Aurora Cellars

We are from Chicago and hosted our daughters wedding at Aurora Cellars. It was outstanding. We had so many people tell us that this was their favorite wedding venue ! The staff is great and very resonsive to emails. We also hosted the rehearsal dinner at the winery building ( food was brough in taco bar and they shut the winery down for out event). We stayed on property in farmhouse and it made it a stress free weekend. They gave us a walk through the day prior and everything was in place , the kids loved the wedding. Missy and her staff were so helpful.

Aurora is a fantastic winery with great wine, views and even better staff. Robin was beyond helpful, kind and made our experience at Aurora the highlight of our trip! Get the membership, it’s a great deal!

We highly recommend Aurora Cellars for anyone looking for a outdoor vineyard wedding! We hosted our wedding celebration in late May at Aurora Cellars and it was absolutely perfect!. Aurora's staff was extremely easy to work with and always available to answer any of our questions. They provided a comprehensive list of suggested vendors, which we were not obligated to use, that helped us tremendously with planning from out of state. The venue itself is absolutely stunning! It's so naturally beautiful, that you don't feel like you need to bring a lot of decor in, but it can definitely support it if that's your vibe. The willow tree is the most perfect backdrop for any ceremony and by 5pm, most of our guests were in the shade without the sun in their eyes. We loved the tented space for our reception and the beautiful dark wood farm tables. We had around 80 guests and the space did not feel too big that we didn't fill it. We stayed at the farmhouse on location for the entire weekend (upgraded to stay one extra night) and our wedding party stayed at an AirBnB Aurora Cellars suggested just 200 yards down the road. It was so nice to not have to worry about transportation and we could quickly run into the house for anything we needed. Aurora Cellars was also so accommodating with our golden retriever who was with us throughout the entire event. He was able to hang with us throughout the entire property, which was a big selling point for us.

Aurora Cellars was one of stops on our winery tour for my 50th birthday this past Saturday. Bubbles was an amazing server and made our visit so fun! She even got in our group picture ☺️. Thank you for a fun time Bubbles

Such a beautiful winery. Doug and Gayle greeted us with smiles and were so charming. I especially loved The Brut Rose, Sav Blanc and Blaufrankisch.

Nice views. Good wines. Beautiful views. They were plenty busy. Ruth was a little edgy with customers and other associates which isn't fun for anyone.

Always a good time here. The staff is friendly and fun, the wine is good, they have events with food trucks and music here and there and it's always nice. Charlie is cool and some of the ladies behind the counter are funny and you can tell they love their job. Definitely worth checking out.

As the owner of a wedding planning & coordination company, I can honestly say that Aurora Cellars is one of my favorite venues to work in the entire state of Michigan. With stunning views, a streamlined process, and a great on-site team, from the perspective of a planner, it doesn't get much better than Aurora! Here are some photos of my projects over the years!

We had a wonderful time at Aurora, and friends even joined the wine club. The wine was great, and the staff was amazing. Thank you to Christie and all of the staff that helped to make our wine tasting more enjoyable. Highly recommend!

I absolutely love their Grüner Veltliner and Brut Rosé! Charlie is incredibly knowledgeable and a fun guy to talk to. Beth was as sweet as she could be and made my visit to Aurora Cellars so special! Dawn is always so very kind when I am there. I cannot recommend this place highly enough. 10/10 will always recommend!!

Wonderful winery- beautiful property, great wine and great staff. Sadly they aren't allowed to have dogs on the property due to the Michigan Agriculture Dept. but that's a small trade off for being able to be right in the vineyard while tasting!

We stopped in here and were amazed by the beauty of the architecture of the building. We did a tasting and we were so lucky to have had Beth! She was amazing. She was so knowledgeable, personable, and made great conversation. We hope that we see her when we come back in October! As for the wine, DELICIOUS. The seasonal cherry cider was probably my favorite, or the brut. The pecan popcorn with the cab was to die for. This was my moms favorite winery!

Stopped here following the Leland Wine festival. Enjoyed a tasting and flight. Beth S. was outstanding, so glad we ended up with her!

Truly one of the best whine places. Being apart of the whine club and get fantastic discounts. Everytime ive been in traverse city I will always come to aurora. Service is usually very good. The atmosphere is also very positive and clean. 100% recommend

Stopped here on a wine tour with a large group. What a nice, relaxing experience. We sampled tons of wines here and enjoyed sitting outside on the outdoor couches on the lawn. Afterward, we walked through the self guided tour through the rows of grapes. It made for a beautiful afternoon in a beautiful setting!

