This past October, a few of my friends from college and I took a road trip to new buffalo, Michigan and spent the weekend wine tasting. ALL FOR UNDER $200/PERSON!
I have had a few people ask me about this trip so I though I would share some of the details more widely!
There were 17 people going on this trip and we all wanted to be able to stay together so we got an #Airbnb in New Buffalo right next to Lake Michigan. It was awesome. It had enough rooms for all of us, as well as plenty of hangout space. It also had a fire pit which was nice to use, and a hot tub (but it didn't work at the time). The owners were amazing and super helpful. They had a couple golf carts they let us use while we were there which we took down to the lake to spend some time.
We got down there Friday night at various times as we were all coming from different locations. The majority of us met up and got dinner at The Stray Dog. When spending time in New Buffalo you HAVE to stop at the #straydog. The beer was good and the food was delicious. After that we went back to the house and hung out for a bit. We didn't go too crazy because we had a big day ahead of us on Saturday!
Saturday we rented a bus to come get us at 1:00. We did some searching around through different companies but found that #Timstours had the best prices.
Pro Tip: Various wineries in the area only allow buses from certain companies on their property, otherwise they have to submit some type of waver.
The coordinator at Tim's tours suggested we select three wineries to go to, but we were able to choose which ones. I picked Dablon, Tabor Hill, and Round Barn. I've been to Tabor Hill and Round barn before and liked them a lot. They tend to be popular destinations for people in that area. I found that Dablon was also close by and had good ratings. All three of the wineries had good prices for their tastings and fun atmospheres!
Pro Tip: Be sure to call ahead as early as possible if you have a big group! They made reservations for us to have our own private seating and demonstrations which was nice. Also, be sure to get an address for each location you make a reservation with because Tabor Hill and Round Barn have various locations.
#Dablon was our first stop and did not disappoint. It was $12 for five tastings and $4 off your first bottle purchase. The woman who served us was phenomenal. After our tastings we bought some bottles and sat outside for a bit. It was the perfect time of year to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful colors of Michigan's fall. They had plenty of tables as well as a fireplace we all sat around.
Our Second stop was at Tabor Hill. Tabor hill was $20 for 6 tastings and $5 off a purchase of three bottles of wine. I have been to tabor hill before, but not this location. It was beautiful and the wine was amazing. Our server was a hilarious guy which made the experience even better!
Next we went to Round barn. #RoundBarn was $15 for seven tastings (which we probably didn't need at this point) and $5 off a purchase of three bottles of wine. It was the weekend before Halloween and Round Barn was having a live concert where people could come dressed up and enjoy some music. Unfortunately we weren't in costume, but we did have a great time! Round Barn set us up inside the barn at our own private booth. Our server was again, great, and we enjoyed being able to sit and chat in our own private area. I would definitely love to go back sometime and sit outside to listen to the music!
We probably got back to the house about 7:30 (a half hour after scheduled) but the bus driver was so sweet and didn't charge us for it. That night when we got back we made lots and lots of pizza, drank some beers and enjoyed each others company.
I love love love Michigan with all my heart, and I love wine so this is a trip I would HIGHLY recommend. Especially with such a fun group of people! We don't see each other often, but when we do it's a total blast. We try to plan some type of trip at once a year, and this is one for the books!
If you have any other questions about our trip or want my opinion when you are planning your own, feel free to reach out at jdziedzic28@gmail.com! If you need more persuasion to get you to go wine tasting in #PureMichigan, enjoy this fun video we made using some of the pictures from our trip!