Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail

Name

Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail

Legal name

Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail

Website

https://miwinetrail.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wine Tourism & Tasting Experiences

NAICS

Wineries (312130), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (7224)

akta.pro primary industry

Wineries & Vineyards (Tasting Rooms) (THAFALAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wine Tastings & Vineyard/Winery Tours (THAJAGAD), Beverage Craft Classes (Coffee, Tea, Mixology, Wine/Beer Education) (THAJAKAF)

Keywords

• Wine tourism
• Tasting rooms
• Estate wineries
• Wine trail
• Viticulture region

Headquarters

HQ city

Douglas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Wine Tasting Fees: Individual member wineries charge tasting fees ranging from $5 to $15 per person for 4-6 wine samples. These tasting fees are collected directly by each winery.
2. Direct Wine Sales: Member wineries sell wine by the glass and bottle through their tasting rooms, representing the primary revenue stream for individual properties.
3. Event Revenue: Wineries host paid events including Paint & Sip classes, food truck nights, live music events, and specialty tastings that generate additional revenue through tickets and food/beverage sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail is a collaborative wine tourism organization that connects visitors to 14 member wineries located across the Lake Michigan Shore AVA in Southwest Michigan. The Trail collectively promotes wine tasting experiences, wine by the glass and bottle sales, and curated events at its member wineries, while the individual wineries operate their own tasting rooms with locally grown, estate-crafted wines.

Product overview

The Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail is a regional wine tourism collaboration featuring 14 member wineries located in the Lake Michigan Shore AVA (American Viticulture Area). The organization does not offer a single unified product but rather promotes collective winery experiences including wine tasting, events, tours, and wine purchases across member establishments. Member wineries range in size from small family operations to larger estate wineries, with offerings spanning wine flights, bottles, food pairings, live music events, food trucks, and seasonal activities. Each member winery operates independently while sharing the common mission of using locally grown grapes to produce wines that showcase the region's unique terroir created by Lake Michigan's benevolent mesoclimate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 12 Corners Vineyards Estate winery located on 115 acres in Southwest Michigan with over 40 acres planted with both vinifera and hybrid grapes, offering wines at three locations in Benton Harbor, South Haven, and Grand Haven. Standard tastings are $12 for 5 tastes.
• Baroda Founders Wine Cellar Winery founded by Leonard Olson, a pioneering Michigan winemaker who obtained the first new Michigan winery license since prohibition in 1972, now operated by his son Gunnar.
• Cody Kresta Vineyard & Winery Small family winery specializing in hand-crafted Michigan wines produced at a vintage 1882 homestead, honoring the founder's Croatian heritage and third-generation grape growing tradition. Traditional wine menu: 4 samples for $8; Reserve wine menu: 4 samples for $12.
• Contessa Wine Cellars Third-generation winemaker Tony Peterson's winery featuring an Italian villa-inspired tasting room with European-style terrace overlooking the Coloma Valley vineyards. $10 tasting fee per person.
• Domaine Berrien Cellars Family-owned 80-acre farm winery where all handcrafted wines are made on-site from estate-grown grapes, known for dry red and white wines.
• Fenn Valley Vineyards Family owned 240-acre vineyard and winery complex established in 1973, located five miles from Lake Michigan near Holland, Michigan. Tasting flight of 7 wines for $10.00.
• Filkins Vineyards Premier family-owned vineyard and winery that took over from the Herman family in 2024, continuing sustainable, regenerative, and herbicide-free farming practices.
• Golden Muse Winery Winery celebrating the Golden Age of Paris with a Steampunk-style tasting room, art gallery featuring ecological-themed works, and vegan-friendly wines. Select 4 wines, 2 ounce pours of each, for $15.
• Hickory Creek Winery Veteran-owned craft winery on 38 acres focusing on quality over quantity, known for earthy Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and crisp white wines.
• Lake Michigan Vintners World-class wines and ciders training the next generation of winemakers in partnership with Lake Michigan College's Welch Center for Wine & Viticulture.
• Lawton Ridge Winery Family-owned estate winery located outside Kalamazoo under new ownership by the Schultz family since late 2023, crafting wine and cider in small batches.
• Lemon Creek Winery Family-owned artisan producer of estate wines established in 1855, now home to 170 acres of vineyards and 24 different wine grape varietals. Standard Tastings: $15 flights include five 1.75 ounce tastings and a souvenir wine glass; Reserve Tastings: $20 flights include five 1.75 ounce tastings and a souvenir wine glass.
• Solasta Winery Winery established in 2024 featuring 19 handcrafted wines from crisp whites to bold reds and sweet delights, offering curated wine flights with artisanal charcuterie boards.
• White Pine Winery Winery founded in 2010 by Dr. Dave Miller, showcasing Southwest Michigan's finest wines with a philosophy of minimal intervention and sustainable vineyard practices. Tastings are $8 for 4 samples.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of Michigan's wine grapes are grown in the Lake Michigan Shore AVA

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lake Michigan College - Welch Center for Wine & ViticulturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLake Michigan Vintners is co-located on Lake Michigan College's campus in the Welch Center for Wine & Viticulture. This partnership enables training the next generation of winemakers through hands-on education and industry collaboration.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Old Mission Peninsula Wine Trail: Michigan-based wine trail on Old Mission Peninsula near Traverse City, also a Great Lakes AVA. Directly comparable collaborative tourism model serving Midwest wine tourists with multiple member wineries and tasting-fee economics.
• Finger Lakes Wine Alliance: Regional wine trail consortium in New York's Finger Lakes AVA. Closest analog in its combination of cool-climate varietals, multi-winery tourist itineraries, and mid-sized independent estate wineries.
• Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance: California wine country alliance promoting a multi-winery AVA in San Luis Obispo County. Directly comparable collaborative tourism, event calendar, and map-based marketing structure.
• Virginia Wine (Virginia Wine Board / Virginia Wine Marketing Office): Statewide Virginia wine tourism organization with collaborative trail, events, and tasting passport. Comparable scale and mandate to drive wine tourism across a multi-winery footprint.
• Willamette Valley Wineries Association: Oregon wine AVA association running collaborative tasting-room and event marketing for member wineries. Comparable consortium-scale destination organization with similar GTM motion.
• Michigan Wine Collaborative: Statewide Michigan wine industry association representing growers, wineries, and trails. Comparable consortium/marketing structure with overlapping regional advocacy and tourism-promotion mission.
• Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance: Washington/Oregon wine alliance promoting a multi-winery AVA with tasting-room tourism, events, and collective marketing. Directly comparable destination-management and DTC wine tourism model.
• Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail: Michigan-based wine trail on Leelanau Peninsula near Lake Michigan, also powered by a Lake-effect mesoclimate. Closest direct competitor for Michigan wine tourists and event programming.

Broad incumbents

• Napa Valley Vintners: Premier California wine trade association representing hundreds of Napa wineries. Analogous consortium model but at materially greater scale, global brand recognition, and central fund-raising capacity.
• Sonoma County Winegrowers: Large, established California wine-region association with significantly greater resources and brand recognition. Comparable in structure but operates at a much larger scale and broader portfolio scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/miwinetrail
• Facebookfacebook.com/LakeMichiganShoreWineTrail

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail