Blackstar Farms knows a thing or two about experiences. Starting as a simple vineyard, they have grown into a world-class experience that includes a lust hotel, beautiful horses, hiking and all kinds of activities. Sherri Fenton, General Manager shares with us the history of Blackstar Farms, what you can expect when you go, and how they made it to 25 years in this very competitive business!
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Transcript
Part of my family's goal was to create a destination, world class hospitality experience for guests. So if you're going to have that kind of an experience, it needs to be a full experience. to set the tone for what true hospitality truly could be.
Cliff Duvernois:Hello everyone and welcome back to Total Michigan, the show where we interview ordinary Michiganders who are doing some pretty extraordinary things. We are in the Traverse Wine Coast this week interviewing some pretty cool people, doing some amazing things. And I always love traveling up north in the summertime 'cause it's a great time to take the opportunity to get out, enjoy some wine, enjoy some beautiful country. And today we are fortunate enough to have Blackstar Farms open their doors and allow us to come in. And joining me today is Sherri Fenton, the general manager of Blackstar Farm. Sherri, how are you?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:I'm wonderful. Thank you very much.
Cliff Duvernois:Excellent. Once again, thanks for having us here today. Really appreciate it.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:I'm delighted and I'm delighted that you've come to the right spot on Traverse Wine Coast.
Cliff Duvernois:Oh, sweet Moses. Smell the roses. This place is gorgeous and we're gonna get to that in just a second. So before we jump into all the good stuff, if you would just take a couple minutes in, just explain to us what is Blackstar Farms? What all did you entail?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:Wow. Okay, number one Blackstar Farms is a winery. We started initially as a winery, and we, quickly added on an Inn because this property that we purchased, this beautiful a hundred and acre 160 acres, had a fantastic almost completed house on it, which we turned into an inn. And opened that the first fall after purchasing the property in the spring. So we are a winery. We're an inn. We are Bistro Polarius a Mediterranean inspired bistro. We are an event destination. We're a destination wedding venue. We're a place to go hiking. We're a place to come bring the kids and look at the horses and the baby goats. We are a lot of things.
Cliff Duvernois:Yes you are. There's a lot more to, Blackstar Farms is just a winery and you're right. So why don't you tell us, just to do a recap, 'cause this is the second time you've been on the show. But just for a quick recap, tell us a little bit about where you're from and where you grew up.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:So personally, I'm from Michigan, but I grew up overseas. Okay. And that was part of the inspiration for Blackstar Farms was that my parents spent a lot of time when we were living in Wales and Belgium, going to wineries in Western Europe. So they were able to get a flavor for what fine wine truly was and develop an appreciation for it. So as we fast forwarded and moved back to Michigan and were vacationing up north up here in the Traverse City area, my father recognized that people were starting to plant grapes. They were making pretty decent wine. So he planted his first 40 acres on Old Mission Peninsula in the early nineties. Blackstar Farms, this property in Sutton's Bay popped up on the market in the mid nineties. And so purchasing that, it was a natural foray into, Hey, I'm already growing, producing grapes. we could start a winery. Sure. So we found a fantastic wine maker who was still with us to this day and we have been making extraordinary, increasingly extraordinary wine for 25 years now.
Cliff Duvernois:So let me ask you this question, cause it's quite a leap from going from, I'm interested in wine to I'm gonna go out and plant 40 acres. Has your dad ever shared the reason why he decided to try to grow his own grapes and make his own wine?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:Because why not? He's a risk taker. He is a risk taker. Why not? So he is an, involved in many different businesses and if something grabs his interest, he jumps in.
Cliff Duvernois:So your dad's an entrepreneur.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:He is very much an entrepreneur.
Cliff Duvernois:Okay, so that explains right there. You should have just led with that. Beautiful. Absolutely love it. Okay, so we've got Blackstar Farms and this place is like up and running. And at some point in time your parents asked you to join the business. So talk to us a little bit about that. What was your thoughts coming in about taking over the business, being the general manager?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:the two partners that were really mostly involved in this business for many years, were my parents, Kerman, Sally Campbell, and then Don and Mary Luco. this other couple were also initial investors. There were two others who bowed out. earlier on. And so when our family bought out the Coss at the end of 2015, that's when my father tapped me on the shoulder ah, and said, I need you to leave your non-profit that you're working for and come join us. So I stepped in essentially, on the heels of the other managing partner.
