So you’re contemplating taking a wine tour! A wine tour can be a great opportunity to enjoy some quality time with a loved one, celebrate with friends or make new friends. You could choose to take on all of Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsula in one long excursion but we recommend that you select your favorite peninsula to visit for an unforgettable afternoon. You may decide to fit in a stop at a picturesque beach or lighthouse, festival or restaurant. And you have a variety of transportation options available from our 14-passenger van to our luxurious Lincoln stretch limousine. With so many options available how can you create the best wine tasting experience possible? Here are some steps to help you create a fun filled and memorable Traverse City, Old Mission, or Leelanau wine tour.
Who do you want to travel with?
Are you looking for an intimate wine tour for two, or would you prefer to accompany a group of old friends? Maybe joining a group of other wine aficionados or tourists that you’ve never met is what you have in mind. Regardless of whom you would like to explore Northern Michigan’s wineries with, the professionals at GT Wine Tours can help make it a reality.
Are you looking for quiet vineyards or bustling lively tasting rooms?
Depending on when you schedule your Grand Traverse wine tour you may find yourself one of the only guests at a vineyard or walk into a lively group of people in the tasting rooms. Both can be great experiences and there’s no way to guarantee if you will be one of the few or one of many but there are some things to keep in mind when selecting a date that will give you better odds of having the experience that you’re looking for. Keep in mind that peak wine tasting season occurs around peak fall colors, this is typically around the second week in October but can change depending on the weather that year. Both the Leelanau wineries and the Old Mission wineries organize a variety of fun events throughout the year with food, entertainment and/or activities in addition to the wine tasting. These events attract a lively crowd of locals and visitors to the wineries. You can learn more about the schedule of upcoming events at http://www.wineriesofoldmission.com/ and http://lpwines.com/. Saturdays are always more popular wine tasting times than weekdays. If you are looking for a quieter experience opt for a weekday tour.
How long do you want your wine tour to be?
There are multiple options available when wine tasting in the Grand Traverse area. Leelanau alone offers eighteen unique wineries and tasting rooms to choose from and Old Mission Peninsula has another seven picturesque locations to enjoy. There are also great local restaurants, breathtaking beaches, occasional festivals and the Old Mission Lighthouse along the way that you could choose to work into your own unique Northern Michigan wine tasting adventure. With all of these options you could easily select one of the cozy bed & breakfasts in Traverse City or Leelanau and make a weekend out of your wine tasting excursion. If you would prefer to keep your wine tasting to a day or a short afternoon there’s no need to worry as the wineries and tasting rooms are close enough together that you can easily spend 3-4 hours “hopping” from one winery to another without spending much time in the vehicle between stops. If you are staying in Traverse City and looking for a shorter afternoon wine tasting trip Old Mission Peninsula is a great option due to it’s proximity to town and the wineries to each other. For a full day adventure or weekend tasting tour you could easily choose to take on most if not all of the locations on both Old Mission Peninsula and Leelanau.
How do you want to travel?
By now you should have an idea of who you want to travel with and how many passengers you will have in your group, now you want to decide if you would like to join others and share transportation or secure your own chauffeured ride for your group exclusively. Grand Traverse Wine Tours makes it easy to arrange either type of tour and we offer a variety of vehicle options including an 11 and 14 passenger Chevy Express passenger van, a luxury Yukon XL, Lincoln Limousine and Lincoln Town car. To ensure we can provide you with the vehicle of your choice, please contact us as soon as you know you would like to plan a wine tour. To get help planning your Grand Traverse or Old Mission wine tour call 231-946-5466 today.