Fennville is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) on the shores of Lake Michigan in the US state of Michigan. The lake moderates the temperatures in this otherwise cool-climate region, making it suitable for viticulture. Bright, fresh white wines made from Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris are a specialty of Fennville.
©Fenn Valley Vineyards
The AVA covers 75,000 acres (30,300ha) and is bordered by the Kalamazoo River in the north and the Black River in the south. Named after the town of Fennville, which lies six miles (10km) from the lake shores, Fennville became the first of Michigan's four AVAs when it was delimited in 1981. Lake Michigan Shore arrived in 1983, entirely encompassing Fennville, and now accounts for half of Michigan's total wine production.
The presence of Lake Michigan is vital to winemaking in Fennville, cooling the land in summer and warming it in winter. During the growing season, warm sunshine is tempered by cooling breezes off the lake. These slow the ripening process, leading to the retention of acidity in the grapes and translating as balance in the finished wines. Over winter, a thick layer of lake effect snow insulates the vines from devastating freezes.
The sandy, free-draining soils in Fennville are the result of extensive glaciations over thousands of years. These soils are infertile and are not well suited to any kind of agriculture except for grape vines, which perform very well (viticulturally speaking) on them. The lack of water and nutrients in the soils stresses the vines, lessening the growth of leafy vegetation and lowering grape yields. As a result, the berries have good concentrations of flavors and sugars and make intense, well-structured wines.
While the majority of Fennville's vineyards are planted to vinifera grape varieties, there are smaller plantings of Franco-American hybrid grapes, specifically bred to withstand the cold in the northernmost states of the US. Traminette, Vignoles and Chardonel are all planted within the AVA and are sometimes seen in blended white wines. Unfortunately, due to the obscurity of the Fennville AVA, many of the region's wines are labeled under the larger Lake Michigan Shore AVA.
