Two K Farms Cidery & Winery
Date Visited: November 9, 2019
Stop: #69
Our second stop on our Toast of the Season wine tour through the Leelanau Peninsula was only 2 miles away. We made our way down the hill from Ciccone Vineyard towards SW Bay Shore Drive (M-22) and headed north. About 1.2 miles on the left was the entrance to Two K Farms Cidery and Winery. A long winding uphill climb later, we parked in the only parking spot remaining. Sitting atop a glacial dune, the tasting room has one of the most spectacular scenic views on the peninsula, overlooking West Grand Traverse Bay. On this day, the tasting room was devoid of tables and chairs. The gently arced wood bar dominates the west wall of the room, allowing an unobstructed panoramic view through the wall of windows on the east side of the room. The room has a high ceiling with exposed beams and antique chandeliers, making the room feel older than it actually is. A fireplace dominates the south wall of the room. There is a wrap-around deck that offers an opportunity to sit outside and enjoy the scenery while indulging in their wines and ciders. It is truly one of my favorite places to enjoy wine.
The farmland on which the cidery and winery resides has its
origins dating back to the early 1800’s.
The first owner of the land was a War of 1812 veteran who was granted
the land as part of his military service.
Eventually the farm was sold to Robert Lee in 1855, and he and his
family continued to work the land until the early 2000’s. At one point, the farm totaled more than 400
acres, extending all the way down to the shores of West Grand Traverse
Bay. The red barn, which can be seen
from M-22 and sits just north of the entrance to the cidery and winery, is the
lone surviving building from the original farm.
The topography of the farm was dominated by a drumlin dune, created by
the glaciers that carved all of the land in this region. The dune was altered twice over the years –
once when M-22 was constructed in the 1940s, and again when the tasting room
and processing room were constructed in 2017-2018.
The Lee farm was bought by K & K Farm Group in
2010. By that time, most of the farmland
(80 acres total) was dormant except for a few acres of corn and hay. The next five years were spent planting 35
different varieties of heritage apple trees and grapevines. Their first harvest was in 2016.
Two K Farms opened their tasting room on September 21,
2018. They already have won several
national awards for their ciders and wines.
This is due to the dedication of brothers George and Max Koskela (the K
& K brothers), who manage the farm and are involved in every aspect of
running it, and the great staff working there.
We got to experience the great staff firsthand!!
When we entered the tasting room, we were guided to the
south side of the room and told to go outside to get our food sample and paired
beverage. They had set up a small tent
on the south side of their deck with a heater inside, and we waited in a short
line to get an Apple and Cheddar Biscuit Bite and a sample of New World
Cider. We went back inside and stood
along the windows enjoying our samples and the scenery (as well as the
warmth!). The cider was delicious and
paired very nicely with the biscuit bite.
The room was quite busy, but we were able to find some spots up at the
bar so we could enjoy our wine/cider samples.
Our hostess warmly greeted us and provided a lot of great information
about the cidery and winery, as well as great descriptions of the ciders and
wines available for us to sample. She
truly had passion for this place, and we really appreciated her kindness and
the attention she afforded us, especially given how busy they were. We were allowed two additional samples each,
and since they only had 4 wines available, we decided to pass on the ciders and
focus on the wines. Kathy and I divvied
up the 4 four wines accordingly:
Kathy’s selections:
- Cille
- Colonnade
John’s selections:
- Riesling
- Bubbly Riesling.
I love Riesling, and Two K Farms does a great job with
their Rieslings. I truly enjoyed
them. Kathy has been looking for a good
apple wine, and the Colonnade was a great choice. Also, we have struggled in finding rosés that
we both like, and again, Two K Farms did not disappoint with their Cille. We were set to buy some wine but decided to
check our inventory to see if we had any wine left over from our 2018
visit. Checking the list, we still had a
bottle of the Colonnade and the Riesling, as well as a bottle of the Sangria
still at home. So, for the second winery
in a row, we decided not to buy any bottles.
It was time to move on to our third winery of the day, so we gathered up
Randy and Christie and bid farewell to our hostess and headed out.
Be sure to visit the Two K Farms website to get a list of
their current wines and ciders, and their current business hours. http://www.twokfarms.com/