Cliff Duvernois:Now coming in, you've got this business that's established out there and they want you to come in and run it. What was, what were some of the skills that you brought over? 'cause you said you were working for a nonprofit or running a nonprofit at the time.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:for a nonprofit, Working.
Cliff Duvernois:So what was some of those skills that you transferred over to really start to, to make this place go?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:Initially I came on board and headed up marketing and public affairs. Okay. So I, I took over the marketing and the just our public voice and started maybe reaching out and doing different things and getting our team on board to I perhaps think a little bit differently about some things. I've also been, have a background in sales. So I love to talk about Blackstar Farms and love to sell the opportunities that we present here. And so those are a couple of the main things that I really brought to the farm.
Cliff Duvernois:And over the years, 'cause you said that this started out as a vineyard and then within the first year you've added an Inn. And it seems like you're adding all the time to, to what Blackstar Farms is. So first off the, I know that you said that you built it in cause the house was almost completed. What was it like to turn that on? like I said, it's just, it's quite a leap to just have just a vineyard. You've got a tasting room, people come in, take, but all of a sudden, people could spend the night. So talk to us a little bit about getting that up. Getting that up and running. What was that like?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:So part of my family's goal was to create a destination, world class hospitality experience for guests. So if you're going to have that kind of an experience, it needs to be a full experience. So bringing the house to life. The house had a private bathroom with each bedroom. It was a natural just yes, do that now. And so allowing people the opportunity to come up and to stay at a winery adds a whole new dimension. we have guests who come up for a couple of days in the wintertime, get one of our suites with a fireplace. They eat here. They have some wine tasting. If they take a nap, or read a book, they don't even want to leave because this is so as you can see here, it's just so peaceful. And it's idyllic and it's a wonderful escape from the real world or the big cities that many people come to us from. so just creating that awesome experience. you get to stay here, you get to see, you get to walk and observe what's going on on the crush pad. You'll see the grapes coming in. You see the workers up in the vineyard, in the estate vineyard. You get to see it all going on. So why not stay and be a part of it?
Cliff Duvernois:Actually, I really like that. The fact that this is a working farm. You can see exactly how the wine is being made. And then you've got a really nice room to go back to at the end of the day. Or if you just wanna stay and grab a bite to eat and maybe you've had one too many,
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:then that's even better, right? No cars involved.
Cliff Duvernois:No cars involved. And in addition to this, so you started off with the Inn. And I know you've got equestrian. You got horses running around here. where did that idea come from?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:sound like a wacky idea. doesn't it?
Cliff Duvernois:Well, if you've had too many, it might be a wacky idea, but it's beautiful and for some reason it fits. So talk to us, where did that idea come from?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:So the gentleman who was building the house, his wife rode dressage. So he built her these beautiful stables. There was on the property and still is a centennial barn, which was built in the late 18 hundreds. So that was the hay barn for the horses. It's now I might add an event space, For cool weddings. But there was that centennial barn and then he built a huge indoor riding arena for her to ride indoors during the winter as well as an outdoor riding arena. So when our family purchased the property, it was so gorgeous. And like you said, who doesn't love seeing horses? Like we just saw one walk by right before we started the podcast. It's just beautiful. So my father would call it marketing. And we just love it. So we have just kept it going. We have anywhere between 20 and 27 horses on this property, privately boarded at any point in time. It just adds a different element to our winery experience that helps, makes us, make us really special.
Cliff Duvernois:Wow. I find myself at a little loss for words there. So it seems like for this property here then your parents buying it, it seems and of course this is the entrepreneur side coming out, but there's just a lot of infrastructure was already in place when your parents bought this and was it always the plan just to turn everything on and let's just see where it goes? Or was it kinda hey, let's just feel this out and just do one thing at a time? It
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:It just fell into place. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. A piece at a time. the tasting room. That is adorned with gorgeous, this post and beam structure. the tasting room was built that first year when we started the business. Sure. but that's been added onto outdoor terraces and, more outdoor areas because everybody comes up to Northern Michigan wants to be outside if they can. We just built a new pavilion and opened that up last week with a concert from Interlochen Arts Academy. But yeah, things just kept getting added. This building that we're sitting in front of right now, Bistro Polaris, was an open air mirror barn. It was turned into a, market. Then it was turned into, we incubated a business called Nine Bean Rows. And so we built this wood-fired oven in there, which we now use for pizzas. Used to be used for things like amazing European style croissants. So that business is up in Suttons Bay. And we still have this fantastic. Wood-fired oven. So this building started morphing and is now a restaurant. So things just developed over time. The event business people started coming here and looking around and then thought, I'd really love to have my daughter's wedding here, or, whatever it might be. or we should bring our board meeting here. Look how much fun that would be like when the meetings are done. So things just started happening. It was, never really truly a grand vision beyond the winery and the bed and breakfast. And here we are.
