Mawby Winery started in 1973 as the second grape-growers in Leelanau County. In 1984, founder Larry Mawby debuted the vintner’s first sparkling wine. By the late 1990s, the winery had switched production over to exclusively méthode champenoise sparkling wines, and they never looked back. As Mawby puts it, they haven’t “made any table wines this century.”
“If it wasn’t for Lake Michigan, we wouldn’t be growing grapes,” Mawby explained. “It moderates the climate, makes the growing conditions favorable. We can very consistently make some nice sparkling wines … it all works together for making grapes suitable for sparkling wines.”
This move was made partially out of necessity, as weather in Leelanau County has historically been somewhat less suited for table wine production. Yet Mawby’s sparkling wines have caught on locally, and other wine producers in the county have added their own sparkling wines flavors to their lists to get in on the competition.
