Leelanau Wine Cellars Tasting Room

My family came here for a Leelanau Peninsula wine tasting tour, and this couldn’t have been a more perfect first stop. Mark was our incredible bartender - he was a genuine and friendly informant on all things wine. He even recommended wines based on what our favorites were, you could tell it was a passion. The views were STUNNING and our tasting on a Tuesday was complimentary!! Get on down to this winery right off Lake Michigan.

The best part about this winery is the views which were amazing! We sat on the patio and they welcomed our dog to join us. We purchased a bottle of the sweet red to take home. It’s a must stop when in the region!

Great wine, awesome tastings! The staff are super attentive and knowledgeable in their wine. Always a stop for us when we are in town. Have not had anyone at the tasting area that's less than great but Mark is exceptional!!

My mom & I have been here multiple times and never had an issue. Today, we were completely ignored when we came up to the counter. We waited by the counter for 10 minutes. Another group came in after us and they were quickly serviced, told exactly where to go, and they were served immediately. Right next to where we had been standing. We waited for several more minutes after the other group had been helped, but still we were not acknowledged with a “hello” or “how can I help you”. Shame, because we had always been treated with respect when we had visited the winery in the past. Definitely not writing them off, but very disappointing interaction.

Very good and unique wines. They even have fruit wine made from other fruits besides grapes. Some surprisingly tasty fall wine, and a beautiful view make this place one of our favorites. The lady behind the bar was very nice too.

Delicious wine, great customer service, and an amazing view! Knowing that I buy this wine in stores, I'm glad I was able to go and check out Leelanau Cellars, and see the production facility up the road. Very cool!!

We had a delightful day exploring Leelanau Peninsula. 🍾 Leelanau Wine Cellars Tasting Room in Omena, MI where we were fortunate to meet Jane, our wine hostess. She was OUTSTANDING and found wines that we both really enjoyed! Fantastic! We also have joined their "Wine Club"! Whenever you can, try to get there to experience this wonderful place! ❤️ A++

Visited about 8 wineries this trip, this is definitely the top of the list. The tasting room is right on the lake with great views and a great collection you cannot find or their wine in your local store. Their staff is spectacular. In particular I would like to thank Sue for being amazing if I could give this a higher rating due to Sue alone I would. Incredibly informative and helped us who are novice wine drinkers at best find exactly what we were looking for without us being able to describe our taste preferences ahead of time.

A great place to visit! Beautiful views and lots of amazing wines to choose from. The staff was very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about the wines to sample and how to pair them. Definitely worth your time.

Best wine and best value on the peninsula! Some days, free wine tasting. Other days, you get five to taste! Staff fantastic!

Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5 Views: 5 Hands down the best tasting experience we had on the peninsula. It was the first on the list and certainly didn't disappoint. Mark was extremely knowledgeable and genuinely willing to teach and learn about every bottle! Not only will I be returning again in the next couple weeks but I am seriously considering the wine club membership. We walked out of there with 6 bottles. Dare I need to say more? Cheers!

I've been here a half dozen times since the room opened and I've only ever had a wonderful experience. It isn't the world's greatest wine but everything else makes up for that. Location and view (Omena Bay is so special), also the servers friendliness and their generous pours. Can't wait to return.

Free tasting. Nice variety of wines. Great view of the bay and surrounding area. One of the few places with a view

Bright light and inviting atmosphere for this tasting room located off of the water, with a view to match. You'll be standing at the counter for this one. We had reservations and were taken directly to our spot. You can choose to taste from a wine glass, which will cost you $10 (you keep the glass.) Or, you can taste from a small plastic (sauce on the side style) cup for $5. This is by far, my favorite Michigan brand wine, so I sprang for the wine glass! You taste 5 different wines of your choosing. They sale wine by the bottle and also the glass. I definitely recommend!

Best winery in Michigan. We have 80% of their selections at home already and I vowed to not buy anything more when we arrived for our annual visit. Well wouldn't you know, they have a new wine I haven't tried before! Yup- went home with some new, delicious varieties.