Cliff Duvernois:and things just keep adding
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:We just keep adding things. So I happen to acquire a carriage before my horse I fell upon a fantastic carriage and then had to seek out somebody who was a trained driver and had a horse that could pull it. Because you can't just grab a dressage horse to pull a carriage, right? So now we can offer carriage rides to the top of the vineyard before a wedding and bring the bride and groom down after they're married because it fits. We've got a really cool wagon and we'll give wagon rides. That's one of our silver anniversary things that we're doing this fall. Just a little family fun, free wagon rides at the end of October when the colors are amazing around here. So we just just keep adding different things.
Cliff Duvernois:one of the things that I would like to explore is when we started this conversation, we were talking about just the vineyard. And then your language had started using terms like experience and destination, which is actually what I was thinking about when I was standing here looking at awe at your place. I was like, this is not a vineyard. This is a destination. At what point in time did you make that? And you say, you know what? We are no longer just a vineyard. We're now a destination. when did that happen?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:That was really, that was the goal the whole time. Ah, okay. Was to be. a destination experience. to set the tone for what true hospitality truly could be. And actually even the vineyard, as you drive in this, the big curve as you come into the property, That was just a bowl essentially when the property was purchased. So we chose to terrace it, like the vineyards that grow that come off the Rhine in Germany. So a lot of people will come in, will drive in and recognize how beautiful it is and not necessarily think right away that, Hey, that looks like it along the Rhine River. But that was the goal. So just pulling in a lot of those different things from our past and our past experiences.
Cliff Duvernois:And for our audience, we're gonna take a quick break to thank our sponsors when we come back. we're gonna continue our conversation with Sheri and talk some more about some of the cool things that are going on at Blackstar farms. We'll see you after the break. Are you enjoying these amazing stories? Michigan is full of people that are doing some pretty extraordinary things. If you want these amazing stories sent directly to your inbox, head over to total michigan.com. Enter your email address and get them today. What are you going to get? I'm glad you asked. First, you're gonna join our awesome Michigan community and it is quite awesome. Second, you will get an email that includes the top five interviews from the show sent directly to your inbox. This is going to include the powerful lessons that we've learned from these amazing people. Third, you're gonna get exclusive behind the scenes information about the show. There's a lot of things that are happening to grow this movement beyond the confines of just a radio show and a podcast. You'll get advanced notice of upcoming guests and early access to their interviews. You'll also get a link to our Facebook group. Now to get all these goodies, just head over to total michigan.com/join. Enter your email address and join our awesome community today. Hello everyone and welcome back to Total Michigan, where we interview ordinary people doing some pretty extraordinary things. I'm your host Cliff DuVernois. Today we're talking with Sherri Fenton at Blackstar Farms, vineyards and Inn and Equestrian Farms and Bistro, and everything else that's going on underneath the sun. This really is a destination, Sherri, speaking of which, One of, there's a couple of big things that are going on that I wanna share with the audience. But let's talk about first bistro Polaris. Talk to us about Bistro Polaris. what is the inspiration for this? How long has it been open? What can people expect when they come here?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:That's a great question. So we had a cafe here for a number of years, and you know when you get to a point in time and something needs to be reimagined,
Cliff Duvernois:Guilty.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:We were ready. And so along came Chef John Korycki, who is, a really incredible chef who has drawn his inspiration from 30 years of travel in italy, and down around the Mediterranean. So we brought him on board with his passions and he, I just charged him with recreating this place. So he created a fantastic menu, bringing in just the most fresh ingredients from our farm and local farms within just a short distance, bringing in truly authentic ingredients that you can really taste. You can tell the difference, right when a. When in ingredients, super fresh and really great quality. So he has put together a very approachable, simple menu, but things like salad neise with a seared tuna on top, which I'm living on this summer. he has, napole, NATO style pizzas. Some of them filled with, grilled vegetables or all kinds of great ingredients. and he's having so much fun doing that. We've got paninis, salads, amazing desserts, and so he just brought new life to the menu here. we updated the interior and gave that also a new look, so that as our guests who have come to us over the years could come in and know that they're in a familiar space, but know that something was different.
