Traverse City Travel Blog

A Norway-based television production company came to Traverse City last year in search to find the most beautiful wine regions of the world. The program named Wine First on PBS attempts to find local ingredients that can be matched with local wines to create a food combination prepared by a local chef. Ultimately the program puts the primary emphasis on wine.

Quick, name a part of the world known for its wine. For many of us, the answer might be Napa Valley in California or Bordeaux in France. Well, get ready to add Traverse City, Michigan to that elite list.

Is it possible that Traverse City can compete with the most beautiful wine regions of Europe and South America? After all, they have steep cliffs that hug stunning, meandering rivers and grapes that grow in volcanic soil. 

But northern Michigan has its own story to tell. We have the magnificence of the Great Lakes and soil created 12 thousand years ago by receding glaciers. We have over 40 wineries that compose the Traverse Wine Coast. 

Ice wine is a specialty dessert wine made from grapes that have been frozen naturally on the vine. Very few locations can make true ice wine, and the Traverse City area is lucky to be one such spot.