Sister Act: Sandhill Crane Vineyards, Jackson, Michigan

One of the newer wine growing regions in the state of Michigan is the Michigan Pioneer Trail.  The lands of the Wine Trail include Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe and Washtenaw counties of Southeastern Michigan.  On a recent October, Sunday afternoon WWOL interviewed sisters Holly Balansag (Winemaker) and Heather Price (Marketing) of Sandhill Crane Vineyards - a family owned and operated winery.  Together they have carved out a niche in the Michigan wine scene, one that many of us would envy.  Each family member has an important place in the winery.  Heather and Holly's mother,  Alice, and Aunt Anne, work in the tasting room.  Their father, Norman-Proprietor, oversees vineyard operations with Rosie the Airedale standing guard and acting as hostess when you arrive. 

Neither Holly nor Heather had designs of being in the wine industry but for those lucky few, sometimes satisfying careers chose us. Their father, Norman, began making wine as a hobby decades ago eventually turning the land where the winery is located into a commercial vineyard and winery in 2003.  

Holly started out as a photographer which led to other entrepreneurial endeavors during her non-winemaking years.  Holly's first contribution at Sandhill Crane winery was tending to the vineyard but it soon became clear that she had a natural winemaking ability.  She eventually took over the wine making operations with the assistance of her father.   Today she creates a wide range of small-batch, estate-grown wines, many of which have won awards.

Heather, on the other hand, was Vice President of a local museum and today is the Director of the winery in charge of the entire operations end of the business.  She does an amazing job of marketing constantly coming up with interesting events at the winery and has made it a true destination spot.  Together they have become a tour de force of the sisterly-kind, complementing each other where the other one leaves off.  [Heather Factoid: The Great Lakes region has a long history of fruit production, including grapes. In fact the southern section of Michigan was the leading wine producing region in the country following the Civil War.  Who knew?]

Initially the winery began with 9 wines being produced and today they are up to an impressive 28 wines being produced and bottled at the winery.  Some are being made from various non-grape fruit such as the Heirloom Apple, Apple Mead and a Raspberry dessert wine.  All fruit is either grown on the premises or locally grown. Holly’s goal; however, is to use what they grow on the premises and turn out a wine that is true to the grape while adding her own artistic touch. The 2007 Dry Traminette and the Vignoles are both award winning whites.  A WWOL favorite on this visit was the Moulin Rouge (red), an award winning wine, food friendly, and hearty enough to stand up to lamb or a fall stew.  There are also a variety of sweeter wines.  A yum wine in that category is the Rhapsody in Red, a sweet red wine with a hint of raspberry that can be purchased in a chocolate-covered bottle.  Do I hear a match made in heaven? Not to be overlooked, several of the wine’s proceeds also go to charitable organizations.

Sandhill Crane winery is open year round and also has a tasting and sales center inside the Dexter Cider Mill (Michigan).  The winery has a great gift shop displaying many local items. With the holidays approaching make Sandhill Crane Winery a destination.  Take some time to peruse their website at:   www.sandhillcranevineyards.com

Created: 10/25/2008 Edited: 11/16/2008

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