From Cars to Vines

Filed in archive Vineyards on July 20, 2007

Perhaps people associate Michigan with auto manufacturing (thanks to the city of Detroit), but it's actually the country's eighth-largest wine-growing state. Currently 1,500 acres of vines are planted and there's a push to dramatically increase that number.

From Forbes.com:

The Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council wants to increase wine-grape production to 10,000 acres by 2024 - an expansion it hopes will provide a bit of a boost to the state's sluggish economy.

Last year, the state handed out more than $265,000 in grants as incentives to expansion-minded growers and winery owners. Some of the money was spent on new equipment, such as machines that prune vines. One grant went toward the development of a premium vodka distilled from grapes.