Chateau Grand Traverse

Such a beautiful place. The view on the deck is perfect with the view of the lake. I also enjoy the wine!

My girlfriend and I visited four wineries on our trip up Old Mission Peninsula: Peninsula Cellars, Château Grand Traverse, Brys Estate and Two Lads. Peninsula Cellars was the most laid back. Château Grand Traverse had the best variety of wines. Brys Estate was our favorite tasting room and Two Lads had the best view.
Château Grand Traverse had the largest selection and some of the least expensive wines we saw on the peninsula, which was nice. When you pay for the tastings, you can either do a $ 3 tasting or a $ 5 tasting, which gives you access to the «reserves.» Don’t bother with the $ 5 tasting. Almost all the reserves are red wines, and none is very good.
A nice thing is that they give you a coupon for the amount you spend on the tasting, so if you buy a bottle, you get to apply that $ 3 or $ 5 toward the purchase. (One coupon per bottle.)
The tasting room here is very pretty with a long bar to accommodate all the tourists. The guy serving us was a little pushy about serving up our next glass in a hurry, but it wasn’t too bad.
I was disappointed when they gave me a glass of wine that was supposed to be served hot, but it was just room temperature.
I didn’t like the cherry wine here as much as the one at Peninsula Cellars.
We walked away with two bottles of the 40 Grand Etcetera Blend (white).

Ok brisket, not the wow factor i was expecting. the sides were very small plenty of room left in the containers. Beware the prices on the original menu are different than the prices on the menu now. We ordered at 430 and things were «already» sold out. Being strictly carryout I would think their prices would be lower than the sit down places but this isn’t the case.

This place has one of the larger selections of wine. I really enjoyed the reds and Rieslings. They also have very affordable prices with a good gift shop. The tasting room tends to be a long wait with the line wrapped around the shop. Although the wind is very good, the ambiance isn’t, and it felt a bit like hearing cattle. I’d recommend getting a glass and sitting on the porch instead.

This place has been remodeled since the last time I was here and it looks great! The staff was very cheery and helpful.
The tasting is $ 3 for 5 tastings, but they give you a coupon for $ 3 off a purchase of wine.
I ended up buying a Cherry Riesling and a Cherry Sangria.
Overall a nice 4 stars I would say.

When a business trip gives you lemons (err, sour grapes?). you just come to Château Grand Traverse and turn them into a wine tasting. Ha, I’m so smart.
Unsurprisingly this totally improved my day, but that goes without saying. For starters, the grounds here are a beaut. Gorgeously pictoresque and wonderfully quaint views add to the charm of the place.
Walking through the doors of the gift shop gave me lots to smile about. I was shopping for a friend’s birthday and there are plenty of fun and nice items to peruse. I walked out with a few too many bottles but hey, I saved some shipping costs as normally I order their wines online.
My hubby is a lover of all things sweet so he adores the cherry port wine. Though I’m a dry red kinda person, I am a fan of this port also. It is a great ‘after dinner with a piece of (dark) chocolate’, sipper. Especially when paired with chocolate it is reminiscent of those cherry liquor bonbons., yes please!

CGT is our favorite Michigan winery. They know how to do it up! The winery is a beautiful property. Their grapes are seen rolling over the hills. It is a spectacular view. Inside they have a tasting area and gift shop. The tasting area is manned by several people pouring the small samples of all their wines. I really like the semi sweet Riesling. It’s just perfect on my palate. But you need to go visit to find your favorite.
You pay $ 3 or $ 5 for the tastes. The $ 5 gets you tasting the première wines. But they give you a voucher to take a few bucks off any bottles you may buy. Between my wife and I we saved nearly $ 20. Not a bad concept.
We will definitely return here. Since it’s our favorite and all.

Very good wines — favorite is the Pinot Noir Vin Gris. Very friendly staff. We were also there at 2p for the complimentary tour of the facility– very informative (for our amateur wine-​making abilities) … Kelly was great!

Friendly and knowledgeable, great prices! Definitely try the award winning late harvest Riesling!

