By TOM YODER
COLUMNIST
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Lake Michigan has an impact on the rolling hills of southwest Michigan for grape growers. All the way from the Indiana/Michigan state line, north to the Kalamazoo River, and west to the city of Kalamazoo, where the bulk of the growing is done, moist lake breezes prevent the extremes of heat and cold in the spring and summer months. That same breeze creates “lake effect” snow in the winter months for heavier snow cover and protection of vital roots.
This environment is well known by producers of grape products. It is this very reason that, long ago, winemakers realized this similarity to some of the finest wine growing areas of Germany and France and brought European stock to the area to be planted. Since then wineries have sprouted up all throughout that area with wine tasting stations in abundance to entice the traveling public and has become a major tourism drumbeat.
Wine, however, isn’t the only product produced by grape growers. The majority of the 12,000 plus acres that are planted in that area belong to a Co-op called Welch’s that contract with area growers to produce Concord (a blue grape) and Niagara (a white grape) for the production of non-alcoholic grape juice and jelly. I pass this facility almost weekly in the town of Lawton, Mich. and its size is quite impressive. Large vineyards are in abundance along M-40 in this area. Wine grape acreage in Michigan is currently concentrated in four counties — Berrien, Van Buren, Leelanau and Grand Traverse.
A little farther to the north in the city of Paw Paw is one of the area’s largest and well-known wineries — St Julian’s. Tours are available on request to give visitors insight into the production procedures. A wine tasting counter gives customers a chance to taste the many different varieties before purchasing. Most are available also at stores locally as well as throughout the United States. One of the closest wine tasting venues recently opened just south of Bristol on Ind. 15 as well as a few local ones.
Lake Michigan is 307 miles long and 118 miles wide and is the sixth largest fresh water lake in the world. The whole eastern lakeshore is ideal for growers because of its near perfect environment for fruits and vegetables and its consistent annual rainfall that produces juicy crops.
This area leads the nation in tart cherry production, especially in the northern parts of the state. A lifetime friend of mine many times would bring me a bottle of cherry wine when returning from there — always a favorite. Other major fruit crops grown along the lake are apples, peaches, pears and blueberries.
While buying fruit for Everett’s at many of these growers the bulk of the purchases were all the many varieties of apples and peaches. It was nothing to have more than a dozen different varieties of apples and half a dozen varieties of peaches. These fruits were shipped all throughout the Midwest with many “Chicagoland” trucks frequenting these growers for their venues in the big city. These same growers, while depending on their basic crop, didn’t rely solely on just fruit- they nearly always grew vegetables or a pumpkin crop just in case of a crop failure because of a late freeze that would render them helpless or less than a normal year.
