OMENA -- The numbers don't lie: Northern Michigan wineries are shooting up the sales charts in the state's burgeoning wine market.
Leelanau Wine Cellars took over the top spot among Michigan wineries for in-state wine sales last year, and it shows no sign of loosening its grip on first place in 2007, according to excise tax reports from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
Six of the top 10 wineries in state sales last year were from Leelanau or Old Mission peninsulas, a fact area vintners said enhances the region's reputation for crafting high-quality wine.
"We've really been going through a lot of dramatic growth over the past five years," said Bob Jacobsen, owner of Leelanau Wine Cellars, where officials are getting ready to open a new processing facility in an old cherry plant north of Omena. "We're really at the volume we're at much faster than I anticipated."
The winery wrestled the top spot from St. Julian Wine Co. of Paw Paw in southwest Michigan, the longtime sales leader among Michigan wineries. But Jacobsen said it's not an undisputed championship, as St. Julian still does extensive sales outside Michigan because of its strong Midwest market.
"They probably produce more wine than we do," he said.
Still, Leelanau Wine Cellar's Michigan sales totaled almost 685,000 liters last year, up a whopping 47 percent from 2005. The winery is on pace to set another record this year, Jacobsen said, and will further increase its capacity when it moves into a new, 36,000-square-foot production area. That's more than triple the size of its current operation.
The Old Mission Peninsula's Chateau Grand Traverse ranks a solid third in Michigan sales, showing an increase of more than 18 percent last year while also aggressively marketing its wines in far-away markets including California and the East Coast.
It's a trend that shows no signs of slowing, co-owner Eddie O'Keefe said.
"It's not a fad," he said. "It's something that's been growing for five or six years now."
Both vintners agreed most state wineries are experiencing similar increases in production and sales, as more Michigan consumers are turning to home-grown wines.
"I think it's very obvious people are taking more of a focus on local products," O'Keefe said.
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