We were visiting the area and stopped in for a wine tasting. We had an awesome tasting and enjoyed our conversation with the wine server. She was even kind enough to deliver a water bowl to our dog waiting on the patio. Awesome experience and I'd highly recommend stopping in for a visit!

We hit up five wineries yesterday (okay, to be exact, four wineries and one cidery) and this was the first one we went to ... and it set the bar high. Not only because the wines were great and the views were amazing, but also because one of my friends on our trip had hyped it up as her favorite winery, too. We did a tasting flight (5 wines), which is FREE ... amazing. If you want to sneak in a 6th wine they will let you do that, too. I ended up buying a glass of the blueberry fruit wine ($3 ... great deal!) and we enjoyed some wine outside on their patio, after the flights. I also bought a bottle of the Tall Ships Riesling ($10) to take home. The views from here are gorgeous and they also have a restaurant, which we didn't try out. The patio area is quite nice for enjoying a glass, too, and you can even pay for your glass after you are finished with it ... they are pretty chill about that. Overall I really liked this winery and would definitely come back when in TC again.

We loved our visit! Annie was so amazing! We had a fantastic tasting with insight on the area and wine to try. Highly recommend doing a wine tasting here and even more highly recommend an experience with Annie helping, she was soooo nice! 100000000/10 recommend

We stopped here as our first official Uncorked Wine tour stop in the Leelaau peninsula. It looks like they are really limiting the amount of people they have inside and are taking serious Covid precautions, so we had to make a reservation ahead of time to get a wine tasting window. When we arrived we noticed a) how beautiful of a spot this place is, and b) how popular it seemed to be because there were so many people seated outside enjoying their wines and the views of the harbor. We were a little early but they were able to accommodate us right away at a tasting window. Our bartender was the designated person for our tasting window so we didn't have to wait for her to give us our next pours. She was very friendly and was easily able to walk us through the selections they had there. We were each able to get up to five free samples. Once our bartender found out what we liked she gave us a few extra samples of different wines she thought we might enjoy. This is a really nice winery and if we lived in the area I could see this being a nice spot to come enjoy some of the new wine selections as they come out. A true local gem!

Awesome wine tasting experience. The workers are helpful and knowledgeable. Also a great deal in wine tasting, not too pricey! The space is AMAZING! and so pretty right in the Omena Bay. The wine is good- nothing too expensive which is also great. My fiance and I are both sweet wine drinkers and they had plenty of options for us.

View was gorgeous. Staff did not seem to enjoy their jobs. Tried dry white and dry red tasting flights. The Pinot Grigio was probably best of the bunch but not good enough to buy a bottle.

Have you ever wondered what the angels cry? The answer is wine from Leelanau Cellar. So I am from Michigan, obviously, but I have never been to Leelanau until June 23rd. I have had the wine that is sold at local stores like Meijer, Walmart, Aldi and so on. My favorite wine is Great Lakes Red. I thought I would hate it because it is a sweet red, but it is little the best thing since sliced bread. I had my mom tried it and said it takes like grape juice (not the grape flavoring but the actual grape juice that's good), and it can be dangerous because it is so good to drink that you forget it's wine. Anyways, I tried 6 samples and grabbed a glass of Late Harvest Riesling and went and had it on the patio. Atmosphere: Beautiful place, loved the décor, and the scenery was amazing. Best location by far for a tasting room. Cost: It didn't cost anything for samples. I brought a cherry wine and it was $8, some others can cost between $11 and $22. Of course, there are $100 and more for bottles but I am not that much of a wino. Overall: If you can't tell on how much I loved it. I would give it a 5 star. And I will be going back!!

