The Story of Neu
Neu Cellars is a father-and-son venture. In German, neu means new, fresh, or young. Our aim is to craft a distinctive wine from Michigan fruit that reflects the character and beauty of this region. We make wine in the cold — and it is best enjoyed in the warmth.
Our
Fruit
Grapes: All of our fruit currently comes from one grower. In 2022 we sourced from three vineyards — two of them just a couple of miles apart on Old Mission Peninsula. That same year marked the first time we bought grapes grown in the Leelanau Peninsula AVA.
At 19,200 acres, Old Mission Peninsula AVA is Michigan’s smallest, established in 1987. Because the peninsula is only 3 miles wide at its widest point, the deep surrounding waters temper the very cold winters and delay bud break, lowering the risk of frost damage. Those same waters hold summer heat and keep fall freezes at bay, while heavy winter snow blankets and protects the vines. The source vineyard follows State of Michigan (MAEAP) Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance practices with an emphasis on organic methods (uncertified). Every cluster is hand-picked and sorted on-site.
Apples: In 2022 we met Derrick and Iza of Folklor Wine & Cider at a tasting in Traverse City. They offered us apples from their farm in Charlevoix, Michigan, and our answer was an enthusiastic “yes.” The fruit was a field blend of several varieties that had gone more than a decade without spraying!
Cellar: Every wine ferments spontaneously — only the native yeasts and bacteria living on the grapes and in the cellar do the work. Nothing is added and nothing is taken away. If there were an ingredient label, it would say just one word: grapes.
Our Future Vineyard
Farm45
Our love of Michigan fruit led us to plant our own vines starting in spring 2021. We broke ground by hand-planting 1 acre in May 2021, then added another 4 acres in 2022. The vineyard sits at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula AVA, with the lakeshore about a mile away on three sides. The vines went sans irrigation in their first two years and are farmed and tended with organic practices.
© 2023 Neu Cellars