Brengman Brothers

I echo the previous complaints. If you close early often for special events, why not just change your hours so people know to show up earlier? We could have easily changed our route to get here before the special event. We came by especially to buy things for family, and arrived just before they put out the event sign. The apology we got was perfunctory at best. Total bummer.

Expect nothing less than a basic commercial winery experience. The place includes fancy solar panels, a fireplace, and staff who pour. They randomly close for special events and don’t tell you. They have wines that are drinkable but not memorable. If there isn’t any other stop, I recommend this place. Otherwise, try other local wineries where you can get an experience. Clean restrooms. Limited parking. Not recommended for a good experience. Recommended for those looking to grab a quick drink.

This winery goes out of their way to almost treat you like family. We always have a fantastic time when we visit. Their Riesling is my favorite out of all the wineries in TC area. Highly recommend a stop!

We were exploring the Traverse City wineries for the first time and found Brengman Brothers to be one of the best we visited. We enjoyed all of their wines, so much so that we joined their wine club, and are also looking forward to the upcoming winery events. The first one is on April 25^th, which is the Blessing of the Vines. We’ll see you there.

We decided to check out this winery for wine tasting because we’ve heard phenomenal reviews about it.
We emailed the company earlier in the day to confirm tasting hours, so we drove 30 minutes out of our way just to see them.
Upon arrival, they told us they were closed for a private party, which they completely failed to mention when we contacted them earlier in the day.
They were a complete disappointment and didn’t even seem to care that we told them we drove all the way from Metro Detroit when they asked if we could come back tomorrow.
Although they were extremely kind, I thought it extremely rude that they confirmed that they would be open for tasting earlier in the day, and upon arrival, they mysteriously had a, «private party,» and were closing early today.

The wines are amazing — clearly ranking among the best in the region. The Riesling Spatlese and the 2012 Pinot Noir are two of my favorites. But really, it’s tough to go wrong on anything. I typically don’t care for Chardonnay, but their unoaked version is also among my favorites.
But as amazing as the wines are, what separates BB from the rest of the wineries in the area are the people. Don’t go with the expectation of rushing through a tasting, but rather give yourself time to learn about the wines, and maybe enjoy a glass on the patio or the front lawn. If any of the brothers are on site, chat with them and hear first-​hand their passion for making great wine and friends.

It is a pretty good place for tasting. Nathaniel Rose, the young winemaker makes a few decent reds. His 2010 Syrah/​Viognier is his first release. I think he made a couple of barrels (or about 50 cases). After tasting I bought a case of a few of his wines. On 5÷13÷2014 I opened another bottle. Still this Syrah has high tannic and hot alcoholic feel on the palate. I am not sure it will mellow with age.
The winery produces several drinkable white wines called Block 65, Gewurtztraminer and Reserved Dry Riesling. I personally enjoyed the fruitiness of the Gewurtz more than the other two. An Italian Refosco called Valpanera in several grades are also made there. I have tasted the stainless aged all the way to the Riserva but not the Alma Doc. These reminded me of typical Northern Italian table wine, good full bodied reds. They do cost more than the Michigan grown varietals. You have to taste them yourself to determine it you want to buy them for your cellar.
Every spring the establishment hosts a vine blessing event (St. Vincent’s feast). I recommend this event. The entire family spring into action to make this a success. The two time we attended we had a great time enjoying the food and the company.

Just had the best experience at Brengman! Ended up chatting fireside with the hospitable owners who were ever engaging. The wine was great too:) the 2010 Refosco and all Rieslings were amazing. We’ll be back for sure!

I honestly have no idea how nine people (through today) gave this place half decent reviews. Honestly, it was the absolutely worst tasting room we went to in Michigan. We spend several days touring the area, going to some of the best Michigan wineries in the area (45 North, Two Lads, L Mawby, etc). And this was dreadful.
We went on a Thursday during the day and the place was empty. We came in hoping to get some decent wine and purchase some to take home to Nashville. We walked in to a young blonde sitting on her cell phone, who (as if we interrupted her texts) asked us if we wanted to try something. We and another couple we were with opted to try 8 different wines. We were given a small sheet of their types of wine they produced and had available for tasting and picked ours out– mix of a few Rieslings, red blends and dessert wines we were anticipating trying. We tried our first wine and we weren’t impressed.
The worst part from here on was the customer service. We asked about the white she was pouring and for a description of the tasting notes or anything really. She had no idea what she was pouring. She even literally said «I don’t even like wine or know anything about it — so I just cant even tell you anything». After that it was all down hill. Why the hell do you have someone pouring your wine and representing you in your tasting room when they have no idea about wine in general or what you are selling? Seriously?! It ruined everything. We went from wanting to try 8 to scratching half off and trying 4. The four we tried were mediocre at best — probably because she wouldn’t rinse our glasses and poured white/​red/​dessert/​white — who does that? do you not know even a basic of when to pour things?! We asked her when she was pouring to go whites to red to dessert and she said she was only allowed to pour it the way she was taught. It was so ridiculous. I wish I enjoyed this and enjoyed the wines. I hope the owners read this and understanding how they are losing money and reputation.

I am in love with this place. Attended a wedding last weekend. The owners/​staff at the venue are incredible and make this place five stars. Really good wine, especially the Riesling which comes in three different varieties (I am a huge sucker for sweet wines!). Location is very close to Traverse City and the winery itself was absolutely charming. If you are in the area, please do not miss this spot!

