St. Julian Winery

The tasting room is a bit dated and looks like it was really «cool», back in 1983. Regardless of the look of the tasting room, the tasting experience can be fun and worth the stop, but it will depend heavily on who is serving. Although this may be the largest wine producer in the state of Michigan, the wines are simply either not very good or when they are good, they are not competitively priced with wines of equal quality from other states/​countries. I have done a tasting on at least 10 different occasions over the last 2 – 3 years, hoping that the quality of the wines will improve-​generally, they have not. Occasionally, there is one wine that surprises and it makes the tasting worthwhile, and makes me purchase a bottle or two. Is the tasting room worth a try? Yes. Will the wines «WOW» you? Probably not.

I enjoy nothing more than taking a drive on a beautiful day to explore new things and engage my palate with tasteful treats. Be warned there is construction in progress so be prepared for traffic jams here and there along 94 east and west .
The winery closes early on Sunday’s and we arrived about 2:40. Live music is offered on the patio for those enjoying wine outdoors. The tasting station was full however space was made available for us. Tasting of six wines is $ 5 per person. The staff was polite and knowledgeable on the products being served, which is refreshing considering places we’ve visited where the employees had very little knowledge concerning their products and ingredients. The sampling sheets make it easy for newbies to discern the different varieties and sweetness content by a numeric system and category. I even learned how to mix and create drinks with my purchases.
Check out was a breeze and the cashier looked for discounts which were available and we did qualify for 20% discount for a case. Tours are free and available, however we opted out as we have visited this location before. You can check my photos for some of my favorite purchases. Head Games is a must try, priced right, and by far one of my favorites!

Great wine! They also promote other MI wines as well– I really like that. Our server knew nothing about wine– super young, new to the area. However, he was nice and friendly, fun to chat with.

Michigan’s oldest and most awarded winery is what the sign says. It has a large tasting room, restaurant and event space.
The building definitely looks old, maybe time for a remodel, but the staff are young and friendly.
You do have to pay $ 5 for your tasting, but the bonus is you get to pick 6 and keep your glass.
They have quite a large variety of drys, sweets, reds, and whites to choose from. The gift shop is full of wine lover commodities like to wine purse we ended up purchasing.

LOVE a good local winery! Neat little tour, great tasting! Town of Paw Paw is adorable! Have ordered some of the wines and brews since. HUGE fan.

My wife and I were coming through for our 1^st Anniversary, and signed up for the Enhanced Tour/​Tasting. I had been communicating with Jason for a couple weeks getting the details ironed out so everything would be perfect for my wife, and he was more than accommodating! Upon arrival, we were greeted with smiles. Jason met us, and explained that they were short-​staffed, so he did the tour himself. What a stroke of luck, because he was absolutely fantastic! We got to see everything behind the scenes, he provided us with some thrilling history and knowledge, and capped it off with a gorgeous cheese/​chocolate tray to pair with our tastings after the tour! We had an amazing time! Thanks so much Jason for getting our Anniversary Weekend started on the right foot!
Ron and Steph

Some of the best wines in MI. I love coming here with the ladies and tasting some wine. Live their new ciders. Wish that I could get some of their wines down in VA where I now live. Cute patio to sit on and drink some of the bottle you just purchased. Worth a visit soon!

Suck it haters.
I love Michigan wine.
It’s juicy and fresh and delicious.
And St. Julians does it right with their hourly free wine tours, $ 5 wine tastings, and gigantic menu of goodies.
The only thing they need is some stools for the tasting room and they should endeavor into vinegars and oils!
Other than that, the service is over the top friendly, affordable product, and you learn quite a bit.
Don’t like it?
Go back to Birmingham.
Snobs.

We had a wonderful time celebrating a birthday. Went on the tour, bought some wine. A great afternoon! If you have never been. Go

Stopped in this past weekend and I was very impressed. It was near closing time on a Sunday and the girl that helped us was awesome! She took us on a full tour of the premises from grape to bottle, and I never had the sense that we were being rushed. The wine was surprisingly very good too – we ended up getting a variety of 12 bottles, but I highly suggest the Solera Cream Sherry. It’s truly wonderful.

I love coming here! The first time I went, we took the wine tour. That kind of stuff really interests me so I really enjoyed it– you watch a little film about the history and then get to see all the areas where wines are made. The wine tasting costs $ 5, but its so nice you get to keep the glass! Also nice is that you can pick out your samples from EVERYTHING they have. It was nice to venture into their fruit brandys and port wine, which is something I would never think to try on my own. Staff is social and helpful. Wines are mostly under $ 10, so you can definitely stock up. Can’t wait to go back!

The wine is so/​so but what more can you expect from a Michigan winery? We are members here and enjoy wines of the quarter. We’ve done the tour a few times.
Bring your friends for a little Saturday afternoon wine tasting. Great people run this place.

There are no words words needed to describe wine tasting at the showroom. All you have to do is come over and taste locally produced wine. All grapes are grown in SW part of Michigan. We bought couple bottles there as well. I personally love cherry wine there.

We happened to stop in here after seeing a few billboards along I-​94 and realizing it was very close off of the freeway. The timing was perfect, as we arrived just before a (FREE) tour started. It was really interesting (and my first time at a winery) — they took us everywhere in the building and were very knowledgable.
We then opted for the $ 5 tasting (6 samples of your choice from their entire selection of wine, and you get to keep the glass). The hosts (Tessa, Shari, and Brianna) were really nice and enthusiastic. It was a friendly atmosphere and the wine was delicious. Great place to visit!

