BARK RIVER – A U.P. grown wine has received its second gold medal in international competition. For an area that was not supposed to be a viticulture area, Northern Sun Winery of Bark River is breaking the rules and expectations with gold medals from both the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, and the Indy International Wine competition within one year. “Our wines are 100 percent locally grown – right here in our vineyards. Because of the high quality of our wines some people thought we bought California grapes.” said wine maker David Anthony. ” It is very rewarding now to see our wine used by universities in their wine education programs, and served at their social events. This is no fluke. We are here to stay. We have been growing grapes here since 1999 and our vines do better than most other regions of the state because of our growing conditions, and we chose the right grapes for the site.”

“When we first started growing grapes we were told by the established industry and many academics that it’s not possible to grow wine grapes in the U.P. They were adamant even without any knowledge of our secret weapon – the U.P.’s banana belt – our area’s milder climate. We were dismissed as crazy,” recalls Northern Sun Winery’s General Manager Susie Anthony.

“The banana belt, portions of the south central region of the U.P., provides micro climates that are suitable for growing properly researched wine grapes. Not only do these grape vine grow, they produce wonderful wines”, according to Susie Anthony “We are also proud that our reds are receiving recognition, and medals in competition.” Susie continues, “Our Marquette, Leon Millot, and Sole de Sara red wines, have all won Medals in international competition.”

Northern Sun Winery is located in Bark River, 15 miles west of Escanaba. Its Mediterranean style cottage tasting room is surrounded by vineyards and features outdoor seating in a quaint European setting. The winery is open Thursday through Sunday, 1 to 6 p.m. from May through Christmas. Off season the tasting room are open by appointment. Call 906-399-9212 and Dave and Susie will come out of the vineyard to serve samples of their wine.