Michigan Wine Co., Fennville MI

October 1, 2025 by

What do you do when you are in Michigan wine country for a wedding and need to kill a little time? You meet up with friends and head to the nearest winery. One such opportunity lead a group of friends and me to Michigan Wine Co in Fennville MI.

Joe and Erica Krajkiewcz started their wine journey like many others; wine lovers having a dream of owning a winery, trying their hand at wine making, and then making the dream a reality. It started with the planting of their first grapes on family property around Freesoil, MI. Joe is not only an owner, but also the winemaker.

Freesoil is the location for their micro-orchard, where Joe’s father “planted a half dozen apple trees about 35 years ago. They started making hard cider from them a few years ago. When they planted the vineyard in 2016, they also planted about 40 cider-specific apple trees.”

In 2017 they planted the Fennville vineyard (currently a little over 3 acres) and in 2018 established Michigan Wine Company and built the tasting room. Between the two vineyards (Freesoil and Fennville) they grow Riesling, Traminette, Cayuga White, Frontenac Blanc, Seyval Blanc, and Itasca. In addition, they have a few newer plantings of Grüner Veltliner and Blaufränkisch.

K Vineyards (Fennville) is part of the Fennville AVA and Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) verified. This is a verification process for farmers interested in managing the pollution concerns and its impact on the environment.

We enjoyed having the opportunity to meet Joe and finding out a bit about the vineyards and wine. It’s always a pleasure to speak to winery owners and staff, especially when they are enthusiastic about what they do. Betsy was our server for this visit, and she was amazing. She is both very friendly and knowledgeable and took care to make our visit rememberable. Sue also stepped in at times and was equally as superb.

One big advantage of visiting a winery with friends is that all can take part in the tasting, make their own selections, and then share so everyone can try more. We tried twelve of the twenty three wines on their menu, along with one of the seven ciders.

Here are my personal favorites, with some of the winemaker notes , as well as my own.

2022 CAB XL – It is a dry “Bordeaux styled blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petite Pearl where the sum is greater than the parts.” Aged in French oak for 21 months. This was my absolute favorite. I am a big fan of both Cabs, and any Bordeaux style wine.
2023 Trilogy – “A blend of three red grape varieties from two different vineyards in Hudsonville, MI. Marquette, Frontenac Noir, and Petite Pearl all bring something unique to this blend.” All three grape varieties were developed at the University of Minnesota as hybrids to withstand the colder midwest climate. The softer tannins from the latter two help balance those of the Marquette, enhancing the dark fruit profiles for this medium-bodied wine.
2022 Regency – “A blend of six red grape varieties. 52% Regent, 23% Petite Pearl, 15% Marquette, 6% Noiret, 3% Frontenac, 1% Cabernet Franc.” It was barrel aged and is medium-bodied. Regent is a hybrid developed in Germany in 1996 to be disease resistant and cold-hardy, making it well-suited for the midwest. It along with the other midwest varieties with a touch of the Cab Franc, make this an interesting and very good wine.
Itaska – “Crisp with melon/grapefruit. Like Cabernet Sauvignon meets Chardonnay.” I liked this because it was less citric and the fruit flavors really come through. Itaska is a “newer American hybrid variety with highly touted winemaking potential. Released to nurseries by the University of Minnesota in 2017. Our Itasca was planted in 2019 and we will be expanding our block in 2020.”
2022 Riesling – “Semi-Dry, 2% RS, Estate grown at K Vineyards. Our Fennville vineyard is built around our love of Riesling. This is our third vintage! Crisp, clean, and mouthwatering.” I really enjoyed this Riesling. The low residual sugar makes it less sweet and crisp.
Perry – This cider is made from 100% pears. Bartlett, Bosc, & D’anjou. One of the best ciders I have ever had. No doubt with the full flavor of pears. Easy drinking for sure.

More can be found about the varieties available on their website.

The winery has a regular schedule of food trucks on site, and other events. They also provide group private tours and tastings. There is ample outdoor seating on the covered patio and picnic tables out back near the vineyard. A great place to relax and enjoy a tasting, a glass or bottle, and the outdoors.