Shady Lane Cellars has been named “Best Winery in the state of Michigan” in a recent feature on Mashed.com, a national wine publication.
“It’s really cool to be honored, especially in a nationally read publication. It was a surprise and heart-warming,” Shady Lane general manager and executive winemaker Kasey Wierzba said.
Shady Lane just completed a class in conjunction with NMC and Michigan State University agriculture regarding filtering and pruning in the vineyard Monday.
As warmer weather progresses, Shady Lane looks forward to seeing the vineyard pruned and green by mid-May.
“Grape vines are slower to wake up in the spring compared to cherries and apples that green a month earlier,” Wierzba said.
Shady Lane Cellars will do its first spring bottling in April for the 2025 vintage, with its fanfavorite Grüner Veltliner and Pinot Gris available come May.
Shady Lane is also trying to get its sparkling wine as the new product is expected to come online sometime this year.
“Those will ferment in the bottle ... It will give a toasty brioche character after in the cellar for a year to two years,” Wierzba said.
Suttons Bay-based Shady Lane Cellars produces one of the largest percentages of estate-grown wine in the region. Offering hilltop views of the Leelanau Peninsula in northern Michigan, the winery and its staff create a comfortable approach to wine.
“Regionality and creating an authentic experience are very high priorities here and having that recognized feels fantastic,” Wierzba said. “Our wines are rooted in regionality, and our winemaking style illustrates our cool climate. Having that recognized feels fantastic.”
This is what Mashed had to say about Shady Lane: “Even though Michigan’s semi-official state cocktail is a rendition of a boozy milkshake, the local wine doesn’t fall short. Shady Lane Cellars is a boutique winery in Northern Michigan that’s equally known for its hot mulled wine as the cross-country ski trail that winds through its vineyard. With multiple gold medals from national competitions, Shady Lane is a Midwest must-visit.”
Boathouse Vineyards’ decisions, decisions heading into 2026
Boathouse Vineyards in Lake Leelanau is experimenting with several wine variations heading into the 2026 spring, summer, and fall seasons.
“In 2025, the experiment we did was historically, the Chardonnay has been in an oak barrel. In 2025, we did a halfand-half. We had fermented and are aging half of it in stainless steel, and then the other half was fermented and aged in a barrel,” Boathouse winemaker Emmy Neighbors said. “Wine does not have a quick turnaround. This isn’t cider. This isn’t a beer.
We are not just making new products all the time. Having the smaller lots that we would, enables us to keep the menu a little bit fresher.”
Boathouse is excited about multiple rosés to be released this year, unlike the recent Cab Franc rosé in 2025.
“This year, we blended our Syrah with our Cab Franc rosé because our Syrah unfortunately got hit by some light frost last year. We weren’t able to ripen the Syrah fully to make red wine, but the numbers were perfect for rosé. So we picked the cab franc and the Syrah at the same time, along with some of our muscat,” Neighbors said.
Another exciting flavor they are blending back is a wine called “license to chill” that’s an off-dry rosé. This is 70% pinot grigio, 15% riesling, and 15% pinot noir.
A 2025 Pinot Blanc will also be there and released at Boathouse Vineyards towards the end of the year.
