The inaugural Northern Michigan Wine Summit, a collaborative event involving Leelanau County and Old Mission wineries, will be held Monday in Traverse City.

The summit, which is being billed as an opportunity to educate various groups about the northern Michigan wine region, will be held at the City Opera House. It will begin at 9:30 a.m. with a roundtable discussion that’s being moderated by Dianna Stampfler of Promote Michigan. Panelists include Melinda Remer of Travel Michigan; Eric Villegas, host of the PBS show Fork in the Road; Claudia Tyagi, a Master Sommelier; Kim Schneider of Leelanau County, a travel writer for Booth Newspapers; and Sandra Silfven, the wine writer for the Detroit News.

The panel will be asked to give an “outside perspective” on the quality of wines produced in the area, and the impact of the industry on the local and regional tourism economy. A tasting will include one wine from each of the 15 local wineries included in the summit.

From 2-6 p.m., media, tourism and trade employees will take part in a mini “wine festival” in which each winery will have a station with its winemaker and staff on hand to answer questions. Food and beverage directors, bartenders, wait staff, wine purchasers, hotel staff, and sales managers are encouraged to attend.

Summit organizers said 50 industry VIPs – including restaurant and wine shop owners, educators, area wine distributors and tourism officials – have been invited.

For more information, contact Kristin Karam of Black Star Farms at 944-1255.