If you'd like to enjoy a laid back wine tasting as well as some beautiful views-- look no further! Leelanau Cellars has all you can dream of. We went during off season, however I'd still recommend getting reservations to guarantee yourself a spot. We received 5 complementary wine tastings, and enjoyed a final glass of wine before we left. Mark was very pleasant and extremely informative, making the wine tasting experience that much better. Mark recommend the best tasting wines, based around our choices. We ended up walking out with a dozen different wines to choose from! The views were outstanding, however the service that Mark provided was even better. We will be back again soon! I totally recommend tasting from the wine glass, only $7 and I believe you get a bigger pour

My husband and I went to Traverse City two years ago and stopped here for some wine tasting. It was easy to find and beautiful location right on the water - very tranquil. There were very few people when we went - which was great especially for our wine tasting! It was almost like a personal wine tasting. We were given many wines and our wine person (they must have an official title?!) got to know us and what type of wine we like but he pushed us to try new things, which I appreciated. At that time we were not big with wine knowledge so it was nice that he explained each wine and what it brings to your palette. He continued to offer us different wines and we never felt like we were annoying him or asking for too much wine. Sipping on wine and looking out at the bay cannot be beat! We ended up going nuts and purchasing a lot of the wines we tasted. We took a whole box home and still enjoying these wines. We also walked to the back of the tasting room and enjoyed the water/views.

Great wines and atmosphere. franc de franc is a keeper! Grounds are beautiful a wonderful way to spend the afternoon!

Went with my wife and mother and the hostess was very rude and they are not handicap friendly my mother can not stand for long periods of time so they would not let us do a tasting will not be going back.

Wonderful selection, atmosphere, and wine club. We come on Sundays and Mondays to see a very wonderful employee who seems to unfortunately only work those days. We wish she worked more. All in all. Wonderful everything!

We had such a great time! We go every year for wonderful tastings and the staff is incredible. Mark and Scott are hilarious but explain everything as it should for the best tastings. We go back every year for the great service and tastings! Please stop by for one of the best places in TC.

Beautiful spot, but the staff member was beyond rude. Everything we asked about was met with a short, curt answer. Felt like we were an inconvenience. No reason for that, so no reason for us to spend my money here. We left.

We like the vibe and the wine, but they don't accept cash for any purchases. I won't support any company that doesn't accept cash.

We just loved our experience at this tasting room. I had been here a few years ago with one of my friends and couldn't wait to share this beautiful place with my #pic. Located on the Leelanau Peninsula, this tasting room not only has fantastic wines, but breathtaking views. The water in the bay area is such a fantastic shade of of blue and turquoise. It's worth a trip up this way just for the view of the water. We ended up enjoying a wine tasting and ended up buying a few bottles. We liked the fruity wines: Cherry, Raspberry and Blueberry. These are not our typical types, he is a pinot man and I enjoy my cabs, but these wines were light and refreshing. We were looking forward to chilling our own bottle and enjoying it back at our hotel on the balcony. We ended up grabbing a glass, sitting out on the back deck, looking out at this view of Michigan. This is a must stop on your beverage trail.

My favorite winery in the area! The first five tastings are free and the wine is amazing! I would recommend the dessert wines the most but keep in mind that you can't get a glass of them. A tasting is served with a Hersey's kiss to give you an idea of the full depth of flavor. All the wines are really reasonably priced and well worth it! If you can snag a spot on the patio, it's a perfect place to enjoy the view with a glass. A lot of their stuff is available at grocery stores, so I'd suggest focusing on the stuff that doesn't come in cans like the winter white.

Unfortunately during this time, we couldn't do any wine tasting without a reservation, but the guy who worked there was very helpful, was still able to serve us a glass of wine, and recommend a few other places to try out. Witches Brew is one of my favorite wines - I got a coffee mug of that which was super cute. Beautiful view too, right on the water.

Today we stopped in for some wine. We have been to all the wineries in northern MICHIGAN and can say this place is always a highlight. Friendly staff and great prices. Today Faye was our wine expert and I cannot express how friendly and approachable she was. She was Exceptional and we will be back because of her. GREAT job Faye! Keep up the great work.

