Winery hotels & vineyard stays in Michigan

Michigan's wine country sits on the 45th parallel — the same latitude as Bordeaux and Piedmont — and survives its winters because Lake Michigan moderates them. The Old Mission and Leelanau peninsulas north of Traverse City are narrow enough that water surrounds the vines on both sides, and the result is aromatic whites: Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and some genuinely good traditional-method sparkling.

The lake effect is the whole story. Water warms slowly in spring, delaying budbreak past the last frost, and holds its heat into autumn, stretching the ripening season by weeks. Old Mission Peninsula is 19 miles long and never more than three wide; Leelanau is larger, hillier and more wooded. Both are cherry country as much as wine country — Traverse City calls itself the cherry capital of the world and the National Cherry Festival each July is the region's biggest week. Reds are lighter here: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and the cold-hardy hybrid Marquette. Several estates run inns on the property, which is the practical way to do it, since the peninsulas are a drive from town and the tasting rooms are spread along a single road each. Summer and early autumn are the season; many cellar doors cut hours between January and April, and the winter here is real.