Cliff Duvernois:Now is the bistro, Polaris, is that something that's open every day? Is it dinner only? Weekends only. How does that work?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:Right now it is open, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday brunch. We just started our Sunday brunch, goodness, a month ago. And it is very popular. It's a fantastic brunch where you really, it's really a special brunch. You get to choose between three different courses, so a salad starter or a yogurt parfait, depending on you. If you're feeling like it's breakfast or lunchtime, right? And, a beautiful entree and a lovely dessert. We offer dessert wines. We offer mimosas all kinds of little things to accompany that brunch. We will be adding a Wednesday special wine paired dinner. We would like that to be really a chef dinner. And, a nice approachable price point we offer at Blackstar Farms about five or six times a year, an Arturo's dining series. Where we have a very, elevated 5, 6, 7 course meal that is wine paired. This one, we want to bring it down so it's a little bit more approachable for everybody, who, to be able to come in and experience that kind of a dinner. So we're looking at getting those going very soon. And, continuing those through the winter. This, the intention is that this will stay up and through the winter. We've done weekend dinners at the Inn that have been very well received. We'd like to move those down here now. and do them in a similar manner.
Cliff Duvernois:And because I think, if I remember correctly, you offer, now you offer food here at bistro polaris, but you've also had, you got another kitchen that you offer food there as well, like when you were talking about the dinner. So your plan is to move everything down here to Bistro polaris? Okay.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:because the other kitchen is inside the inn and that's not a restaurant, so that those are special events.
Cliff Duvernois:Oh, okay. Alright. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. Let's talk about the next thing. I wanna save the big thing for the end. Let's talk about the music that you've got going on here. what is happening with the music? Talk to us about that.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:So this summer we started bringing in every Thursday night, a young man who has a passion for rock, soul, blues, like just almost like every genre of music. And he is really talented. So he is blessing our winery terrace with music on Thursday nights. But it spills over down here to the bistro. So it's a great opportunity to just come and have dinner, have a little farm, true farm to fork experience, and then go up and have a glass of wine and listen to some music. we just find that, Those kinds of things add to people's experience. it gives' them a little bit reason to just linger and enjoy, the surroundings
Cliff Duvernois:as someone's, singing out their favorite tunes. yes. Beautiful. And then of course, all right, so we're gonna let the big thing outta the bag. What special year is this?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:Woohoo.
Cliff Duvernois:25. baby. Oh, that's incredible. Congratulations on that. Yes. So what do you got going on to celebrate 25 years of being awesome.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:we like to party around here, so instead of just throwing one big shindig, we are having parties every month. the end of this month we are having a special cocktail party because we also started, the year after we opened the winery, we started a distillation program. So we are creating European style eau-de-vie. these amazing brandies. And so we are really bringing forward some fantastic cocktails that we're making with those products. So we're gonna have a cocktail party. And show people how they can, mix different cocktails out of some of our base basic products. after that we're going to have a summer soiree with live music and dancing and some fantastic food. I think I mentioned we're gonna have hay rides in the fall for families.
Cliff Duvernois:Oh, I did not know that. This you got going on.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:So we're just, we're celebrating. We already released a special anniversary Covet, so it's a hundred percent pinot noir grape. Awesome. And it's been in the works since 2019. that's its vintage. So made in the true method style, it takes. It takes a while. It takes longer than if you're just infusing with bubbles, a wine. So this is a fantastic covet. We only made 150 cases and just released it. So that's a special tribute to our 25th.
Cliff Duvernois:So the question I got, cause I do drink a little bit of wine on occasion. So when you talk about it being pinot noir, is it a rose, is it white?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:It is more like a rose. Okay. because of it being a pinot noir. Okay. we do have a blanc DeBlanc that is the, a true white grape. so yeah, this is more of a rose kind of champagne.
Cliff Duvernois:Wonderful. I love having a good rose bubbly. Yep. On a nice summer day.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:Absolutely.
