cellar, orchard, and pasture before offering the option of an owner- and winemaker-guided tasting. It is an especially good stop for travelers who want wine with dirt on its boots.