A year after opening in Lake Leelanau, the specialty wine and gourmet food shop Peninsula Provisions is thriving and embracing the busy summer season. Kate Vilter Stassen, who owns and operates the business with her husband, Coenraad, said that she loves being able to still work in the wine industry after so many years.
“It’s been great. I love that I can still be in the food and wine industry because that’s always been my passion, it’s just that this is a much smaller footprint than the Riverside was and an easier thing to manage day-today,” Stassen said, who previously ran the Riverside Inn in Leland for 25 years. “And I love seeing all the people that I used to serve at the Riverside Inn, but it’s just in a different context…” Customers can find all sorts of curated flavors and brands from around the world found in Peninsula Provision’s wine selection, with options including everything from chardonnay from Burgundy, France to Lake Leelanau’s Aurora Cellars’ Brut Rose. Along with the extensive wine selection, there are a number of charcuterie board and platter choices featuring gourmet cheeses, meats and specialty items like chicken liver mousse or country pate that are available to elevate any gathering.
“We have wines from all over the world ranging in prices from $12 to several hundred dollars, so there’s a lot of variety,” she said. “Most of our wines are organic or biodynamic and they are all at least sustainable. We’re really trying to focus on smaller vineyards and familyowned properties that do have the earth in mind when they are making their wines. A lot of people will come in looking for wine and they don’t really know the selection we have. Luckily, my staff is terrific, and they can find people what they want based on other things that they have had.”
Stassen said customer favorites vary, adding that some people stop in for ready to drink cocktails, beer, and cider, while others visit on the regular to check out options that may not be as well-known. At this time of year though, a lot of people are leaning heavily towards roses and white wines because of the warm weather.
People can expect delicious food items from the menu made fresh by chef Brad Roth, who prepares the charcuterie boards, platters, grab and go salads, dips, soups, and more. In the off-seasons, the shop will offer weekly packaged dinners for two available in their case at the front. Previous prepared dinners have included meals like lamb and beef meatballs with Tzatziki sauce and rice, to simple but delectable broccoli mac and cheese.
“They (the packaged dinners) are very popular, our yearround clients love that we have that option. It just gives a family a night off from trying to figure out dinner,” she said. “I do love to bring home the chicken liver mousse and terrine that Brad makes himself because it’s absolutely delicious and you really can’t find anything like that… It’s unusual, so I always make sure if I’m entertaining I have those on hand, and then a few of our cheeses really round out a platter.”
Appetizer-wise, people have especially been loving the pimento cheese dip, but the avocado hummus is also a close second that customers reach for.
“I won’t lie, our pimento cheese dip is kind of laughable how much we make, it’s definitely become a huge hit out of the deli case without a doubt,” she said. “A lot of our stuff is very easy to just take straight out to a boat or a picnic. And we have boxes set up, so if someone is out on a pontoon boat with a couple friends, we have boater boxes that they can pick up. Or if they’re coming into Lake Leelanau, we’ll run it down to one of the two Lake Leelanau (boat) launches.”
The shop sometimes puts on special events and offerings, one of which is coming up this month. There will be a social hour complimentary event on August 14 focusing on Vermouths and Aperitivos from 3 to 6 p.m., giving people the chance to try different brands they might not normally go for.
Peninsula Provisions is open seven days a week in the summer, with hours being 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, people can visit the store’s website peninsula-provisionsshop. square.site/ or call 231-218-- 1910.
