Award winning wines made with minimal intervention winemaking

Nestled in the rolling hills of Leelanau Peninsula, Boathouse Vineyards works exclusively with our estate vineyard, hand farming 100% of our grapes.

Our Vineyard

Our estate vineyard is located high in the rolling hills of Leelanau Peninsula between Lake Leelanau and Lake Michigan. We have been practicing organic farming methods since 2022 and have officially begun the USDA organic certification in the spring of 2025. Our fruit is hand harvested. All canopy mangement is accomplished by hand.

Cabernet Franc at center with Pinot Noir to the left

Planting our white varietals in 2009

Our Vineyard is on a 60-acre plot on Amore Road in Leelanau County. In 2009 we planted 15 acres starting on our West Slope pictured here. Our West Slope contains:

4 acres of Riesling – 4 clones
4 acres Pinot Gris – 2 clones
¼ acre each of Regent and Auxerrois

Our East slope showing Syrah and Chardonnay

The East slope of our Vineyard contains our Red Varietals and a few notable White varietals:

2.6 acres of Merlot (pictured at the right) –
4 clones
3.5 acres of Cabernet Franc – 4 clones
2.0 acres of Pinot Noir – 5 clones
1.0 acre Syrah
4.5 acres Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, and Muscat

Harvesting Merlot in 2021

Our Vineyard is on a 60-acre plot on Amore Road in Leelanau County. In 2009 we planted 15 acres starting on our West Slope pictured here. Our West Slope contains:

4 acres of Riesling – 4 clones
4 acres Pinot Gris – 2 clones
¼ acre each of Regent and Auxerrois

The Narrows

The waterway connecting North and South Lake Leelanau. Our Tasting Room and boathouse are on the left of this photo.

A Beautiful View of the Narrows

Summer on the Narrows

Come by boat or by car in the summer and enjoy a glass or flight of wine in one of our adirondack chairs on our expansive lawn.

Red wine and fall colors

Come on up and check out the fall covers and vineyards with their full clusters. Then stop at our Tasting room for a glass of our Pinot Noir, Merlot or Cabernet Franc. Perfect for a fall afternoon.

Quiet time on the Narrows

Need some time to reflect? A glass of wine on our dock could be just the answer.

Winemaking

We believe in “Minimal Intervention” winemaking which means that the amount of additions or processing aids are limited. Boathouse does not add any artificial colors, tannins, enzymes or fining agents to our wines. Sulfur is kept to a minimal effective level, usually just before bottling.

Minimal Intervention

Emmy Neighbors

Our winemaker, Emmy Neighbors, joined us in 2024. Born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan, Emmy began her wine career as a wine manager and educator in Chicago’s restaurant scene. In 2019, she moved to Santa Barbara wine country, where she discovered a passion for both wine production and viticulture. Her winemaking experience has focused exclusively on small, family-owned estates committed to organic and Biodynamic practices. Emmy holds the WSET Level 3 Award in wines. She also earned a Bachelor’s degree from Concordia University Chicago.

The Winery

The winery, located on East Amore Road in Lake Leelanau, is an 8000+ square foot facility that features state of the art processing, production and aging equipment.

Winery equipment is all connected wirelessly for remote monitoring of winemaking activities including pressing and fermentation aging.

The lab features a virtual cellar to monitor the progress of fermentation as well as rapid (under 2 mins /sample) chemical analysis of juice and wine samples. Color and sulfur levels are also monitored in the lab.

Our barrel rooms

Two barrel rooms feature individual temperature and humidity control with remote monitoring.The first room is where malolactic fermentation will take place as well as aging for the first twelvemonths. The second room is for wines aging past twelve months.

Tasting Room History

Out Tasting Room is on the “Narrows”, a channel of water connecting North and South Lake Leelanau and eventually emptying into Lake Michigan. There’s plenty of room to enjoy our award winning wines, either outdoors, on our covered porch or inside next to our fireplace.