Leelanau Cellars is my absolute favorite wine! I happened to try their wine several years ago when I was browsing the Michigan wine selection at my local Meijer and I hardly choose any other wine since. Now, I am not a wine aficionado by any means, but I do love a good sweet wine and Leelanau definitely delivers! My husband and I scheduled a wine tasting when we were in the area which was very easy to do on their website. The tasting room was absolutely beautiful with stunning views of the bay. The woman who did our pours was phenomenal! I am so bad at remembering names so unfortunately, I can't give her the proper shout-out. I right away told her that I only preferred sweet wines and she was able to point me in the proper directions on the paper wine list (quite a bit to choose from on both the sweet and traditional red/white sides - way more of a selection than your local Meijer). We received 5 complimentary pours each (although I am pretty sure she gave us 1-2 more because she was full of recommendations). She also mixed their white sangria wine with the Lakeshore Farms Cranberry and I cannot recommend this combination enough! It was so good that I purchased a glass of the mix to enjoy on the patio and then bought some bottles of both (among others) to enjoy at home. Everything about our experience was wonderful and made me fall in love with the brand even more. Cannot wait to come back on our next trip up North!

Great experience! They even had a dog friendly patio! No tastings but we were able to get a glass of wine and bring it to the encoded and heated patio!

Such a great winery that will always hold such a special place in my heart! My fiancé proposed here! Great wines, gorgeously stunning views and a very hospitable staff, what more could you want? I mean after they found out my fiancé proposed to me at their tasting room they shipped me a congratulations package for our engagement! Class acts all the way around! I can't wait to come back for another tasting this weekend!

The view is beautiful and wines are good. Try the Dry Riesling if you like Pinot Grigio types it is excellent! Only docked a star due to lack of explanations while doing the tasting. Our server just came to refill the glass when finished but didn't provide as much guidance while choosing or an explanation of notes while tasting which is to me part of the experience in tasting. Still very nice when we had questions just wish there was more guidance during the tasting. Go for the glass to when tasting you get a bigger pour and get to keep the glass. I'm big on supporting local wineries while I'm here so I bought 6 bottles to come back home with!

OK, let's start with the fact that Lori was our wine advocate/tasting enabler. Just go ask for her! She made the experience and added a few twists on a traditional "Here are your five" tasting. I am impartial about wine, but this was fun as an interactive and fun stop. Wines were great in my opinion, but it would have to taste pretty bad for me to even notice if they were bad. All in all, we ended up scoring a super deal on some wines we (the gf) liked which just happened to be heavily discounted. Go here, get Lori as your guide, and enjoy!

This place is excellent. I would go here just to hang out even if they didn't give you free wine because they have a beautiful place on the bay. I highly recommend going here in fall because the drive up the peninsula with all of the beautiful fall colors is gorgeous. I thought that the staff was very friendly and knowledgeable and not wine-snobby at all. They have a HUGE variety of wines and they're all very reasonably priced. You get a 10% discount if you buy 6 bottles too, so I definitely did that... I liked that they packed it all up for me and even carried it to my car too!

My wife & I love this place! Such a great view for a wine tasting experience. The guy who did our tasting was older, educated, down to earth & fun. He lead us through the tasting with great suggestions & we were not disappointed. And their prices for the bottles you're naturally convinced to purchase at the end (not pressured at all to buy any though) are really reasonable prices. We're fans of this place big time. We found a couple 'regulars' we'll buy here & there back at home from the grocery store but will always come back here to taste again. BTW - Get the Witches Brew for hot serving - wow, amazing

What a view!!! Loved this tasting room! The staff was so friendly and helpful in selections! The wine was great and they have a deals when you purchase multiple bottles. They also were one of the only places still doing tastings during COVID and we appreciated that so much and were able to support by purchasing bottles. We will make this a staple any time we are in the area.

Staff was the best! We did a tasting and had a great time with it. Our host took his time with us, made suggestions based off what we liked. We were looking forward to sitting on the deck and enjoying a few glasses, but the cover they have obstructs the view, it's not very clear. They were kind to let us enjoy the view inside. Can't wait to visit again.