Cliff Duvernois:That's absolutely credible. So 25 years, and you've been with Blackstar that, that whole time
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:I have been with
Cliff Duvernois:since 2015. 2016. 16, okay. You guys have grown so much over that timeframe. Did you ever envision when you came here that Blackstar would be what it is today?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:Actually, no. honestly. Okay. when Blackstar Firms was started, I was. Raising a family and, I wasn't paying that much attention to the family business, honestly. Okay. And, we were, we set a goal that making 10,000 cases a year would be fantastic, but we kept planting more grapes and we kept growing and the demand kept growing. We distribute in Michigan and Illinois and, we shipped to a number of different states just to people's houses through our. Wine Club, which has 3,500 members.
Cliff Duvernois:Beautiful.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:And so yeah, we have just continued to grow. Sometimes in a really good year, we'll make 35,000 cases that's awesome. But we also have a lot of different kinds of wines, which is great because we have something for everybody's palate. we have over 45 different wines and spirits. We truly do say that we have something for everybody. We now even have a slushy machine. Okay. We gave in, we have a non-alcoholic for the designated driver or kids. And then we have whatever's the flavor of the week. I think it was sangria recently.
Cliff Duvernois:Man, you guys get your figures in everything. I gotta get out more the, what I would like to do is I would like to talk to you about, cause it 25th anniversary. There's a lot of things that are going on. So the question I got for you is how do you manage all this? How do you manage the growth? How do you manage the quality that you produce every single year? Making sure that when people come here to this destination that their expectations are being met. How do you manage all that?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:We select the right people to be on our team. We have the most incredible team. they are, they understand what true hospitality is. They know how to treat people. They know how to bring people out of. Out of, their maybe discomfort. A lot of people who come to tasting rooms have never been in, been wine tasting before, so they dunno what to ask for. They don't know, they don't know anything about it. We've got a great team who really knows just how to make people feel at ease and that it's okay to try something that every wine, if if you like a wine that you think you shouldn't, like, everybody has different tastes. So that's the wine you like. So it's awesome. It doesn't matter if it's the least expensive wine we make or the most expensive, that's great. it's what you like. And at the end we've got a fantastic team, events, people just that know how to embrace and truly, take ownership of what they're doing. They, our team members, our leaders want to make sure that the experience that every guest receives is the best that they can get. And it takes time to find the right people. we feel it when we don't, when somebody's not a right fit. and I think our guests feel it. So that's something that I hold true to my heart, that we really select the right people, which has been challenging for the last few years. But we're very blessed. We have a amazing team and they are the reason for our success.
Cliff Duvernois:because in doing some interviews with some other hotel operators, especially independent family run operators, it always surprises me that there's a good portion of guests that are repeat guests. That come here, and I'm sure you could probably quote off maybe 30 or 40 people I won't ask you to,
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:who've been coming here for 25 years. guest. Yes. or three or four times a year. Yes. Yes. We have a. a, nice, healthy amount of repeat guests. So we are very blessed with that. And the word of mouth spreads. Sometimes people come and they meet. We have a hospitality hour every evening in the Pegasus Lounge where you can sit on, bar saddle stools. And guests will become good friends. They'll end up going out to dinner together. They'll leave and they'll rebook the same time next year so that they can be together again. we love that kind of experience. so we're, we have. We're blessed with repeat guests and we're blessed with a lot of new guests who just keep discovering us like you
Cliff Duvernois:try again today. Yes. And that's one thing too that I do wanna discuss because as I, you and I first started talking, I did not realize that Blackstar actually has two locations, so I was always going to the one. I believe it's probably the one that's located closer to traverse city. That's correct. And then this one here is up further in suttons Bay. When did the second place open up?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:So we opened here in 1998. We're three miles south of Sutton's Bay. And in 2008 we opened up on old mission peninsula. We're the first winery as you start up center road off of center road on Old Mission Peninsula.
Cliff Duvernois:Gotcha. Okay. Because we, this location, the one that we're at is the, which one is this one? near Suttons Bay. Okay. This is the one that we're talking about. Okay. cause I didn't, if a member of the audience wants to come here, I wanna let them know that there's two
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:actually, that's a very good point. Yes. Yes. So on old Mission Peninsula, we produce our white wines there, and then we have a full tasting room here. We produce our red wines and our champagne style Bubbies. and then, oh, and we also produce our brandys on old Mission peninsula. So
Cliff Duvernois:Old V that
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:is, is truly, a tasting room. Stop there. Here is where you could spend the night
Cliff Duvernois:or spend the weekend if, you still wanted to,
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:if you're lucky enough to get a reservation on a weekend.
