Several Leelanau County wineries returned home from the 2025 San Francisco Wine Competition with shelfworthy hardware after competing in one of the largest wine competitions in the world.
Local wineries Aurora Cellars, Bel Lago, Blustone Vineyard, Boathouse Vineyards, French Valley, Good Harbor Vineyards, Leelanau Cellars, Shady Lane Cellars, and Verterra Winery all caught judges’ eyes and reflect the current wine market in Leelanau County and northern Michigan.
The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition has long been regarded as a benchmark of excellence in the North American wine industry. Its rigorous judging process is conducted by panels of esteemed wine experts.
“We are thrilled and humbled by these honors,” said Geoff Hamelin, co-owner of Verterra Winery. “To have our wines recognized at this level, especially in such a highly competitive arena, is a testament to the exceptional terroir of the Leelanau Peninsula and the passion of our team in the vineyard and the winery.”
Leading the charge for Verterra Winery was its 2023 Pinot Grigio, which was awarded the highly coveted Best in Class distinction in blind tastings. Even more impressive, Verterra’s 2022 Pinot Grigio also won Best in Class last year, marking the first time in the competition’s history that a winery has won back-to-back Best in Class awards for a single varietal.
In addition to the Best-in-Class accolade, Verterra Winery secured three Double Gold awards from judging panels in the two-day event. Winning a Double Gold signifies a wine of exceptional quality and a runner-up to Best in Class in that wine category. The following wines earned this distinction: 2023 Pinot Blanc, Double Gold (The 2022 vintage won Double Gold); 2023 Riesling Dry, Double Gold; 2021 Brut Sparkler Traditional Method, Double Gold. The winery also took home a gold medal for its 2022 Late Harvest Vignole, a silver medal for its 2023 Late Harvest Riesling, and a bronze medal for its 2023 Gewurztraminer Dry.
These accolades further solidify its reputation as one of Michigan’s premier grape growers and wine producers worldwide.
The San Francisco Chronicle Wine competition invited professional judges from around the continent to judge 5,500 wines from nearly 1,000 wineries.
Aurora Cellars Gruner Veltliner 2021 varietal won best of class, and its Sauvignon Blanc/Fume won double gold honors. Aurora’s red varietal Blaufrankisch and pinot blanc won gold; Cabernet Franc silver; Gewurztraminer and brut rose won bronze.
“Those competitions continue to show the level of quality that the Leelanau Peninsula produces. I’m particularly proud of our winemaking team and the amazing group of individuals who contributed,” Aurora Cellars co-owner Sam Simpson said. “This is continued validation of what we are doing up here.”
Good Harbor Vineyards, Aurora’s sister winery, won a gold medal for its medium-sweet Riesling and Blanc de Noir select cuvee. It also won four silvers and three bronzes for several other local wines.
Shady Lane Cellars also won big, with its Gruner Veltliner winning double gold, Riesling gold, Blaufrankisch winning bronze, and Pinot Gris winning silver.
Blustone Vineyards won five medals, and Boathouse Vineyards took home four.
For Blustone, chardonnay and winemakers red won silver, and the pinot blanc, merlot, pinot gris, and another chardonnay won bronze.
For Boathouse, its pinot blanc and red blend (cabernet franc) won silver, and its chardonnay and pinot noir won bronze.
Bel Lago in Cedar took home four silver medals and one bronze for its winemaking efforts.
The wineries Blaufrankisch, NoMi Rose, Auxerrois, Pinot Grigio, and Gewurztraminer all won silver, while its riesling ice wine won bronze.
“It is good that every wine we sent got an award, and overall, everyone got some award. In the big picture for us and other wineries, it’s just a good example of Michigan wine performing well against wines from all over the world,” Bel Lago head winemaker Blake Lougheed said. “I’m glad Michigan as a whole performed well.”
Bel Lago’s sister winery, French Valley Vineyards, performed well at the competition, winning two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals.
French Valley’s Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay earned gold honors, merlot, and Vignoles won silver, and Cabernet Franc and Pinot Grigio won bronze.
Leelanau Cellars rounded out the competition with three silvers and a bronze.
The county’s largest winery earned silver for its merlot, pinot grigio, while its cherry cordial won bronze.
