Petoskey: The Journey


The saying goes ‘The journey, Not the destination matters...’ On our way up north, Petoskey was part of the journey. And the journey was awesome. This was the first time I’d been to Petoskey. But I’ll definitely have to go back.

We wound our way through the countryside on our way up and stopped in at Walloon Lake Winery. There really is a Walloon Lake—it looks something like an Old English U. The winery itself is a 60-year-old, small family owed winery. Their North Arm Noir won Best Dry Red Wine at the Michigan Wine Competition, which is one of reasons why we went here.

The tasting room is in a lovely barn-style building with fresh sunflowers on the table. We had great time sampling the wines with a pretty informative wine steward. The small tasting room allowed us to chat with the other wine enthusiasts. I love meeting fellow travelers. In the end, we picked up a bottle of red, a white and the Cherry Lane fruit wine, which I recommend if you like tart cherry wine.

After our drive and the wine, we were hungry, so we headed into Petoskey and stopped at Beards Brewery. This brewery has a sort of hilarious charm to it. Seriously take a peak around the place if you get a chance. Oh, and take in the view of the lake from the bar area—Prime!

I like fusion aspect to the menu. Mom had Veggie Curry (it’s vegan!), while I had the Pho and stepdad had the pulled pork sandwich. We complemented our fare with Forget Me Knot, a Hibiscus saison; Maluscious, an apple cider Saison; and a barrel-aged brown called Deez Nutz. Everything was fantastic! And since we stopped in on a Friday, there was a band.

And crazy enough, that was only on the road Up North, we weren’t even there yet. So, when I come back to Petoskey, what are some unmissable stops? Any favorites in the area? Let me know, because I can’t wait to come back.

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