Incredible wines. Beautiful vines. Let them be all mine. Worth the visit. A few unique wines in the Radiance and Blaufrankisch are great flavorful tastes.

Love this place. The setting, the staff, and of course the wine. Worth the drive to beautiful Leelanau county.

Very attentive staff and loved our server Christie. The wines were excellent and uniquely flavored which ended in us joining their wine club!

I attended a wedding at Aurora Cellars earlier this summer. I don't know who of the venue or the event planner did what, but it was a spectacular day and a lovely spot to do it. The outdoor space at the venue was lovely and set up beautifully. The ceremony areas was set in a grassy area near some large trees. There were two outdoor bars for the pre-ceremony rose wine bar and then the pre-reception cocktail hour. They had beer and signature cocktails as well as several of their wines. The staff working were great and the wine was free flowing and pretty tasty! The reception was set up under a large tent with ample seating space and room for a dance floor. The decorations were very complimentary with the surroundings. I can easily see why the couple chose this winery as the venue for their happy day. I liked the wine and the venue enough that I would recommend a visit here, even without a special event. Happy sippin'!

The kindest group of people. We talked for hours with great service and wines. Will be back soon!!

Pulling up was a beautiful view up on the hill but parking lot wasn't big but doable for the size of the tasting room! Then we walked in, we were not greeted upon walking in so we made ourselves at home waiting at the bar to have samples! Finally the server came over and was beyond rude to us, our wine glasses had lip stick rims, she then left our group after 3 samples, so we stood there until another lady walked by to help. Fruit flies everywhere and rude service! And if I'm being honest their wine wasn't even good! Will never go back or support their business!

Such a beautiful place!! The outdoor seating and ambience was stunning! The wine was fine, not the best to me but the outdoor area made up for it

Great tasting wines! Beautiful views! All around a wonderful experience. A nice add to the lake experience

I visited Aurora Cellars as part of an event, not for winery purposes. As a wedding venue, this place is beautiful. There is plenty of outdoor space with plenty of spaces to set up a bar, games, chairs tents, a second bar, etc. It would have been nice to have visited it as just a winery and see what they had to offer, but as an event space it was great.

Just ok. They were setting up for a wedding so we couldn't sit outside. I did buy a bottle of the pear cider which was delicious!

One of the most unprofessional and rude establishments I have ever been to. I was not greeted upon when I entered, hardly was tended to, and the servers were flat out rude. Not to mention the fruit flies everywhere! I did not feel welcomed and this was unfortunately a bruise on what was a great vacation. Highly do not suggest visiting this establishment.

Um, fruit flies? Wines were quite good. Good selection including sparkling and hard ciders. No free crackers or anything but they have water. Very high counter with no stools. Lots of parking.

Not super friendly, decent wine. First stop of our wine tasting trail. In and out in about 5 mins. Glad we shared a flight instead of getting our own.

Beautiful winery with exceptional wines. The people working were great to visit with. Good seating and great views! Highly recommend!

Every once in awhile you come upon a discovery that surprises your senses. I've spent the past 40 years in California's rich wine country. Needing a place to unwind while building a home in Suttons Bay, Michigan, my wife said, "there is this quaint winery not far from us." I wasn't looking for great wine, rather a place to settle down and relax. Aurora's pastoral setting and their remarkable hospitality would have been enough for me to become a wine club member, but the wine surprised me. Admittedly, I had written Michigan off when it comes to red wines, but Aurora's wine maker brings a European style that is intriguing. I've never been 'into whites' but their whites rival any I've had in CA. and their new red release, Blaufrankisch is excellent. Their Pinot Noir and Rosso wines have been fun compliments to their pizza nights, lobster boil and harvest bbq- outings we have enjoyed with family and friends. As a wine club member, this is my go to place to relax.

Poor service, went for an anniversary weekend and we were less than pleased. Rude server and brought up our issues and were given an option for a free wine credit..

