75th Anniversary of Schultz Fruitridge Farms
Back in 1951, my grandfather, Victor, and grandmother, Dorothy, settled down in the sandy and rolling south of Mattawan, Michigan. Not only did they start their family, but they also started our family business of farming fruits and vegetables – making a living off the land. For 75 years and three generations, my family has continued this tradition and made a living growing and raising what we love. In 2023, our family closed on the purchase of Lawton Ridge Winery with the hopes of returning focus to our agricultural roots and crafting something worthwhile from something we grow. We’ve been excited to bring the fruits of our labor to you through the continuation and creation of new wines and hard ciders. As we look to the past and look forward to the future, we’ve had a period of deep reflection about how we really got here and where we’re really going. It’s fair to say without my grandfather’s vision 75 years ago that we would not be here today, enjoying this wine and environment on Stadium Drive. As a result, there’s two exciting announcements to make.
As we celebrate our 75th anniversary of family farming, we’ve crafted a specialty set of two high quality wines, and a cider, to celebrate this achievement. The first wine is a red crafted from Merlot and Cabernet Franc that was laid down in used oak barrels for over two years. This high-quality red wine is completely dry and balanced with luscious dark fruit notes and tannins. It expresses the best red wine grapes we can grow here in our home state.
The second is a sparkling white wine blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. These three grapes are classically used in Champagne. We grow these grapes next to each other on our estate vineyard, and we blended them together before bottling with no added sugar and in the Charmat Method. This Extra Brut sparkling wine evokes class, sophistication, and celebration – all things that we believe in and believe our wine represents.
Lastly, we crafted a Petillant Naturel hard cider, aged in formerly used Cerise (cherry liqueur) barrels, expect notes of tart Michigan cherry, oak, vanilla, and smooth all-around mouthfeel and taste. We did enter this cider already in GLINTCAP 2026 – the world’s largest cider competition – and we took home a Bronze medal. We think it’s all that quality and then some!
The second major announcement is that these wines are labeled under a new brand, entitled Schultz Farm & Cellar. This brand better embodies our past and our future. In the Schultz Family, we support each other, and without that, our business would not exist today – hence bringing in the family name. “Farm” represents what has inspired us and also names the source of where we obtain our ingredients. “Cellar” is often a place where one stores food and drink, especially alcoholic beverages. With the addition of spirits into our portfolio, we feel we better need to encompass all that we do – beer, wine, cider, and spirits.
This anniversary package of two wines and one cider is going to all our wine club members. You are some of our most loyal followers and are the first to enjoy them and learn of a new direction in our branding. Thank you for your continued and steadfast support which allows us to support our family farm, other farmers and producers we work with locally, and our over 40 employees. Help us spread the word on what we do! Your support and love for our products inspires us to keep going for many more years to come!
Truly,
Andrew & Ruth Schultz