Four Leelanau Peninsula wineries received a 91 rating on at least one wine from Wine & Spirits magazine, the national publication covering the global wine industry. The wines receiving the highest scores of 91 were:
·      Verterra 2021 Dry Riesling
·      Verterra 2018 Dry Gewurztraminer
·      Brengman Brothers 2018 Dagudscht Blanc de Blanc sparking
·      Mawby Michigan Brut Rose Grace
·      Ciccone 2020 Lee La Tage sparkling

The magazine’s blind-tasting panels sampled 112 wines from across the Grand Traverse region selected as their best efforts by the participating wineries. Critics scored the 47 top wines between 88 and 91 points, the highest scores for Michigan wines ever recorded by national and international wine critics.

Additional top scoring Leelanau Peninsula wines from the Wine & Spirits team were as follows:
·      Good Harbor 2021 Pinot Grigio (90 points)
·      Brengman Brothers 2021 Leelanau Peninsula Kabinett Crain Hill Vineyard Riesling (90)
·      Verterra 2021 Pinot Blanc (90)
·      Mawby NV Michigan Brut Gold Sparkling (90)
·      Shady Lane 2017 Dry Riesling (90)
·      Laurentide 2020 Riesling (90)
·      Black Star Farms 2017 Blanc de Blanc (90)
·      Black Star Farms 2021 Capella Vineyards Semi dry Riesling (90)
·      Aurora Cellars 2020 Gruner Veltliner (89)
·      Good Harbor 2020 Leelanau Peninsula Pinot Noir-Zweigelt (89)
·      Black Star Farms 2019 Gamay Noir (89)
·      Black Star Farms 2020 Pinot Blanc (89)
·      Rove Estate 2018 Pinot Noir (89)
·      Shady Lane 2017 Merlot (88)
·      Leelanau Cellars 2020 Late Harvest Riesling (88)
·      Black Star Farms 2020 Michigan Arcturos Dry Riesling (88)
·      Verterra 2021 Leelanau Peninsula Late Harvest Riesling (88)
·      Ciccone 2020 Leelanau Peninsula Dolcetto (88)
·      Shady Lane 2017 Leelanau Peninsula Merlot (88)
·      Shady Lane 2020 Muscat (88)

Drew Perry is a winemaker for several of the award-winning wineries, including Verterra Winery, Aurora Cellars and Good Harbor Vineyards. “We’ve created a group here that seems to be getting not just statewide but national attention,” he says.

Patrick Comiskey from Wine & Spirits praised the overall quality of the wines. “We’d received submissions from Michigan wineries before, but never as many at one time, resulting in a comprehensive snapshot of the Leelanau Peninsula,” he says. “As its vinifera-winegrowing heritage enters its second generation, we found a region making impressive strides in quality, worldliness, and energy, a provincial locus with global aspirations, freshly interpreting the wine world’s latest innovations and trends.”