Cliff Duvernois:Yes, I ahead. Hey, I tell you, I drove in here and your sign up front said no vacancy. we're right now, we're in the middle of the week shooting this interview, so yeah. I couldn't believe when I pulled in, saw no vacancy. I was like, okay, good for them.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:I love that site. Yes. How many only have 10. Okay. so we have three suites. One has a complete kitchen in it, and a separate bedroom. We have another suite that we call the girlfriends quarters. It has a room within a room. so it's great for either girlfriends on a weekend trip or a family traveling perhaps with like young adult kids. and then we have one that's affectionately called the honeymoon suite
Cliff Duvernois:For the weddings that happen here. yes.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:two of those rooms are on the main floor and then eight rooms upstairs. Okay,
Cliff Duvernois:Okay, great. And the other thing that I would like to talk about too is the fact that this is a year-round place. Because you also have snowshoeing. And talk to us about the winter stuff that goes on here.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:Oh my goodness. So winter we have had many guests. Tell us that they feel like they're in a hallmark movie. How do you do it? cause when this place is blanketed in snow, yes, just hop in your SUV and put in your four wheel drive. It's gorgeous up here. We have snowshoes that are hanging at the back door of the inn for a Inn Guests. We have every weekend we have, a whole rack of snowshoes up at the taster room that are for rent. We have over three miles of recreational trails. So whether you're riding a horse or walking or snowshoeing, there's a great opportunity to just really experience beauty in nature. the trails are one of my favorite things, seasonally. In the fall, the colors are amazing. in the winter to go snow shrew through there, it's so quiet in the woods in the winter time, it's incredible. In the spring, I'm crazy about flowers. All the little wild flowers that are there are just amazing. you might find some wild, some ramps growing in the woods. some famous morale mushrooms. It's just a great opportunity to get out and let nature surround you. I just have peace at the top of the trail system. You'll end up at the top of the vineyard. That's our wedding ceremony site. You have little peekaboo glimpses of the bay depending upon the time of year, and that's just a great place to just hang out up there at the top of the vineyard too, and looking down over the farm.
Cliff Duvernois:So the last question I have for you is, you said you've got 45 different types of wine and drinks here, which I really wish I could sample them all, but I can't do it all at once. Here's my question to you. What would be the one that you would recommend that people try when they come here?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:I would say that people need to try our dry riesling, and I'll tell you why. Okay. So this region grows Riesling and Pinot Noir. varietals very well. They like this climate, our soil, everything. In 2018, we won the best of Show at the canberra international riesling challenge. Which was essentially being named the best Riesling in the world, beating out the best Riesling growing, countries in the world over 600 different entries. We meddled in every six, riesling that we entered. And one best of show. So our dry Riesling is fantastic and I would suggest that people try that. It is lovely and fruit forward, but because our cool climate has a nice crisp acidity and it's smooth, it's lovely. So I would say people need to try that.
Cliff Duvernois:Alright, perfect.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:For a red, gosh, you can't go wrong if you try acab Franc or a Merlot. We've got some great red blends too. It's really challenging sometimes to,
Cliff Duvernois:certainly to,
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:but I am quite fond of cabernet franc.
Cliff Duvernois:Okay. Excellent. Sherri, if somebody's listening to this interview and they wanna check out what it is you're doing, I want to book a night at this mysterious inn that I've heard so many great things about all the activities you got going on. it's your 25th anniversary. Where can they go to do that?
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:Please go to Blackstar farms.com. We have a fantastic website. we keep it very updated with the events, the current events, the events that are upcoming, New Year's Eve dinner. You can come spend New Year's Eve with us. Do you know that you can have a wine pair dinner stay right at the Inn? Piece cake after wine case waste after wine tasting.
Cliff Duvernois:Why do I get the feeling? Your rubes are probably already booked for New Year's Eve.
Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms:they might be be.
Cliff Duvernois:somebody could crash, I could crash at someone's couch. Awesome. And, for our audience, you can always roll it over to tone michigan.com and click on Sherri's interview and get all the links that she just mentioned above. We'll see you next week when we talk to another ordinary Michigander doing some pretty extraordinary things. We'll see you then.
