theCompass mobile application is a winery, brewery, and distillery locator for North America.

Chaos is a good descriptor of our journey to becoming a winery. All of us, with full time jobs, spent our nights, weekends, and holidays farming, making wine, creating a brand, and opening a tasting room - an amazing journey. We celebrate our chaotic beginnings by creating blended wines that represent a harmonious blend of several different red grape varietals to create this supple, approachable red wine. Fruit forward with a hint of toast from the oak and a long finish. Kick back, forget the chaos in your life, enjoy the moment with a glass of exceptional wine.

There is no varietal that expresses itself more dramatically in the vineyard than Gewurztraminer. At first taste, the grapes burst with sweetness and our signature Northern Michigan acidity, but the floral perfume is undeniable, guaranteed to make you say "Wow!" In the finished wine, we find the perfume is present but restrained, just how we envisioned it.

Last year at Verterra we had a small, precious amount of Pinot Blanc that sold out quickly, so this years big, high quality harvest is a blessing to us, given the instant popularity of this wine. This years fruit was better than 2010, mostly due to a 2 week warm spell in mid-October that matured the fruit to perfection. A blend of 3 vineyards within a 2 mile radius, this varietal brings unique tropical scents and flavors to the picture. Dry, complex, and great with seafood and white sauce pastas.

This being our first vintage, as we watched this Pinot Noir fruit go through veraison (the transition from green grapes to red), it really hit home: here we are growing one of the greatest red wine grapes in the world! The hot summer of 2010 ripened the fruit at a fast pace, September put on the brakes as "degree-days" dropped to a crawl, and a glorious October finished a near-perfect ripening season

We selected our ripest Chardonnay for fermentation and aging in large, 500L French Oak barrels. Our goal was to accent the wine with oak and not dominate it. Bright lemon, apple and pear aromas with just a scent of oak and toasty vanilla set the stage for deep, rich, full flavored wine that reflects the seasons' early promise.

Will we get the red grapes ripe before the frost? That is the question every year here in Northern Michigan and 2010 was no exception, with a hot summer and cool fall that left us anxiously awaiting the fruit to make its final push. By late October however, the clean, uniform clusters had finally sprinted to the end to yield a beautiful dark, lush wine. The Reserve Red is a combination of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah that have been aged in new French and American oak barrels for up to 7 months. The aging process has rounded out the tannins and added a hint of vanilla and spice that provides great balance and enhances the overall structure of the wine. This full bodied red will provide enjoyment for many years if stored well and if you don’t drink it early!

Riesling transforms every time you turn around, as the little green, astringent pellets of early July transform to a small, chalky yellow/green berries. Summer swells the berries, turns the skin golden, while the juice inside matures into a sweet, bracing, complex essence of the land. In October, eat a ripe Riesling berry and it will startle you with a fine burst of acidity that is quickly countered by sweet, lush fruit.