I enjoyed the location being on the water. However, the aesthetic of other tasting rooms in the area were better. I really enjoyed the tastings I had with Nick. He was great, knowledgeable and fun! The reds were okay (but we all LOVED the Meritage and Rose) but the whites and sweet wines are what they are known for.

The view of the bay is gorgeous. Unfortunately, even with a completely empty tasting rail, they told us they couldn't help us. Said we could hang out for 20 minutes or so to see if any reservations canceled. We could've been done and gone in 20 minutes with money in their pocket for tasting fees and bottles of anything that suited our fancy, but alas, it was not to be. I would recommend waiting until post COVID to visit this place or make sure you have a reservation.

Gorgeous tasting room right on the water coupled with unlimited free tastings makes me a happy wine drinker. Unfortunately, as Jay H. alludes to, the wines tend to be of the easy drinking variety and not particularly complex or interesting. Still, there are several tasty options here. I like the Witches' Brew, a mulled wine that they keep warm on a pot to serve, and the Tall Ships Chardonnay. The wines are very reasonably priced here, with many selections below or at the $10 mark. Because there are a lot of types of wine at Leelanau Cellars, and this is an unlimited free tasting, a designated driver (or a lunch immediately following tasting) is highly recommended. We found the adjacent Knot Just a Bar to be merely ok in terms of food, but you get to prolong the gorgeous view and soak up some of the wine in your belly.

First off when you pull up it's the most beautiful view right on the lake! And inside it's all glass looking over the lake. FREE wine tasting up to 5 wine samples.. How amazing is that! Everyone was so informative and helpful with helping you choose wine based on what you like/don't like! And wine prices are beyond reasonable! If you buy 6 bottles you get 10% off and 12 bottles you get 15% off! Hands down favorite winery of our trip and will forsure go back if in the area!

Stopped in today on the way down to Sutton's Bay. Wine wasn't bad (Baco Noir and Mertiage were the best we sampled). The views were stunning. The person who led our "tasting" could have been much better. When we arrived and asked how she was since indicated she was tired and was ready to be done with the day- she still had 2 hours to go. To say she was crabby would be an understatement. Additionally, she asked what I was sampling (I gave her my sheet) and she snapped "I don't have my glasses, you'll need to read them to me." The wine tasting did not educate me any more on the wines nor entice me to spend more time or buy more, hence my rating. Beautiful place in a beautiful part of the country but unfortunate service.

One of our favorite wineries of the weekend, Leelanau Cellars was our last top on our magnificent day of wineries, friends, and giggles. Free tastings up in here, ya'll. Good to know, cuz most of the wineries we visited had a $5 fee for five tastings. Not too bad, for sure, but when you hit up one that will let you taste for free? You feel all sorts of special. The pourers (who happen to be the nicest ones we encountered all day) were friendly and engaging, and they gave great explanations for the different wines we were trying. Special shout-out to the fabulous Sharon for her perfect pours. Furthermore, the view is spectacular. Massive windows line the length of the tasting room where you can get a spectacular view of the lake. Perfect for picture-taking on a rainy, but still colorful October afternoon. I left here with a lovely bottle of Cab Franc and fabulous memories of a lovely day with my closest girlfriends. While Leelanau may have been our last stop for the wine weekend, the friends and giggles haven't stopped. What can I say, I might be just learning how to pick wines, but I am an expert when it comes to picking my girlfriends.

Friendly staff (Mark). Absolutely the best view around. Great tasting wine with great prices. We will return.

I challenge you to find a better (closer) view of Lake Michigan while you sample free wine from a local vineyard. *The drive out is beautiful. *If Sharon the wine tasting gal is there, say hello. Large selection of table and premium wines, starting at around $4 per bottle, up to around $20. Case discounts. Beautiful setting, clean wooden floors and a long wine tasting bar the length of the tasting room. Oh, and a fireplace. And, a restaurant and full bar right next door. (Knot, Just a Bar). Sample the port, and you get a dark chocolate. Sample the witches brew, and you get it warmed up. Say hi to mom, and you might get a hug. Truly, unbiased...its one of the best winery experiences on this peninsula, and it's certainly worth a try. If you are disappointed, please stop at the Soaring Eagle Casino on the way back to town to make yourself feel better (or worse?). :)