This was last on our list touring the wine trail near Traverse City. Brengman Brothers at Crain Hill Vineyards is located at the top of Crain Hill Road, close to Grand Traverse Bay and 5 miles from downtown Traverse City.
I was excited to visit this winery. You will first noticed the acres of vineyards. Beautiful greens and landscapes. You go up the hill and as you enter the tasting room, you noticed the beautiful lighting coming through the windows. It’s very spacious and open. Love the décor. It’s very simple, comfortable and cozy.
We were greeted by Emily. She was super sweet and friendly. Very knowledgeable on the wines.
I did the wine tasting for $ 6.00. You get 6 tastings of your choice on the list. I did the reds.
Here is what I tasted:
From the Brengman Brothers Artist series label:
–2012 Pinot Noir
Runaway Hen Label:
–2011 Rosso Red: Perfect blend of Cab, Merlot, and Refosco. This is their most popular wine and I can see why. Bold, full bodied, and smooth.
Valpanera Label:
–2007 Riserva: Impressive bouquet of tobacco, spice and coffee, aged 16 months in French barrels.
–2008 Superiore: Scents of brushwood, blackberries and spices, aged 8 months in French barrels.
–2010 Refosco: A winner of a double gold medal from the Tasters Guild with big plum and blackberry flavors.
–2008 Alma: Blend of Refosco, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Aged 16 months in French Barrels.
It was so hard to choose my favorite. I ended up getting a bottle of the Refosco for $ 14.95.
A must visit! It’s very close to Traverse City. Great experience and friendly employees.

Weddings are such an important day, luckily there are reliable companies like Brengman Brothers that hire professional event planners to handle such a precious event. My fiancé and I were thrilled to come across this picturesque location in northern Michigan. After contacting their event planner we scheduled a meeting to take time off work and drive all the way from Chicago to check out our special place.
After driving for hours we arrived with a few minutes to spare, and filled with anticipation. We were a little nervous, too, because it is SO important to find the right event planner to accommodate you and help you plan the perfect day for a wedding. After all, weddings aren’t cheap, so when choosing where to spend all that money the decision is almost never easy. Almost! But our event planner REALLY helped us make up our minds, in fact we made up our minds almost immediately!
Here’s how it went down.
We were taken back by the fantastic landscape and rolling hills, the beautiful view and the silence. No busy city sounds. No cars. Just pure, beautiful nature.
So we knocked on the door, nervously anticipating the event planner to come to the door.
… aaaand then we knocked again.
And called her phone.
And Texted her.
And emailed her.
Laid. On. Our. Horn.
All over the process of 45 minutes.
Our event planner was a GENIUS. Probably either a psychic or sociological mastermind because somehow, without ACTUALLY interacting with us in person, she must have ALREADY known that we were going to find the perfect place SOMEWHERE ELSE. Thank you so much for your blatant disregard and inability to show up for a scheduled meeting that resulted in an inadvertent helping hand! You are the best!
You will be happy to hear that she took personal responsibility for these actions, because 8 hours later my fiancé received a reply from her saying something about how she thought we no-​showed and she must not have noticed our arrival because that was her scheduled cleaning day. Way to take responsibility.
…
Absolutely pathetic. Decision made. It’s a shame, you have a 5 star property, but our experience was with a zero star contact person.

Loved this open and airy tasting room. Outside were adirondack chairs and bunches of eucalyptus hanging from the rafters, scenting the air. Loved it! I could have sat outside for the whole afternoon.
Their new Block 65 blend was really nice and my favorite white wine of the beautiful day we spent touring around with our friend.

This new vineyard is absolutely stellar. Extremely knowledgeable staff in the tasting room, superb wine, and a beautiful setting. I have visited many vineyards on the Leelanau Peninsula and thought we’d give this new one a try. So very pleased we did. All six wines we tried were absolutely delicious! Try the 65 Blend and Rosso Red.

We took a day trip out to Traverse City to celebrate my husbands birthday.
We had dinner reservations at Stella at seven and since most of the wineries close at 5 or 6, I did a search for wine bars in the area and Brengman Brothers popped up. We are very glad we stopped by. I haven’t been to many wineries in Traverse City and being from California, I’m a huge snob.
The drive to Brengman Brothers kind of reminds me of Napa and once you get there, there winery/​tasting room is beautiful. There is seating available outside and other patrons were sharing a bottle of wine and it looked wonderful.
You can do four pours for $ 5 or 6 pours for $ 6? You can also buy bottles/​glasses instead of a tasting. They also have coffee for the designated driver? They have an extensive selection and it was so nice to pick and choose from so much! The girls that helped us were very cute and knowledgeable. The tasting room has been open for a little over a year. The girls informed us that they are going to have small plates soon.
The winery still feels like a secret. Go before it gets super popular. I can’t wait to visit again! Favorite winery in Traverse City.

My vote for the best tasting room in Leelanau county! The building is gorgeous and as you sip your wine you can enjoy the beautiful views of the rolling hills. Are you looking for a place in Leelanau county to bring your friends out for a pre-​dinner glass of wine? This place will impress all of your friends with both the view and their wine presentation.
You can order full glass servings of their tasty wine selections and sit back to enjoy. There are outdoor tables to sit outside as well. The Brengman Brothers wine selection is one of my top three bets in the county.