The Leelanau Enterprise has a feature on Toast the Season that underscores how important all of you who attend our wine trail tours are to the Leelanau Peninsula. They talked with Alanna Grossnickle of Forty-Five North who said that sales were up about 20%. Gill’s Pier Winery tasting room manager Jill James noted that it’s not just wineries benefiting from the nearly 1700 people enjoying our sold-out holiday wine tour:
“When people visit our tasting room, we ask them where they’re staying,†James said. “More and more of them are staying at local bed and breakfast inns and eating in local restaurants – the wine tours are good for everybody this time of year.â€
James noted the number of first-time participants in local wine tours.
“These are all new people being introduced to what we have here in Leelanau County,†James said. “I’m also hearing a lot of people who live elsewhere in Michigan saying how they appreciate staying in Michigan and buying Michigan products. That whole philosophy really seems to be getting more popular,†she said.