Spring 2026 Award Haul!
Michigan Governor’s Cup Logo
The Michigan Wine Collaborative (MWC) has announced the 2026 Taste Michigan Governor’s Cup Competition results. This event represents Michigan’s only statewide, industry-driven wine competition and is an opportunity for the Michigan wine industry to unite, engage, compete, and celebrate the premium wines representative of our wine industry.
This year, owner, Andrew Schultz, and our head wine & cidermaker, Shaun Brancheau, submitted four wines for consideration. The judging took place throughout April and May, and results are in... We’re thrilled to announce we took home four medals for all four wines we entered. The following wines took home medals in their respective categories in 2026!
2024 Sweet Rose - 91 points
Gold Medal
90% Chambourcin, 10% Seyval Blanc. This sweet wine is a blend of red and white grapes for a sweet rosé. It's fruity and sweet, but still wine-like in character. It drinks great on a hot summer afternoon. Pair with lighter dishes of chicken, seafood, salads, or fresh fruit. Serve chilled.
Tasting Notes: Blackberry, black cherry, strawberry
13% ABV | 5.5% RS | $17.50 per 750 ml bottle
2024 Glowing Vine - 90 points
Gold Medal
50% Riesling, 50% Traminette. The deeper color in this wine is derived from fermenting white grapes on their skins. The result is a tannic, medium body white wine made in the style of a red wine. The practice of making orange, or amber, wine dates back hundreds of years in Europe. It has had a recent resurgence in popularity due to its complexity and intrigue. Our winemaker’s intent was to make this a very approachable wine, thus aging it on the skins for only 10 days. Serve chilled.
Tasting Notes: Orange blossom, citrus
12% ABV | 0.0% RS | $19.95 per 750 ml bottle
2023 Merlot - 86 points
Silver Medal
This take on a classic Merlot is medium bodied and full of tannin, giving it excellent ability to age. The grapes were grown by our friend Joe Herman, who has since retired from his sixth-generation family farm. We pressed the grapes and aged this wine on oak for 12 months. This marks our first vintage of Merlot since 2017. Serve room temperature.
Tasting Notes: Black cherry, vanilla, cola
13% ABV | 0.0% RS | $27.95 per 750 ml bottle
2023 Cabernet Franc - 84 points
Bronze Medal
Cabernet Franc is one of the premier vinifera wine grapes that grows well in our cool climate. It makes a bold, dark red that will only get more complex and layered with age. Ours was laid in oak for twelve months and then bottle aged for additional time.
Tasting Notes: Bold, earthy, dark fruit
13% ABV | 0.0% RS | $25.95 per 750 ml bottle
GLINTCAP
GLINTCAP Logo
The Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition (GLINTCAP), is the world’s largest cider competition focused on raising the caliber of cider as a category through emphasis on providing clear and helpful feedback to entrants from some of the most experienced palates in the industry, in addition to coveted awards. Held each May in Grand Rapids, GLINTCAP receives and judges over 1,100 commercial and noncommercial entries from across the world. We submitted one cider this year, its exciting results are below.
75th Anniversary Cider - 36 points (out of 50)
Bronze Medal - GLINTCAP
This sparkling hard cider captures the character of the family orchard in every sip. Made from a blend of apples grown on the farm and aged in a Cerise barrel, it offers crisp orchard fruit layered with hints of cherry and a touch of complexity. A small addition of cherry wine enhances the subtle cherry essence, creating a balanced and celebratory cider that honors generations of farming, harvest, and family tradition.
8.5% ABV | 0.0% RS | Available Soon!