I am going to attempt to review each of the nearly 40 wineries in the Grand Traverse area. In an effort to remain as objective as possible, I will be reviewing the wineries based on how well they live up to their vision of winemaking. I am going to agree with the general rating of Aurora at three stars, but point out that some of the other negative reviews kind of miss the mark. I'm sorry, but if you walk in at closing time on an event day, don't be surprised if you get turned away... tasting rooms aren't bars, and some of the worst experiences I have heard from tasting room staff happen at closing time on event days, as people have been drinking as much wine as they can all day long. If you like a winery, go there FIRST. Enough of the rant, the problem I have with Aurora, is that it doesn't really know what it wants to be, and doesn't really even do a good job with that. The tasting staff here is also pretty low on wine knowledge compared to similar places. This is something I blame on management more than anything. To make things worse, there was a bit of a pretentiousness I got from the pourer I had; which is something I loathe, especially when the person doesn't know anything about wine. The setting is pretty, and the wines are pretty good. Though the only one I thought was worth buying was the Gewurztraminer, which in addition to being a varietal I don't usually buy, was actually sweeter than any Gewurtz I have ever bought. It apparently also won a best of class award, but I want to make clear that I never buy wine based on awards, and think the whole world of wine competitions is silly. I really don't have much more to say other than that my experience was just kind of blah, and that they definitely should have spent more developing their wines, and less on the tasting room.

My friends and I often go on wine tasting tours and I think we're celebrating our fifth or sixth year of tasting with many different tours at dozens and dozens of wineries. We all have mixed feelings sometimes about one winery or another but there are a few that we've written off. Aurora is one of them. The tasting room is gorgeous and looks like an adorable little cottage on the hill. The whole place is very well maintained and clean. The decor is dark but elegant and that's why at first, I was really in love with this winery. But then, with each tour we joined, we started to notice that Aurora was the "cheapest" winery of all of the ones on our list. For tours and events, you may a large ticket price and that gets you free pours at all of the wineries on this list. Most wineries offer you three pours of different wines while some are five and some are actually unlimited. It's very common though to be allowed 3-5 pours, usually not including the "featured" wine poured for you at the door. Upon arriving at Aurora for an event, we followed a large group in, got checked in, and they handed us a small snack and poured a little of the "featured" wine into our glass. We tasted the wine in our classes, most of us feeling like it was okay and went over to the bar. That was when we were told that we were not allowed any more pours. All of us were shocked. We've never been to a winery that only allowed one pour and certainly wouldn't even let you pick out the wine it would be. We were all a little irritated. Of the dozen or so wineries in the area that were also on the tour, it was the only place that offered just one pour. It seemed a little cheap to us so we decided to leave. I don't think we've ever actually tried any more wines here to decide if we were fans.

Allison and I had a wonderful experience with having our wedding at Aurora Cellars! Kristi and her team did a great job of making our day so special. Plus they have great wine, so we will be back on our next trip to Traverse City! :)

Today we visited Aurora Cellars. The wine was decent but the employees were very rude and un-welcoming. The winery was a mess as they were setting up for a big event Sat. & Sun. They certainly made us feel like we were inconveniencing them to show up for a tasting. So many great winery options on the Leelenau Peninsula but this one won't be on our list next year. Great wine is one thing we look for, but good customer service and customer appreciation is also important.

The friendliest staff and such good wine! The property is beautiful--a must-visit stop on the wine trail.

Very unfriendly. Only winery we have visited in Leelanau County that wouldn't allow you to have a dog outside on the lawn. Place was empty in the afternoon on a busy day, must be a reason. Both Latitude 45 and Leelanau Cellars get our vote.

Aurora is our "go to happy place". In 2017 we were new to the area (having moved from wine country in northern CA) so we were thrilled to find this sweet spot! We love the pastoral setting; peaceful and uncomplicated - we see why so many choose this venue for their weddings. We come here to enjoy delightful wine, Aurora's warm and engaging staff (the manager, Dawn is exceptional) and to savor the moment after a busy day. My favorites are Luminous, Pinot Gris, the Rieslings and their latest creation Blaufrankisch! We are intrigued by the growing wine industry in MI but what makes Aurora captivating is that it feels like home - and isn't that what the beauty of wine is all about - joyful times with family and friends.

This establishment is a disgrace. They are unprofessional and their so called morals belong in the trash. A friend had to make the difficult decision to cancel their wedding due to the rise in Covid and they would not even entertain giving any kind of refund back. They lied on various levels and kept money that they didn't even "work for" yet. Our friends have been working the front lines during this GLOBAL PANDEMIC and you would think a company would reevaluate policies as pandemics don't come along often. If you want to give your money to people like this feel free, but for me and mine we will not support any company like this.

