Left: Sandhill Crane Vineyards held a ”Warm the Children, Chill the Wine” fundraiser in 2011. Wonderful knitters and crocheters created hats and scarves for wine bottles. In the fall, sandhill cranes gather in staging areas like the Haehnle Sanctuary to begin the migration process, which is located close to Sandhill Crane Vineyards. During the height of the staging period thousands of cranes can be seen at the sanctuary. Courtesy photosBy Deborah M. Walker
Think of Michigan and the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is the deflated economy. Michigan has lost more than 1 million jobs since 2000 and over a half-of- million homes since the economic crisis in 2005. But Michigan is more than a slumping manufacturing industry, crippled economy and high unemployment. Michigan is home to an industry that is growing faster than its fruitful harvest.
Wine tasting has become a growing tourist attraction in Michigan. Each year thousands of visitors travel to Michigan to taste the large variety of delicious locally made wine and enjoy the cool climate and distinctive flavors that make Michigan wine stand out from the rest.
With yearly revenues of over $100 million wine tasting has become Michigan’s latest commerce and it’s only expected to grow. One of these wineries is the scenic Sandhill Crane Winery located in eastern Jackson County about 35 minutes from Ann Arbor and Lansing.
“Wine tasting has become a real tourist sort of activity so it really fits in with everybody coming to visit Michigan to visit the Great Lakes and play golf and all those things and visiting a couple of wineries on top of it all,” says Heather Price, co-owner of the Sandhill Crane Winery.
Sandhill Crane is Michigan’s signature vineyard winning more gold medals and the greatest number of medals than any other winery in SE Michigan. Sandhill Crane displays a large variety of wines including fruit wine, white wines, rich red wines and delicious sweet and semi-sweet dessert wines.
Sandhill Crane is the perfect place for someone looking to enjoy an intimate afternoon strolling through the vineyard. Visitors can admire rows of plush grapes hanging from green vines. For those who would rather stay indoors they can enjoy the comfortable seating and relaxed atmosphere the winery provides.
Sandhill Crane is known for its prime tourist location being conveniently located near other tourist attractions in Michigan. Yet this location does have its set-backs when compared to other wineries.
Unlike other Michigan vineyards which are located within 25 miles of Lake Michigan, Sandhill Crane is located towards the middle of the state. This geographical difference does have its advantages and disadvantages for the winery and plays a vital role in the growing season of the grapes needed to make the wine.
“We are not on the lake and so we do not have the lake affect which a lot of wineries have,” said. “It’s a big benefit for them because basically it tempers the climate so that you have less chance of a late frost in the spring and less chance of an early frost in the fall so they tend to have a longer growing season.” Price said.
There is one advantage of being located towards the middle of the state. The lake effect does call for a cooler summer and since grapes flourish in hotter weather being away from the Great Lakes can be a good thing.
“We have hotter summers than they do at the lake and grapes love heat so that tends to be a benefit for us,” said.
Visiting Sandhill is fun all year round but Price says early fall is the best time to visit the vineyard. Harvesting season has its special benefits to those who want to view nature at its best because the grapes are in season and in full bloom. But remember not all the grapes are harvested at the same time. Grapes ripen at different times depending on the variety and so throughout the harvesting season there grapes in bloom for tourist to see.
Though a fun time of the year for visitors, Price says that harvesting time is her biggest concern. This is because grapes are more susceptible to mold and fungus this time of the year. Price says that the closer the grapes are to being harvested the higher the sugar content. This makes them susceptible to getting moldy if they are really wet. Because cultivated grapes aren’t grown in their natural habitat they have no natural defense to mold and fungus leaving them vulnerable to disease.
“When they’re in their wild state grapes grow up trees and sort of hang up high,” said. “We force them to grow a lot closer to the ground than they would normally grow so they’re hanging in closer and catch more moisture because it’s sort of low hanging because if you get dews and things like that. So the cultivated variety tends to be a lot more susceptible to diseases.”
It is no wonder Price is nervous during this time of year. Fungus would be a huge problem for Sandhill Crane who already does not have enough grapes to cover the demand of the wine that it produces. Although Sandhill Crane sits on 8-acres of land it still must purchase a large amount of its grapes from much larger producers. According to Price 20-25% of its grapes are purchased from other vineyards.
Sandhill Crane is open all year round six days a week. But Price warns that large groups should make their reservations in advanced. On a typical Saturday Sandhill Crane sees between 150-200 people. Seating is limited so a reservation is needed to make sure space is available.
“We tend to get the busiest I would say middle of the afternoon on a Saturday,” said Price. “So if we have a group of ten shows up at 3:30 on a Saturday afternoon and they haven’t called there might not be a table for them at that moment. So if they call ahead we know to reserve something.”
When tasting wine at Sandhill Crane be sure to check out the wine of the month. This month’s wine was Merlot; a popular red wine that has gained popularity since the 1990’s.
The cost of tasting wine at Sandhill Crane is currently free however in the upcoming weeks a $5 fee will be charged. This fee will allow guests to taste all of the wines on the menu. Price says that the winery was reluctant to charge the fee but due to the large amounts of patrons it received financially the fee was necessary.
“It’s something that we’ve been thinking about for a long time and we really didn’t want to do it but we pour so much [wine] that we really need to offset the cost a little bit,” said Price.
Price says this fee isn’t unique; most wineries charge a fee to its visitors. Price says many people were surprised to find out that they didn’t charge and so the fee won’t be an issue.
For those looking for more than wine tasting there is more to do at Sandhill Crane. Many couples find the secluded outdoors and quite vineyard a perfect place to get married. To accommodate them Sandhill Crane added a new banquet room for receptions.
“A lot of time people want to get married out here either under this arbor right here or we have a little meadow behind this patch of grapes that is maybe the size of our football field or so and it’s a little quiet space and people get married outside and they come in and have a reception in the back room,” said Price.
Price says that harvesting season is the most popular season for weddings. “This time of the year the vineyard is so pretty,” Price said. “The grapes are just like hanging all ripe and beautiful and it’s just the perfect time for that.”
Sandhill Crane has also added a new café. Price says a café was something guests had inquired about “for a long time” since the vineyard was located so far away from any eating establishments. Price wanted a place where people could have lunch while tasting the wines. She also says that she has a peace of mind knowing that her guests have had something to eat after drinking alcohol all afternoon.
“They’re a lot safer out in the world if they’ve had some food while they’ve been tasting wine,” Price says.
Tasting room and café hours are Monday through Saturday 11-6, thirsty Thursdays – open until 9 p.m. with live music and an extended café menu. Winery tours are on Saturday 12:00 p.m. Sunday 1:00 p.m.
Sandhill Crane is located at 4724 Walz Rd. Jackson, MI 49201. For more information contact heather@sandhillcranevineyards.com.
Price says don’t be shy about taking a bottle of wine home. She hopes that everyone visiting Sandhill Crane will find a special variety of wine just for them.
“I hope they will find some wines that they like and wanna take them home with them,” said Price.
This was printed in the October 6, 2013 – October 19, 2013 Edition
