Wineries of Black Star Farms
Awarded the Best Wine of the 2018 Canberra International Riesling Challenge was our very own 2017 Arcturos Dry Riesling!
“It’s hard to argue with a great business plan, incredible wine, attention to detail, and a sense of Michigan pride.”
John Gonzalez, mLive
Black Star Farms is located on the same 45th Parallel that runs through some of the great wine regions of the world, including our own Traverse Wine Coast. We are a small winery with a hand-crafted approach to winemaking that produces classic varietal wines and fruit brandies of high character and balance.
OUR WINES
Upon founding in 1998, plans were developed to build our first winery to process the 1998 vintage already growing in the proprietor’s vineyards. Lee Lutes, a Michigan native with winemaking experience in Italy, was brought on board as head winemaker. He was confident that the classic cool climate grape varieties could be successfully grown here and would produce world-class wines. And so our story began!
In our 20th year, we were honored to receive the most prestigious award at the 19th Annual Canberra International Riesling Challenge – Best Wine of the Challenge! This award was given to our 2017 Arcturos Dry Riesling and was only the second time in CIRC’s history that an American wine came out on top.
A record number of Rieslings, 567, from six countries – Australia, New Zealand, USA, Germany, France, and the Czech Republic – were judged at the Challenge.
The Black Star Farms 2017 Arcturos Dry Riesling, scored 98 points, was awarded “Best in Show” in addition to taking home Best Dry Riesling and Best American Riesling. All six Rieslings Black Star Farms submitted took home medals, showing consistent quality across vintages and styles.
We invite you to taste and purchase our wines at our two Traverse City area tasting rooms, or retail stores near you.
OUR VINEYARDS
Our region is fast becoming recognized for the tremendous opportunities for growing grapes. The “lake effect” climate enables the growth of classic vinifera grape varieties including Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, and more.
Our fruit is sourced from both the proprietor’s vineyards and our local grower partners on the Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsulas. This diversity allows us to obtain consistent quality across vintages. Our wines reflect this quality, from our premium Arcturos label to our sparkling, fruit, and house wines, and represent the best efforts of our skilled winemaking team.
PROUD MEMBER