This was our second stop on a wine tour and right when we walked up the staff was rude. When we asked questions, they were answered as if we were a burden. 4 of us on the tour ordered the chocolate pairing, I noted that my pours were considerably less than the others, the response that I received when I asked for them to be equal was "well I am actually doing the right thing and pouring correctly". The wine was decent, but I was so turned off by the slow/poor service that I am not sure if I will return.

My husband Tom and I love Aurora Cellars! We had our wedding at Aurora Cellars 8-1-2020 and it was truly the most beautiful and happiest day of our lives! I fell in love with Aurora Cellars the first time we visited. I remember having a moment during our first tour of the Estate Property where I could envision all of our friends and family there having a great time. That's when I knew this was the place we were going to get married. The ceremony site is so romantic! It was definitely one of the main parts of this venue that sold me. The big lush willow tree in front of the pond is breathtaking - I still get chills every time I see it! It was such an intimate and naturally beautiful place to say our vows and I do's. The reception tent is such a lovely setting for a large outdoor gathering. The bistro lighting and chandeliers are charming touches to enhance this outdoor space. Watching all our guests enjoying dinner together at the big beautiful farm tables decorated with floral was a wonderful thing to see. Luckily we had perfect weather for our wedding so we kept the sides of the tent off. But if it does rain, there are sides that can be put on the tent and heaters in the tent if it gets cold. The farmhouse is amazing! This was another big part about the venue that sold me. The farmhouse was built in 1875 so it has a lot of unique history and character. It has been beautifully renovated to become this perfect mix of old world charm with modern day design. There are three wonderful gathering spaces in the farmhouse - the dining room, kitchen and living room, all of which are beautifully decorated. The dining room was a great place to eat breakfast with the wedding party the morning of and the morning after the wedding. The kitchen was the perfect place to do hair for the bridesmaids and myself - plenty of seating room, counter space, electrical outlets, etc. The living room was the ideal place for the wedding party to gather in before the ceremony. There are three big beautiful bedrooms upstairs that have plenty of closet space, extra pillows, blankets, towels, etc. I used one of the upstairs bedrooms to get ready in and do my first look pictures with my bridesmaids - it was very special. I loved the unique butler's pantry - it was the perfect place to store all our extra wedding décor. There are also two very nice bathrooms in the farmhouse (one upstairs and one downstairs) and each one has a shower. The downstairs bathroom just off the butler's pantry is bigger and had perfect lighting to do wedding makeup for my bridesmaids and myself. The best part about the farmhouse is that it is included in the venue price for you to stay in from Thursday - Sunday! I could not find another venue in Michigan that offered a deal as great as this! Having the farmhouse, ceremony site and reception site all next to each other made everything so convenient and easy! All our wedding planning and communication with Aurora Cellars was handled through the Events Manager - Kristi Brown. Our experience with Kristi was so wonderful from beginning to end. She made us feel like part of the Aurora Cellars family ever since our first meeting with her back in December of 2018. She is so friendly, professional, fun, trustworthy, knowledgeable and resourceful. She really helped us in the beginning by giving us great vendor, lodging, and transportation recommendations. We had great communication with her every step of the way and she always responded in a timely manner. She really knows what she is doing and we were so lucky to have her! She is amazing and truly a special member of the Aurora Cellars team. Kristi and the Aurora Cellar's team were so amazing helping us plan our wedding safely during the COVID pandemic. She stayed up to date on the COVID restrictions, made sure the venue was following all the precautions and ensured that we all still had a great time celebrating! I want to give a huge thank you to Kristi and the rest of the Aurora Cellars Team! You all are the best and we couldn't have had a better wedding! Last but not least I just want to say that Aurora Cellars has amazing wine! Our favorite sparkling wine is the Serata Demi-Sec. Our favorite white wines are the Pinot Gris, Luminous and Late Harvest Vignoles. Our favorite red wines are the Cabernet Franc, Radiance, Blaufränkisch and Rosso. If you are interested in getting married at a winery in northern Michigan this is the one to do it at!

Dawn was very rude and had poor customer service. If you want to feel uncomfortable and have Dawn tell you to "wait by the door" this is the place to go!

