Verterra in Leland, Photo by Kat Swinehart

In Viva Verterra from the Lansing City Pulse, wine writer Michael Brenton begins:

As fall colors explode in full splendor, and freshly picked grapes begin their metamorphosis into fine wine, what better time to enjoy a weekend excursion to one of Michigan’s fine wine trails? And there is no better time for an introduction to Michigan’s newest winery and tasting room, Verterra Winery.

The village of Leland, bordering Lake Michigan on the western shore of the Leelanau Peninsula, has long been a destination for wine country venturers, sailors, fishermen and enthusiasts of the M-22 circuit along Lake Michigan. Leland is surrounded by nearby wineries and tasting rooms, but it has always lacked its own. Not anymore: Verterra (loosely a contraction of Latin words for truth and earth) is tucked away in an historic building that is vintage on the outside and oh-so-clean and modern on the inside.
Before arriving at the tasting room as finished wine, the grapes are grown in several meticulously tended vineyards, after which veteran wine maker Shawn Walters is responsible for completing the transformation from grape to wine. During the last several years, Walters has made wines that have achieved best of class, double gold and gold medal status in both the Michigan Wine and Spirits Competition and other national competitions.

Read on for much more including his observations about their wines and learn more about them right here. One note though – by now, the newest winery is another new member of the Leelanau Wine Trail, Brengman Brothers.

Photo Credit: Verterra in Leland by Kat Swinehart