This was our first winery visit of our KZoo Brew Tour 2012. We didn’t take a tour. We just paid the $ 5 and donned our cheap glass and made our selections. The gal pouring the wine was nice and knowledgeable, but not really that enthusiastic. Come on, peeps, if you’re pouring wine for people excited to taste, throw them a bone and act happy. Please. But she was fine.
In fact, the whole experience was fine. Non-​offensive. We bought some wine. We took our souvenir glasses home with us. Totally. Fine. But nothing truly special. We didn’t want to hang out there, we just bought our wine and left. It was a totally different experience from Cody Kresta’s tasting which we experienced afterwards, or really any of the other tastings I have done, where the winery is part of the experience.
In any event, I wouldn’t make this a destination spot. It is what it is. Fine. Good. And there’s wine. The tastings were a decent deal (I believe it was 5 – 6 for the $ 5 and you were able to keep the glass.)

St. Julian Winery is about half way between my hometown in Michigan and Chicago. Someone has mentioned their new, locally grown vodka, Grey Heron and said I should stop in for a break during the six-​hour road trip. It was fun and I’m glad I stopped in, but I probably wouldn’t go back.
I am no wine snob, but neither am I a huge fan of St. Julian wines generally, although I do really like that they’re locally grown. The tasting room was nice enough but the tasting bar was a little intimidating for a beginner. I spent a few minutes watching to figure out how it worked and really saw no one to ask. They had a deal where you could try six wines for five dollars (or five wines for six dollars, I don’t remember which), so you just walk up, plunk your money down and name your poison, like a saloon in the old west. I found a couple wines that I really liked strictly by dumb luck. The bar was crowded and there were only two people working, so they didn’t really have time to discuss anything or make suggestions. Grey Heron, the new vodka, was also available to sample. The brief narrative on the menu boasted that it has been distilled five times to make it smooth. The two adjectives I would choose are «rough» and «medicinal,» more like value-​priced vodkas and way less like the other famous grey bird from France.
One thing that struck me as weird and annoying was the number of children there whose parents thought it would be okay for them to run amok while they tasted wine. While sparking fruit juices are available for kids who are tall enough to reach the bar, there really isn’t anything for children under 13. If you go, leave them home.

St Julian is the one thing that makes the awful drive between the Indiana border and ‘home’ slightly better.
We stop here almost every month in order to pick up a bottle or two. When we visit, we cannot help but spend some time sampling the different wines St Julians has to offer. A really interesting concoction is the grape vodka. Though most tastings are complimentary, the back side of the sample sheet carries some more high-​end wines and the aforementioned vodka, available for 5 samples for $ 5.
I prefer dry red wines and Erin prefers anything sweet. He is a fan of their port, cream sherry and dessert wines whereas I enjoy the merlot, founders red and syrah.
The store is cute, and has some t-​shirts and wine related items for sale. We have never taken the time to do the tour, as I have been to many of those in the past.
As far as wineries go, I believe that I am a bit spoiled as I have been to plenty of them in France and Germany. I do like this place, eventhough it serves more as a welcome travel break for us versus an actual destination.

Nice place, 6 tastes… yeah right! More like as many as you want. Kidding!!! She didnt let us go crazy, but she knew we were buying. If you are buying, they are letting you taste. We had double bottles marked in NO time flat. We must have given off an aura. Such a large variety and the gal we had, we hit it with her. She was amazing.
Don’t pass this place up, its not that fancy at this Paw Paw location but so… HUGE entrance and you walk into the tasting bar. It was packed. Just what we were after though.
Happy to leave with a lot of wine. ;) Glad we stopped here, our first of four places this weekend. Ranked right up there with one of the others as our favorite stop and I really think more than anything it was the sales person, personality, tasting and pleasantness more so than the ambiance. I’m there for the wine rather than to be wowed by the place in general. If someone is willing to take their time with us, up sell by giving more tastes, kudos to the company for hiring this person. She’s the one they want behind the counter. That’s what it is all about.

Only 99 some odd signs indicating to stop into their winery, open 7 days a week it says. Wine and vodka advertised to intrigue your taste buds. ($ 24.99/bottle) Sadly not one sign posts their store hours and when I got to the door hoping to get a bottle of vodka, I was cheerfully turned away with a snotty giggle from the counter girl.
Her: Sorry, you can return tomorrow!
Me: I’m just traveling by and need just one bottle of vodka,
Her: (giggle) oh, well, we’re closed
Me: At what time?
Her: 7 pm
Me: But it’s 7 pm now?“
Her: yeeeah, byeee.
Forget you then, tomorrow I’m going to Contessa in Coloma, MI instead!

If you’re looking for classy, you ain’t gonna find it here.
You say you want an example? When you walk in there’s a 6 foot statue of a hot dog holding a ketchup and mustard squirt bottle in each hand… though I did like that one of his eye brows was a ketchup line and the other a mustard one. To add to the class level I thought it’d be a great idea to take a pic next to it while mocking an inappropriate in public act with on of the squirty bottles. I fit right in.
The tasting bar is über packed with people, and not just adults but plenty of children who are there to sample the sparkling juices… and when I say children, I don’t just mean under 21, I mean 7 and under, belly up at the bar, taking up the already overcrowded space-​kind of really annoying. The employees here were none too friendly and pour some of the chintziest pours I’ve ever seen. I mean, I know it’s free but I’m not going to buy it if the amount I have to taste is still less than the amount that I usually have left in the bottom of my glass when I’m done drinking it… that’s back wash level, folks.
Anyway, once was enough for me at St. Julian… and if I ever have a hankering for some St. Julian wine, I know I can drive up the road to the 24 hour Meijer to get it.