It’s Father’s Day weekend and I had plans to attend the 36th annual Lemon Creek Winery Father’s Day Festival, Michigan’s longest running wine festival! Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event had to be canceled. However, I did get the chance to attend this wonderful event last year, so here’s a rundown of my experience from Father’s Day 2019:
Every Father’s Day for the last 35 years, Lemon Creek Winery in Barrien Springs, MI has held a Corvette Car Show and Wine Festival. This (2019) was my first year attending, and what a time it was! Even if you’re not a car enthusiast, or a dad, there is still great wine to be drunk and an awesome time to be had thanks to the tunes of Libido Funk Circus ( https://lfcentertainment.com ). There was a great turn out of people, in spite of the threat of storms, which luckily held off all day allowing for a humid and partly sunny good time. Now, I love a sexy Corvette!! It’s one of my dream cars; and the Corvettes on display from the club members that participated this year did not disappoint. Sipping a great glass of Lemon Creek’s Double Gold Award Winning Cabernet Sauvignon – Shiraz blend while snapping pics of these classic cars and chatting with car enthusiasts and wine enthusiasts alike was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. There were also tours of the orchards available for those who could pull themselves away from the dance floor long enough.
The most popular wine of the day was hands-down the Silver Beach Sauterne, a Double Gold Michigan State Wine Competition winner. Everywhere I turned people were opening up bottle after bottle of this sweet white wine, a great accompaniment to a humid and sunny summer day. It’s definitely the favorite of my cousin who is friends with the current owner of Lemon Creek, Tim Lemon.
A great event, filled with cars, wine, laughter and warmth (both from the sun and humidity and from the owners, workers, and participants of the event). When speaking to Sheri, an awesome tasting room attendant, I asked her what it was about Lemon Creek and the Festivals they hold that keeps her and others coming back, she said “It’s the feel of the place. The Lemons are such a great family and the care that they put into what they do and the people that work for them, that’s what makes this place so special and keeps people coming back time and time again”.
Located on the Michigan Wine Trail, Lemon Creek Fruit Farm and Vineyard has been a family owned and run operation for the last 161 years. Their wines are 100% estate grown with an emphasis on world class dry red wines (something not strongly associated with Michigan Wines), German varietals and specialty dessert wines, which are a huge hit with Michiganders and visitors alike.
The tasting room is open year round, with U-pick and pre-picked fruits available seasonally. The winery also hosts a variety of summer festivals and events, including an art fair, blues festival, and harvest festival. Though many of these annual events have been put on hold due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, the Lemons are hoping that they will be able to hold some kind of event later this summer. In the meantime their tasting rooms are open and you can check out their website for tasting room hours, events, and updated Covid-19 visitation policies. You can also order their award winning wines and have them shipped to you!
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