Don Coe, formerly the president of Hiram Walker, is now the operating partner of Black Star Farms, located within the Leelanau Peninsula AVA, in Suttons Bay, Michigan. Armed with a 1962 degree in hotel administration from Cornel University, Coe has effectively become the State’s leader in wine agritourism. Its benefit to the growth of the Michigan wine industry continues to be huge. Coe is a sought-after national speaker on his agritourism model.

Coe worked in hotels for a number of years before being recruited by Hiram Walker (owners of Chateau Latour among others) to work in the marketing and sales arena of the international marketplace. Because of his background, Coe was a most insistent manager, who focused on sales to the culinary trade. Today, he is a mover and shaker in the farm-to-table movement, advocating fresh, local food and local wines. “You know what would happen,” he says, “if you went to Tuscany and requested a bottle of Burgundy in a local restaurant.”

For 30 years, Coe and his wife Marylou went to the Leelanau area as summer residents, so it was a natural place when he considered retirement. From his days at Hiram Walker, Coe had developed an interest and love for eau-de-vie and considered production from Michigan’s abundant fruit as a viable second career business. Yet, to operate a distillery in Michigan, one must own a winery first.

In 1998, with Kerm Campbell, former Executive VP in the agricultural sector at Dow Chemical and fellow northern Michigan summer resident turned Michigan grape grower, Coe strategized the formation of Black Star Farms. As winemaker, they recruited 42 year-old Lee Lutes and gave him equity as an incentive. Their aim was to put together a trio that would advance not only the quality of wine but the concept of agritourism. Like Coe, Lutes had spent time in Australia and Europe and knew the concept of agriculture and wineries, that which we now call agritourism. He agreed totally with the idea that Michigan needs to save the small family farm model of grape growers and develop an industry that brings consumers to a farm.

Overall, Black Star Farms has a unique structure. Campbell and Coe are the owners of Black Star Farms, LLC (the land and the buildings). The winery is a separate business unit as are the Inn and stables. Investor-partners have been brought in for the units while Campbell and Coe hold majority shares. There are now seven different grower-partners.

“An investor,” says Coe, “is not going to make it in growing alone. The person must grow, process, market and retail. The world does not need another winery, nor a Michigan winery. To succeed, an owner must create customers and the only place to do that successfully is on the farm. There’s a reason why we picked this 160-acre property with equestrian potential on Michigan Route 22-A. It was adjacent to the main highway going through Leelanau County and was visible from the road. The property has what I call a wow factor – a visual attraction.”

More than that, the parcel has a hillside with natural air drainage and south and west-facing slopes, which now contain terraced vineyards. In short, Black Star Farms operates a winery (with wines under the Arcturos and Leorie Vineyard label), a distillery, a fresh produce farm, horse stables and a B&B Inn. Also operating on the site is the Leelanau Cheese Company, an independent creamery owned by Anne and John Hoyt, which produces European-style cheese made from cow’s milk.

Black Star Farms is a Community Supported Agriculture member and therefore grows vegetables in season for members as well as raising chickens for fresh eggs served at the Inn. The great European wine chateaux have a wow factor as does Black Star. Imitation has been called the greatest form of flattery.

Knowing this background, we still had questions for Coe and Lutes.