Walter and Eileen Brys met on a blind date in Detroit in 1968, and were married shortly after. A spontaneous trip to the Napa Valley in the early 1970s sparked a dream they couldn’t shake. Although starting a winery was virtually impossible for them at the time, their dream endured, growing stronger with each passing year. They wanted to be winemakers.

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Walt enjoyed a successful career in real estate development while Eileen stayed at home raising their three children. When the kids left the nest, the couple retired to Florida. But retirement quickly felt, well, too quiet. Their long-dormant dream resurfaced, and they knew the time had finally come to start a winery.

In 2000, after nearly two years of searching for the perfect location, the Bryses turned their attention north to the Old Mission Peninsula, just outside Traverse City, Michigan. They chose an 1890s homestead with 80 acres, complete with an aging cherry orchard, four barns, and migrant quarters—all in need of significant restoration. The pair set out to convert the farmhouse into their dream home, as well as transform the abandoned cherry orchard into a lush vineyard.

In 2004, the estate’s first 10,000 vines produced their first harvest, and the tasting room opened to the public in 2005. Today, under the leadership of their son Patrick, the estate has expanded to 155 acres with 53,000 vines on the Old Mission Peninsula.