We went here during the winter. Although the vineyards were not in their full harvest glory, it was still a beautiful view of the property with the water behind it all. There’s a scenic turn-​out point off the road right in front of the winery.
We did the wine tasting here and the staff was very informative and helpful. They had probably about 30 wines to choose from at a really good cost. They also give you a voucher to purchase a bottle of wine when you do the tasting.
I tried three reds and two whites. I enjoyed them all and ended up purchasing a Gamay Noir which I look forward to pairing with a steak dinner soon.

Haven’t visited many wineries, so I don’t have a lot to compare this place to, bit it was pleasant enough. It was extremely busy during our visit on a Sunday in mid October, but they seemed to have enough staff to accommodate all the patrons. Seemed a bit commercial and pricey, however, but as I said, I don’t have a lot to compare it too. If we had been on the peninsula longer, I would have liked to try some of the quieter wineries. Maybe next time.

Pretty much standard for Mission Peninsula. If I were to think of what a «normal» winery is, this would be it. The people are friendly, the wines are solid, and there is a great deal of selection.
They also offer samples of their dips/​sauces which are definitely worth a try. Something unique compared to the other wineries on the peninsula. Château Grand Traverse has become a regular stop for me when I’m hitting the wineries.

Not much of a mom and pop shop, but I still liked it.
The wine in this region definitely tastes young and sharp, more of a modern preference over the oaky deep traditional taste. The tasting was fun and service was impeccable. I asked for bubble wrap and the sales lady did an awesome job wrapping. Well worth my drive in the pouring rain :)

This winery was easily the best winery on Old Mission winery tour. We started here so I didn’t buy but 2 bottles expecting the remaining wineries to fill my case. That was not the case at all and I ended up making a second trip back at the end of the day to buy even more wine because it was the best.
Gail and her husband were amazing hosts to us as the first guests in their tasting room on that Saturday of Labor Day weekend and it was an awesome experience! I’d HIGHLY recommend this winery if ever in the area.
So wonderful.

By far the most commercialized of the wineries on old mission peninsula, that’s not to say its bad however.
Lot 49 Riesling was great other wines were good. I have tried their wines on a few occasions and they are definitely consistent with their flavor profiles year in and out.
They offer a tour there which is a nice option though due to time constraints I wasn’t able to go on.

Great selection of wines, many are award winning and the prices are good too.
Free tastings up to 6.

This was our first stop on old peninsula tour. This place is worth going to just for the views, amazing. I do wish it was a little warmer because they have an awesome patio over looking the lake.
You do have to pay for the wine tasting, I do believe it was $ 3 a person but gets refunded if you buy a bottle. I liked that you could buy a glass of wine and sit on the patio, or buy a cheese plate, or wander around the gift shop (As we did).
Good selection of wine, I’d def make it back here!

Free wine tasting and a cute shop inside! Knowledgeable bartenders and an amazing view out back. The wines are great and reasonably priced

Great wines, great value, and free tastes on the Old Mission Peninsula.
Solid wines at an affordable price so you can drink them with a weekday dinner and not regret it. I recommend:
Gamay Noir — solid red at a reasonable price which is hard to find in the area.
Chardonnay
Ship of Fools
This is not «cute» wine with a fancy tasting room. This good quality stuff… no distractions. If you go on the weekends, not during harvest season, they will give you a tour of the winery which is pretty cool to see. When you’re done buying wine walk back to the deck and take a beautiful picture of the Old Mission Peninsula. We bought bulk wine for our wedding and got a great case discount.

REVIEWING THE WINE TASTING ONLY:
The winery deserves another star, but I had to subtract one star due to poor service from the pouring folks. The posture was as if I had never tasted vine before and I was wearing a I HATE France shirt, tasting in the Bordeaux region. I have traveled all over the world, lived in NYC eating at the finest locations dropping big money on good wine and I do not offend easy. The 1^st character walked away from me when I asked a few questions about the medals they received? «Which is the most respected?» other questions about the wine itself, dude just walked away. The next winner was aloof and disinterested with my questions as well, sorry about not moving along as quickly as you may have been instructed to do or just your personal poor abilities behind the 7 position, overly crowded tasting area.
The only element saving Château nonGrand Traverse was the excellent jams and other condiments offered. I bought the Cherry Jalapeño salsa and the Cherry honey mustard dip ($ 13.25) and left quickly.