I've passed by Nathaniel Rose several times, and finally convinced some friends to stop in to help me complete my goal of visiting all wineries in the Traverse/Leelanau area. We were the only visitors. The gentleman behind the bar was wonderful, he said he was normally with the grapes. As far as tastings go, it was a really good experience. He was knowledgeable about the wines, as well as the area. The wines were surprisingly interesting, our group has different tastes and we each found one or two we liked. What is lowering my rating is the atmosphere. The tasting room has a dusty feel, there is a counter, some signs, no real seating, it is your weird uncle's garage. The part that really gets me, is that I think this is the only winery that is on the water (west arm bay), but it is so overgrown and unkempt you would not know it. This winery could have so much potential, and it feels wasted. A big thank you to the gentleman that hosted us. read more

Nathaniel Rose - Menu - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Suttons Bay, Michigan

Gave this place another try and purchased a bottle of $39 Chardonnay after a tasting only to get home and find it tasted like straight vinegar. Tried to stop by the winery the next day to get a replacement but they seem to be closed for an undisclosed amount of time. I'd appreciate if the owner would make this right, but there seems no way to know when this business is open. read more

Only Michigan red I'll drink. Have been coming since Nathaniel took over the vineyard & have added several cases of his reds to our collections. read more

The wine is unique and good. The wine maker is just starting out so you aren't going to be going into a fancy tasting room. But IMO after all it really comes down to the wine. A read more

We didn't even stop here but loved the inclusivity just based on the flag outside and the sign which points out that the neighboring political signs do not belong to them. read more

After 2 years I gave this place another try this August. Tilted sign in horrible looking vineyard claims "World Class Reds". If you like paying $120 - $150 for one bottle of Michigan wine this is your place, ditto if you like small, dirty, dark, and cramped spaces. The dust-covered piano in the tiny tasting room completes the picture. The older man in rumpled clothing who didn't say much added to the listless and forgettable experience. There is no real venue, no entertainment, no food for sale, no outdoor seating, no view of anything except an old RV. Not even a place to sit down. I didn't linger. With nearly 30 other wineries to choose from in Leelanau County I doubt I'll be back a 3rd time. Skip this one. read more

Like 3/5 for the wines here, but 5/5 for customer service, which bumps it up to 4 stars for me. This place is pretty small, so I wouldn't recommend it for large groups. It was the second place we hit up yesterday, the first place being Leelanau Cellars, so it was quite a change from that. You can do 7 tastings for $10, I believe, and my friend and I definitely drank more than that, but that's what they charged us for ($10 total, aka $5 each!), which was nice of them. I didn't get the name of the counter man, but he was an interesting guy ... he told us he's lived in France and Africa before. Their Oregon Trail wine is also very fun, visually, if you're a '90s baby who played Oregon Trail ... my non-drinker friend who was our DD for the weekend actually got to take two of the bottles home, as she had been admiring them and they had some empty bottles behind the counter. I wasn't a fan of the red wine version of it but the white wine version was decent. I can't really recall any of the wines I had here being that great, except maybe the port (dessert wine), hence the 3/5 for the wines. But it's still worth stopping by, in my opinion, for the customer service. read more

Nathaniel Rose - Glass - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Suttons Bay, Michigan

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5 stars for the wine - 1 star for the outside tasting venue. Wines were the best we tasted during the day. I know that we are in a pandemic and all trying to adjust but there is no excuse for all the junk that was outside in direct view of our tasting. An old pickup truck gate, a plastic sled filled with water, broken chairs, miscellaneous junk that was in the back by the tasting - not acceptable, ever! They went out of their way to social distance and make us feel safe during the tasting but could not get over how the place looked. It's too bad because the wines really shined. If they got their act together and spent half a day cleaning the place up, they would be on to something... read more

Nathaniel Rose - Outdoor tasting - clean the place up! - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Suttons Bay, Michigan

