Green Bird Organic Cellars & Farm
Date Visited: November 9, 2019
Stop: #74
Our next visit on our Toast the Season 2019 tour was to one of the more unique wineries on the Leelanau Peninsula. It is one of my favorite wineries because it feels down-to-earth, natural – kinda organic!!! It has a very low-key, laid-back vibe, and - I say this affectionately - it reminds me of the hippie days from the 1970’s. Being an organic farm is part of its brand, as you can order fresh eggs from pasture-raised hens, three different kinds of herbal teas, and seasonal produce, all while drinking wine and hard ciders. Throw in the two-sided fireplace in the middle of the room, and this is a cozy place to hang out on a bitter cold November day.
We headed south as we left Baia Estates in Northport, and
took the M-22 route as it starts to cut across the Leelanau Peninsula before
following the coastline along the west side of the peninsula. As we cut across, M-22 is called North
Manitou Trail along this stretch. About 1.91
miles southwest of M-22’s apex (where N West Bay Shore Drive meets North
Manitou Trail), there is a dirt road called East Engles Road that heads
west. From there, we drove about 0.3
miles west of North Manitou Trail to a dirt driveway on the north side that
heads and winds north until you get to the Green Bird Tasting Room (about 0.2
miles). The building looks like a large
pull barn, painted a light green with white and burnt orange trim. It is a very unique looking building in the
middle of the countryside.
Once inside, the front half of the building is dedicated to
the tasting room, while the back half, I believe, is the production
facility. Again, the striking feature
inside the room is the stone fireplace in the middle of the room. The bar is L-shaped, running along a portion
of the east wall and then along the full length of the south side of the room. They had the check-in table and pairing table
set up in the northwest corner of the room.
It was fairly busy in the Tasting Room, but we did not have to wait long
to get our Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallow Pecan Streusel paired with
their Apple Pie-der hard cider.
There was one big change since the last time we visited
Green Bird. This was our third visit, having
been here the previous two years during this same Toast the Season event. New owners had taken over Green Bird since
our last visit. With that, a little
history lesson is in order.
Green Barn Farm was established in 2005 by the original
owners. They added the winery in
2014. In the meantime, Betsy and Tim
Hearin were working as public-school teachers in New Orleans. Both Tim and Betsy tired of the politics and
drama associated with the education system in New Orleans, so they eventually
quit their jobs and basically became urban farmers. They grew fruits and veggies, and raised
chickens on their property in New Orleans.
They used abandoned lots around their home to increase their volume of
vegetables and fruits, and sold their harvest to customers in the area. Their plan was to do this for 4 years,
assuming they did not go into debt.
Since Betsy was originally from Traverse City, the plan at that point
was to move back up to northern Michigan.
In March of 2019, Tim and Betsy fulfilled their plan by buying the 67-acre
Green Bird Farm.
Tim and Betsy produce less than 500 cases of wines per
year, with all wines produced on-site from estate-grown vineyards. The wines
aren’t distributed, so the only place you can get any is at the Tasting Room.
They also make ciders and homebrews as well.
All the ingredients are made on the farm, and as a result, they are the
only organic winery in the state.
The best part about my research was finding this quote from
Betsy. I found it after I had written my
comments above about the vibe in the tasting room. Here is her quote: “We’ve always been pretty
hippie, back to the land. This was a way for us to put our dreams in action.”
We enjoyed our food and wine sample while sitting around
the toasty fireplace. When we finished,
we found some spots along the east facing section of the bar. It was crowded, and this was the only space
available. The wines and cider available
for the day were written on a couple of whiteboards across the bar from
us. It was a very limited selection – 4
wines, a sangria, and 2 hard ciders. When
our server was able to break free from the crowd around the corner from us, we
were told we could help ourselves to everything that was available that
day. Again, that just fit the laid-back
atmosphere I mentioned earlier. So, we
started at the top of the list and worked our way down (see below for the wines
and ciders available that day as well as the list of wines and ciders currently
available). We enjoyed our first
tasting, and by this time, the crowd had dissipated and we were able to move to
the southern portion of the bar. We now
had the full attention of the servers, who were very helpful, talkative,
informative, and fun. We tried
everything on the list, and quite honestly, enjoyed every one of them. Our favorite was the 2016 O Doce, which was
the port, and the Apple Pie-der.
Our time at Green Bird was fun and relaxing, but it was
approaching 2:30 and our itinerary for the day demanded we stay focused and
move on to the next stop. So much for
that carefree, laid-back attitude. It
was fun while it lasted.
Be sure to visit the Green Bird Organic Cellars & Farm
website for more information:
https://www.greenbirdcellars.com/
