Saint Pepin is a Northern Sun Winery gem. It is a delicious dry white table wine with honeysuckle, citrus, floral and grassy notes or flavors that pair nicely with chicken, white wine sauces, any seafood or whitefish plates and even your holiday meals.
St. Pepin is not your average every day white wine, it has "wine diamonds" in the cork to enhance the experience of the wine. These are dissolvable minerals that are released when you uncork the bottle. It is said to be good luck for you to get a mineral in your glass, which shimmers like a diamond hence the name "wine diamonds." Governor Rick Snyder actually had this wine at one of his holiday parties.
Northern Sun Winery is located at 983 10th Rd, Bark River, MI 49807 in the Upper Peninsula just 15 miles west of Escanaba. Unfortunately I have yet to visit the winery. In October we were in Escanaba and didn't realize Bark River was so close. That trip is scheduled for our next Upper Peninsula adventure.
However, we discovered St. Pepin and other UP wines at a tasting room in downtown Munising that carries wines from Northern Sun Winery, Garden Bay Winery, End of the Road Winery and Leigh's Garden Winery.
The UP has a personal meaning to me because my mother grew up in Negaunne and her parents my grandparents would always take me for a week or two up to their cottage and we would travel to learn about the history of the state. I quickly learned that copper and Iron ore was a big part of the economy and grew fascinated with rocks and the landscape of the Upper Peninsula and Michigan in general. I guess, this is where my love of geology stems from. Once I got older and I started enjoying fruits and berries more we would travel to various fruit and berry farms. Being a curious kid I noticed bottles of liquors and wines made from their fruit and berries, of course being curious had me asking how they were made and where the fruit was grown, along with asking to try it. I was 15 at the time so naturally the answer was come back in 6 years when you can legally drink and we'll give you a sample. Heartbroken, but eager to grow up and enjoy the fruit in forms other than pies, jams, jelly and juice.
After learning about the different wineries in the Upper Peninsula at Upper Peninsula Inspired we decided to come back and explore. The tasting rooms are much farther apart from the Lower Peninsula but the drive, scenery, lakes and waterfalls have you never far from a great adventure.