Nathaniel Rose is an unassuming place you pass by and wonder about later. After years of this, I was excited to visit wondering how the experience would be. Our party of 4 was greeted by Tom who works in the vineyard. He was very educational and generous with our tastings. We appreciated how his description and knowledge of the wine informed us of the process at Nathaniel Rose as well as how the local environment and weather impacts the wine. The wines were very good by my taste when compared to others in the area. The money here goes into the wine and not the tasting room. The intimacy of the experience, service, and education made this the best experience I've had at a Michigan winery. This is a place you go if you love wine rather than a place to go to enjoy a glass and views of the lake. Don't wait years like I did. Give it a try! read more

This was my second stop here. The wine is phenomenal. Reds are more European style along the lines of a Bordeaux rather than American style which would make it 5star HOWEVER.. as I mentioned to my friend in advance, the place is very low end/ no frills. If a true wine lover, it's sometimes worth it . This time it wasn't . It makes me very sad. Absolutely no character/ bordering on scary. It almost seems like you're walking into the Bates hotel/winery. Parking directly in front of the entrance we couldn't tell if it was open or not. We were the only two inside still being positive about it. We were not greeted. It appeared we were an inconvenience as customers yet we were not deterred. There was a grand piano in the corner and a couple chairs, indicating music was sometimes played, but there where layers of dust on the grand piano with a sign stating, "out of order". I attempted to start a conversation with", thats too bad, what happened to the piano?" The server replied that there was nothing wrong with the piano other than they didn't want people playing it!! and, "maybe it was out of tune". We weren't given any information on the wines. I attempted several times to ask about them. Eventually, we were given two glasses and having pleaded for a tasting,like an episode of Seinfeld in the soup Nazi, we were reluctantly poured tastings. Nothing told about the wine until I asked. At some point I finally said, please don't hold back your enthusiasm and got a reply that," I was rude, because he was autistic". At that point the owner, Nathan walked back through and asked if there was a problem and confirmed the server was autistic. Two others walked in during this, felt uncomfortable and left. My friend threw down cash and we left. This place makes me sad because it has great potential. A multi million dollar location on the bay but no effort to be welcoming makes it ugly. The wine is excellent but there is nothing indicating that Nathan wants people to like or want to stop to try his wine. Find someone to help with marketing or sell your recipe and location. I wish for their success . Undoubtedly there is passion and expertise in the wine making process. My first visit Nathan wasn't friendly but he did warm up with his passion for his wine. The wine is amazing if you like a European style . Nothing wrong with someone who is autistic, but not even a remotely good choice if he has no training and your only person greeting and dealing directly with the public. I wish them the best read more

Our driver suggested the place because we like reds, with a disclaimer that it was a small place and perhaps a little weird. Accurate to both... Wine was just ok, but 3 times as expensive as better tastes we had the same day. We don't mind quirky and small, but overpriced wine does not a fun tasting make... read more

This is the best stop for wine tasting in the Traverse City area. After hiking in the Sleeping Bear National Lake Shore, we decided to take a wine tour of the area. There are plenty and we stopped at a few. Had lunch (another review later) and visited the light house. Getting late and on way back to hotel went by Nathaniel Rose and saw they were open till 7. The tasting room consisted of the bar, shelf with all their rewards and not much else. Don't need a fancy tasting room when you have the best in wine. The wines we tasted were outstanding and hard to decide and purchased 6. They were over and above the others we tasted and only hard decision was which ones. Rob was very knowledgeable and described the wines and what went into making their fine wines. Search Nathaniel Rose Winefor the wine they offer and reviews. Can't go wrong if in the area to visit read more

Very tiny hole in the wall. They're well known for their reds and I think I would enjoy it more if I weren't allergic to red. They have a few whites on the menu but most are marked as "not available for tasting." A single tasting is $2 or three tastings for $5. The staff are very knowledgeable and friendly. There is hardly any parking but I feel like this place would be crowded beyond belief if all the parking spaces were filled. They boost a lot of awards, but I personally don't think it's worth the drive. read more

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One of the best wines in the area ! Excellent Covid safety procedures. read more

Nathaniel Rose - a glass of wine on a barrel - Wine Tasting Room Near Me - Suttons Bay, Michigan

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Save time and pass on this one. There are way too many good wineries near here to waste time stopping. This place isn't set up for wine tasting. Small cluttered tasting room that looked like a storage room for unused musical instruments. Very expensive wine not worth the price. I felt like this place could be a front to hide an illegal business like the car wash in Breaking Bad TV show. read more

Doesn't look like much at first blush, but that's because he cares more about the wine than the ambiance. Far and away the best wine in the region and a true character. Love it here! read more

Truly some of the best red wines in the state. The tasting room is rustic, yes, but I've been in very lavish tasting rooms with much worse wines. Don't judge a book by its cover. read more

Great wine and dog friendly! Experience is different than other tastings but we really dig it!