There's a lot to be said for great service. We tasted here after a very disappointing experience at 45 North. (In truth any experience would have been better). Our server was friendly, really personable, and knew a lot about what she was pouring. Of the five we tasted, two stood out as worth purchasing; the Blanco and Luminous. We took two bottles of Luminous, a light, summer blend that would please a variety of tastes. We will definitely return.

The wine was fantastic & the service was fun & attentive. The tasting room makes you feel as though you might be in an european winery, tasting wine & laughing with the wine makers! This little gem is worth the trip - don't skip it!

We found this place probably 7 years back on one of our drives through the area and really enjoyed it. We returned each time we were in the area, and until this last time we would have given it a solid 4 or 5 stars. We liked the wines, and loved the ambiance and the staff was always great. The place must have changed ownership because last summer the visit was nothing short of awful. First they've ruined the lovely aesthetic of the location by installing what the staff tell us is essentially a permanent tent out front during the summer months so they can easily host weddings etc. Second the interior was full of flies. Third the staff were unfriendly and unhelpful. Lastly the nice little plate of olives, cheese and crackers you can order didn't come out for ages and was of notably lower quality than it had been on past visits. Obviously we will never bother coming back and we suggest you don't bother to visit in the first place.

A lovely newer addition to the wineries in the area. The Radiance is surprisingly full-bodied for a red from this area, and the Luminous is such an easy-drinking, delicious summer wine. We enjoyed our tasting and a friendly chat with the host. I wish we'd thought to get a cheese plate, but got a sample of olives before purchasing them. We're looking forward to seeing how their wines develop!

Just ok. Tasting portions too small for the price, only 1-2 sips of each wine, 5 for $7 and I don't think was even 1 full glass of wine. Cute tasting room tho!

Sip and savor... Showed up at the very end; yes... Anxious to try and buy. Arrived in time to have staff lock door in our faces. Shame... We were ready to enjoy and spend time and money. Huge group. Their loss. Always save Aurora for last because we so enjoy. Next time we move to another winery more welcoming.

We visited here 3 years ago. Decided to try again. Apparently we weren't welcome back. There were 4 of us. We got up to the bar and were greeted and given menus. That young lady disappeared immediately. There was another young lady working behind the wine bar, who was just finishing up someone else. Once they left, she greeted and started helping another couple who came in after us. She gave them her complete and undivided attention. All the while we are waiting for someone to help us. We waited 10 minutes at least and then we just walked out since we were never acknowledged again after the initial greeting. I suppose in the end we should thank you. As a result we went to a different winery we otherwise wouldn't of gone to. We were only planning on 1 or 2 more wineries before we drove 3 hours home. As a result we discovered Nathaniel Rose winery. The 4 (2 couples) of us spent nearly 500 and both couples joined the wine club. I suppose this could of been you, but we will never know.

Hospitality. One of the best parts of visiting a tasting room is learning about wines, where they come from and the ambiance. After a bike ride up hilly roads along the peninsula this place was an oasis. My husband and I stopped in about an hour before closing and the ladies serving were so friendly and hospitable. After deciding that he would ride back for the car so we wouldn't ride in the dark, the ladies welcomed me back inside to make myself at home and offered me complimentary snacks while I waited. They welcomed in a couple coming in 6 minutes before closing...no trouble. Wines - we tried a number of whites all good, the Chardonnay and Pinot Gris were very nice.

I was pretty bummed by my first visit to this new winery. I love me some TC wineries and try to visit any new ones so this was a must on my list of ones to hit up. Realized right away when I got there that it was the same building and winery as one that was there before. They really didn't do a ton different to the space. Anyway, first bad sign is that they have lovely outdoor patio seating, but wouldn't let our dogs out on the patio. No idea why since it is outside and you don't have to go inside to get to it (other than having to step over a few flowers). Plus the woman who told us said we could have a seat the dogs would just have to wait outside. Considering this lady didn't say who she was to be giving us these rules, it was a bit odd, just some lady sitting outside drinking and eating. We went in to taste and the wines were just OK, I honestly don't think we liked a single one enough to buy it. While we were there the lady from outside (owner? manager? no clue..) went up to the register and was loudly telling the person about the discount she wanted off of her bill. Didn't look at us or say another word to us after the doggie conversation. The folks behind the bar doing the tastings were both really nice though. Anyway...with all the new wineries popping up in TC some of these newbies need to be a little friendlier to their guests and put a little more thought into their guest experience!