Michigan Vineyards Protect Natural Resources Through Regenerative Farming Practices

In partnership with: Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development

Viticulture and winemaking have been maturing in Michigan since 1868, when Joseph Sterling established the state’s first winery in Monroe County. More than 150 years later, some of Michigan vineyards’ nearly 200 wine producers are working to protect and preserve the state’s rich soils and natural beauty by adopting sustainable growing practices.

Stranger Wine Company

Sidney Finan and Maxx Eichberg began working in viticulture together in 2019. Finan has a bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental science and experience in organic farming and business. Eichberg, who has spent a decade in the wine industry as a sommelier, intern and salesman, cemented his love of winemaking with an internship in Washington
in 2016.

In 2020, while weathering the COVID-19 pandemic in Chicago, the couple began exploring southwest Michigan’s wine-making scene.

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“It really piqued our interest that there was such high-quality wine coming out of this region,” Finan says. “We just fell in love with it.”

In 2021, the pair bought Avonlea, a 15-acre vineyard in Buchanan founded in 1989 by vintner James Lester.

“It’s one of the oldest continuously growing and producing vineyards in Berrien County,” Eichberg says. “I think a lot of people would agree that it’s really the inception point for fine growing and winemaking in southwestern Michigan.”

Stranger Wine Company, one of the newer Michigan vineyards, produces small-batch, minimal-intervention wines from vinifera grapes (European varieties).

“We’re restoring what Lester originally envisioned on the property, sticking to the varieties that he planted and doing it using regenerative and fully organic methods,” Eichberg says.

This includes relying on biofungicides rather than conventional disease-control sprays and providing habitats for populations of pest-eating wildlife to replace chemical pesticides.

“If you come to our vineyard, you will see it’s a little on the wild side,” Finan says. “But by leaving all of our native grasses and wildflowers, we have a lot more beneficial insects, birds and mammals.”

She and Eichberg also avoid tilling and irrigating to enhance soil and vine health and conserve water.

In 2021, Stranger Wine Company received Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program verification for its farmstead and cropping systems. Finan and Eichberg say customers are enthusiastic and willing to pay a slightly higher price point to support their sustainable practices.

The couple recently bought an additional 57 acres to increase their wine production and expand access to organically grown fruit for other growers.

“This will help subsidize a market that’s bound to increase tenfold,” Eichberg says.

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WaterFire Vineyards

Chantal Lefebvre’s first job after she moved from Boston to Traverse City with her family in 2007 was at a winery tasting room on Old Mission Peninsula. Her intention was to meet people and have fun, but the work ignited in her a passion for winemaking.

After passing the international Court of Master Sommeliers’ introductory-level exam and working in various roles at a Traverse City winery, Lefebvre, who has a background in environmental science, launched WaterFire Vineyards in Antrim County.

“My ultimate goal was to find a sustainable approach to grape cultivation that avoided the use of harsh chemicals and minimized our carbon footprint,” she says.

Using organic products and biological sprays, implementing no-till practices and encouraging the growth of native grasses, Lefebvre has succeeded in that quest. In 2017, WaterFire became the first winemaker outside California to be certified by the Sustainability in Practice program.

“Every year is a science experiment,” she says. “You have to be willing to take risks that a lot of vineyards are not willing to take.”

To offset the uncertainty and expose more people to WaterFire’s wines and environmental practices, Lefebvre is leaning into agritourism, adding rental cabins and an event pavilion. WaterFire also hosts fundraising events for local nonprofits.

“We value our local community,” Lefebvre says. “We would not be here without their support.”

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