The Fall Harvest: A Look at Cultural Connections to the Local Vineyards

Pinot Grigio grapes on the vine overlooking South Lake Leelanau.

Co-Written By: Brian Hosmer & Cristin Popelier

 

In October, in Northern Michigan's Wine Country, workers were busy in the vineyards carefully hand-harvesting this year's crop of wine grapes.  There is a unique connection to land and lakes shared by all of the hands that touch the grapes as they are cut from the vine.  The practice of growing grapes is called Viticulture, or the culturing of grapes for fruit.  Many aspects of life are woven into local culture that revolve around the annual cycle of the fall harvest. 

 

The annual harvest requires many hands and a strong cultural connection to the vineyard.  The connection growers, migrant farm workers, wine makers and the community feel to vineyards of Northern Michigan is entrenched in the 30-year history of the two Appellations, Old Mission and Leelanau.  Fall harvest time is a special part of local life.  Once the fruit that bears the culmination of many of years work has ripened "all hands get to work". 

 

As the migrant workers arrive in Northern Michigan from their last jobs (say picking apples in Oceana County), just as they have done many years before, the harvest takes off with uncharacteristic tempo.  The workers, dodging the storms so the rainwater does not dilute the wine, take to the vineyards.

 

Under blue skies, the first grapes picked are destined to make the wine that monk Dom Pérignon likened to "drinking the stars".  Sparkling wines, a specialty in this region, are often made using the methods from Champagne, France.  There are many Northern Michigan varieties used to make the sparkling wine; some of which if left on the vines, can also be made into exquisite still wines.

Merlot grapes sparkle with frost in the morning.

Next the deep yellow Chardonnay grapes are picked. They resemble small bursts of sunlight breaking through the browning leaves. Pinot Noir, the most finicky of the grapes, follows chardonnay. Winemakers, hoping for just a little sun to help finish the job, dream of the prefect ripe skins, which help this prized grape hold its color.

 

These and the many other wine grape varieties are grown on the Grand Traverse Region's two pleasant peninsulas. Every year, the grape harvest and, therefore, the wines are a bit different. This year the harvest was rushed, given the particularly challenging frost, early snow and harsh winds. After several early freezes in the vineyards this fall, the leaves senesced and fell to the ground, hindering grape growth. Even as the leaves fall, the vines are trying to store up energy for hibernation. Wildlife sneaks us and steals what fruit they can. And tourists come to see the leaves change, taking with them the sights and flavors from the fall harvest.

 

The Northern latitudes of Michigan even as, the fall feel much like the spring, the Artic cold winds strive for dominance. This year, the cold seems to be winning; whereas last year, the warm was able to hold on longer than ever before making some of the best wines this region has ever seen. The forces of nature are something winemakers must reckon with and the people who must respond to the climactic temper tantrums must be flexible, as every year results in a new scenario. We wonder, will the sun come out and dry up all the rains or will the snow blanket the ground?

Each cluster must be hand harvested and sorted, Thomas Marino pictured here, is sorting pinot grigio.

As the intermittent snow falls, vintners just hope for a freeze that lasts long enough for ice wine grapes to be picked, the most expensive of the local fare. This annual gamble is not for the faint of heart. Taking the grapes on this roller coaster ride of temperature shifts can lead to heartache. To make ice-wine, the grapes must freeze completely so that the water crystallizes, not permeating the golden clusters.

 

And so goes the fall harvest, year after year. For the last thirty years, this annual clash of temperatures has occurred in the vineyards, mediated by the big water nearby. Deep blue Lake Michigan buffers the local vegetation from the onset of winter, delaying the impacts of the cold rain and snow beyond that of the inland areas. Which is why the cultural connection to the vineyard has sprung up here. It can be seen everywhere, from the wineries to the workers in the fields. Indeed, all those, who come from across the Mid-West to experience the sights and sips of two pleasant peninsulas, take with them a connection to the fall harvest.

 

Brian Hosmer and Cristin Popelier, recent transplants to Traverse City, have followed the wine trail north. Brian is a winery technician at Bel Lago and Cristin is an agricultural economist and planner at LIAA. They hope to one day own and operate a winery in Michigan.