We have been to ALL of the wineries in Northern Mi as well as throughout the world. We have given it 3 chances. If the owner isn't investing in his business why should customers? What a complete DUMP. No outside area or chairs inside as well. The reds are their claim .. we are Bordeaux people and appreciate that but why on EARTH would you pay 70-120.00 for a bottle of red in NORTHERN MI? Way too overpriced for this region. Grab a Bordeaux instead. It's a JOKE. SKIP THIS ONE PEOPLE. read more

Just returned from a visit to the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail and visited ten wineries, this one was our least favorite. First, it looks like a junk yard when you drive onto the property. I was willing to overlook this aspect since I read that they have standout red wines here and honestly, the wine is more important than the aesthetics. However, the inside of the "tasting room" is literally dirty and just filled with junk. Secondly, there's a pandemic tasting rule that only 6 people can be inside at one time during a tasting. I had no problem with that, except that there were four of us waiting outside for 20 minutes and Nathaniel himself walked past us TWICE during that time and never once acknowledged any of us. Lastly, I agree with another reviewer here that $70.00-$120.00 is outrageous for a bottle of red in Northern Michigan. There are way too many other great wineries in the area to waste your time and money here. read more

Great customer service with some of the best red blends we have tasted, rivaling the top wineries we have visited in Napa/Sonoma. This winery is truly off the beaten path & doesn't have an expensive or expansive tasting room like some other local establishments. However, but iyou are looking for some truly stellar wines, look no further. You will not be disappointed. read more

We went here one day and they were super friendly knowledgeable and had awesome wines. They explained explained everything in detail! The wines were great! We came back the next day because we found out they had some reserved Mead and it was no longer for sale but we asked about it and they sold it to us and it was awesome!!!! We had the same great customer service! It's a small business, I want these guys to make it! read more

Hands down best winery for red wine in the area. We had a great time wine tasting and our host was knowledgeable about the wines and kept us entertained. My husband and I highly recommend it to people who love red wine. read more

Best dry reds in the area, hands down. Place is focused on the wine and they do it very well, decor could use a little work. Nathaniel was easy to talk to and extremely knowledgeable. read more

Not the fanciest winery tasting room in the area, but who cares? The point is to make good wine and serve it well! The quality of wines and service here were top notch. Rob hosted our tastings and an unexpected experience was getting to share stories about our past that we had in common. We sampled a number of good to great red wines. Bottom line? Nathaniel Rose is making the best red wines in the area. read more

Went on a weekend trip to Traverse City. It was a yucky rainy Saturday, but we still made the best of it. The crummy weather made for a bizarre experience. First off, this place is a mess. Old airstream & old Mercedes parked in the field. A total Mess. I think I heard banjos playing. We got out of our vehicle, masks in hand. As we got out of our vehicle, mind you I hadn't even really rounded the front of the truck, & the lady ran out the door, to talk to us. No one was allowed in side- she informed us, mind you it's raining, we're standing in front of our truck still, & she tells us to put our masks on, as she backs up closer to the door. We're about 15-20 feet away from her, outside. She "talks to a lot of people every day." Okay. We put our masks on, remaining in front of the truck, & she points to a wine barrel with an umbrella, & a couple is basically standing in the rain tasting wine. She tell us this is their only tasting table. That's weird. One station. So we decide we don't want to wait. As we are pulling out to leave, we noticed she had the couple that were tasting wine under the umbrella back up about 10 feet from her to fill their tasting glasses, while they stood in the rain. I understand COVID precautions, as all the other wineries exhibited, but this was just over the top obnoxious. read more