A group of friends and I went wine tasting in the area over the weekend and Leelanau Cellars was our first stop. It was pretty crowded and unfortunately the woman pouring for us was rude. I marked the wines I wanted to try on the paper they provide, but when I handed it to her, she said, "I don't have time to read, just tell me what you want." Um, okay. She also complained to us about people who were asking if the wine was fermented in oak barrels and kept saying "that's above my pay grade." She was really off-putting and it made me want to get out of there as soon as possible. I tried my samples and left. The tasting room itself is nice with a beautiful view of the bay but it really started out our day on a sour note.

What a great experience! I would LOVE to go back in the summer and drink wine by the water. Free unlimited wine tasting was fabulous! There were a few snack samples, like pretzels and dips, but I highly recommend eating first at Knot Just a Bar, which is attached and also delicious (see my 4-star review for them). Most of their wine is amazingly cheap too- I bought a delicious apple wine for $6! I'm kicking myself now for not buying half a case... I highly recommend the green apple wine, the Late Harvest Riesling, and the Vintage Port (for sampling anyway... a bottle of the port is $24!). I can't say enough about what a wonderful time we had up here. I can't get back soon enough!

The owner of the B&B at which I stayed recommended I check out this tasting room. I'm glad I did -- the view alone is worth it! They've got a great space right on the bay -- with huge windows so that you can look out onto the water as you taste a variety of Leelanau wines. There are 2 great things about doing wine tastings in Michigan. 1) Most of them are free, 2) the people who work in the tasting rooms tend to be friendly, down to earth and supremely helpful. I walked in late on a weekday afternoon, and I could have chatted and tasted for a long time, as I was the only one there, and the employee helping me would probably have let me taste all 20 or 25 wines had I wanted. I did buy 2 bottles....just doing my part to support the Michigan economy!

This is a must go to when you are wine tasting in Leelanau. Their tasting room is on the water with amazing views. The staff is friendly and will give free tastings of whatever you want! We tasted 7 wines and came home with 2 of them. I love their cranberry wine it tasted like fall. I plan to add champagne to it for a nice festive drink. They also have a great pinot noir that we got. If your into fruit wines they have a ton. If you are more into dry reds or crisp whites this may not be the place for you since they only have a few dry reds.

If I could give this place a zero I would. We came in on a nice August day after having gone next door for lunch. Since we had decided to do a little winery tour, we figured why not stop here first! BIGGEST MISTAKE. Why?? The staff was incredibly rude and disinterested and there are SOO many other places to go in the TC area, I DO NOT need that attitude. For example: my boyfriend and I wanted to go in and check out the pricing for the tasting before we committed to it. Instead of replying like a normal human should, they ignored us for 15mins and when we finally could get their attention they told us we needed to wait until the bar completely emptied out before they could serve us AND still didn't answer our question! TLDR version?: Don't waste your time. There are so many other, friendlier wineries to go to around here and this is NOT one of them.

Another stop on the Mom & Me tasting tour. For those of you who visited Leelanau Cellars 10 years ago in their little tasting room up the road from Omena, things have changed quite a bit! The current location occupies a beautiful and bright waterfront location in "downtown" Omena. It is so nice that I am giving them an extra star for the setting. Having been around for a while, the have a pretty lengthy list of wines, with perhaps 20 available for tasting. Lots of options. The staff is friendly, chatty, and unassuming. They keep enough people behind the counter to ensure quality service and attention. My favorite by far was their 2008 Reserve Chardonnay, which was one of the most expensive at $16, but still quite reasonable for the quality. The 08 Leelanau Chardonnay and White Sangria were also both quite nice. The Baco Noir Rosé was a surprise that I wasn't expecting to enjoy but that ended up being good enough to find a spot in the case we took home. Overall, a great location with good service and respectable wines. Definitely worth a stop.