Week 1: January 1-6

This is a short week with January 1 falling on a Monday. Rove Estate is a family-owned winery and it’s my first pick because it is the closest one to my house. 

Location: 7007 E. Traverse Hwy (M-72)  on the west side of Traverse City

AVA: Outlier.

(Technically Rove is in the Leelanau County AVA, but I consider it an Outlier, as it is very close to town, barely 10 minutes from the shores of West Bay.)

Summary, the vibe, and the wine:

I came here on a Thursday afternoon after having lunch at the new Sushi place Dojo, in the nearby-ish Long Lake Culinary Campus. At first, I was the only patron, though groups trickled in. Since Rove is so close to where I live, I know it well - I love their Friday Night outdoor summer/fall concerts and so does my toddler who has danced on the lawn to Miriam Pico’s music on more than an occasional warm Friday evening.

The weather and crowd is obviously very different in January, but it was comforting knowing the wine I would be drinking would be consistently excellent. Today I tried the Gewurztraminer and the Dry Rose, both crisp and complex. 

The vibe is modern, clean, and natural. I counted six different wood grains in the furniture, decor, and merch. Someone in charge loves Ireland, as there are low-key maps and Irish quotes woven into the decor. Laid-back, attentive service and an airy environment with many excellent choices of what to drink.

My Two Wines

2021 Gewurztraminer 🍇🍇🍇

Dry Rose 🍇🍇

TCWY Wine Ratings:

🍇🍇🍇Best of the region (top 10%)

🍇🍇As good as the rest of the region

🍇Not as good as the rest of the region

Learn more about the TCWY Rating System here.

Something to do:

Stop here on your way to Sleeping Bear - there is great snowshoeing and XC skiing there, including Pierce Stocking drive as a groomed trail. There are also many winter events at Rove - Sip & Sled special event coming up on January 22, Happy Hours every Wednesday from 11-6, FriYAY, Sunset Saturday, and Sunday Funday promotions. I did not luck out by coming on a Thursday, but that's okay, I will be back.

Something to hope for:

There is something truly exciting about the prospect of pairing a glass of the Gewurztraminer with some Dojo sushi yellowtail nigiri. The thing I could not get out of my head the whole time I was here, was how fun it would be to pair the Dry Rose with the 7 spice rolls I had just crushed at Dojo. It's not just that both Dojo and Rove are tasty, it's not just that they'd be excellent together- this is especially exciting because there are so few options of places to eat in this part of the region, (Long Lake Township/Southeast Leelanau County) it is almost scarily delightful the idea of having big city-caliber wine and sushi in my backyard now. I can only hope this trend continues . [Edit May 2023 - I discussed this with the staff at another winery, and they are challenging me that BYO food is allowed! More to come.]