The Leelanau Peninsula AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Leelanau County,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. This

Michigan wine Michigan wine refers to any wine that is made in the state of Michigan in the United States. As of 2020, there were under wine-grape cultivation and over 200 commercial wineries in Michigan, producing of wine. According to another count there ...

region includes all of Leelanau County, which forms a peninsula between Lake Michigan on the west and

Grand Traverse Bay Grand Traverse Bay is a deep bay of Lake Michigan formed by the Leelanau Peninsula in the northwestern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The bay is long, wide, and up to deep in spots. It is further divided into two east and west arms by the Ol ...

on the east. Being surrounded by water helps to moderate the climate of the region, which is generally cold for

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

. Frost can occur on all but about 145 days of the calendar year. The soil in Leelanau Peninsula is complex, with

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

deposits of

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

, and loam on top of bedrock of

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. The hardiness zones are 6a and 6b. LeelanauPeninsulaMap

References

External links

From the Vine: Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail
Article about the Leelanau AVA.
Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association
Leelanau AVA wine trail web site with information about the wineries. American Viticultural Areas Geography of Leelanau County, Michigan Michigan wine 1982 establishments in Michigan {{wine-region-stub