Domaine Berrien Cellars: winery information
Winemaker: Wally Maurer
Wally is originally from Shaker Heights, OH. After giving up his corporate career as a purchasing manager, he settled in Berrien Springs to pursue his true passion – growing grapes and making great wine! He loves being outdoors working in the vineyards, or talking to guests on the deck about what we do and how we make such excellent wine. When not at the winery, Wally can be found fishing or hunting. His favorite Domaine Berrien wines are the Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, and Crown of Cab.
Annual Production: 5,000 cases
Estate Vineyard Acreage
40 acres of estate wine grapes.
We can’t stress enough that wine is made in the vineyard, which is why our vineyards are so important to us. Domaine Berrien Cellars is an all estate winery. What does that mean? It means that all of our wines are made only from grapes grown in our vineyards and that all of our winemaking and bottling takes place right here on site as well. This gives us the control over the grapes and we make decisions all during the growing year that maximize the quality (not quantity) of our grapes. This gives us a higher probability of producing the most premium wines. Our unique site located on one of the highest points in Berrien County, within the Lake Michigan Shore AVA growing region, provides what can be the ideal climate for outstanding wine grapes. The extended growing season and gentle ripening contribute to the characteristics of quality and complexity in our wines. Located on southerly facing hillsides ranging from 900’ to 800’ of elevation, our vineyards are trellised in a north/south direction to provide even sunlight on both sides of the vines, and hold the sun’s heat to allow better ripening of the grapes, especially for red wines. Our oldest vines were planted in 1992, and we have been adding more grapevines each year as our needs grow. We currently grow 21 different varieties of wine grapes in our 40 acres of vineyards:
40 acres of estate wine grapes.
We can’t stress enough that wine is made in the vineyard, which is why our vineyards are so important to us. Domaine Berrien Cellars is an all estate winery. What does that mean? It means that all of our wines are made only from grapes grown in our vineyards and that all of our winemaking and bottling takes place right here on site as well. This gives us the control over the grapes and we make decisions all during the growing year that maximize the quality (not quantity) of our grapes. This gives us a higher probability of producing the most premium wines. Our unique site located on one of the highest points in Berrien County, within the Lake Michigan Shore AVA growing region, provides what can be the ideal climate for outstanding wine grapes. The extended growing season and gentle ripening contribute to the characteristics of quality and complexity in our wines. Located on southerly facing hillsides ranging from 900’ to 800’ of elevation, our vineyards are trellised in a north/south direction to provide even sunlight on both sides of the vines, and hold the sun’s heat to allow better ripening of the grapes, especially for red wines. Our oldest vines were planted in 1992, and we have been adding more grapevines each year as our needs grow. We currently grow 21 different varieties of wine grapes in our 40 acres of vineyards:
Grape Varieties Planted
- Cabernet Franc
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Chardonnay
- Chelois
- De Chaunac
- Lemberger
- Malbec
- Marsanne
- Merlot
- Petit Verdot
- Pinot Gris / Grigio
- Pinot Noir
- Riesling
- Roussanne
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Seyval Blanc
- St. Vincent
- Syrah / Shiraz
- Traminette
- Vignoles / Ravat
- Viognier