Blackstar Farms knows a thing or two about experiences. Starting as a simple vineyard, they have grown into a world-class experience that includes a plush hotel, beautiful horses, hiking and all kinds of activities. Sherri Fenton, General Manager shares with us the history of Blackstar Farms, what you can expect when you go, and how they made it to 25 years in this very competitive business!

Links:

https://blackstarfarms.com/

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: Part of my family's goal was to

create a destination, world class hospitality experience for guests.

So if you're going to have that kind of an experience, it

needs to be a full experience.

to set the tone for what true hospitality truly could be.

Hello everyone and welcome back to Total Michigan, the

show where we interview ordinary Michiganders who are doing some

pretty extraordinary things.

We are in the Traverse Wine Coast this week interviewing some pretty cool

people, doing some amazing things.

And I always love traveling up north in the summertime 'cause it's a great time

to take the opportunity to get out, enjoy some wine, enjoy some beautiful country.

And today we are fortunate enough to have Blackstar Farms open their

doors and allow us to come in.

And joining me today is Sherri Fenton, the general manager of Blackstar Farm.

Sherri, how are you?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: I'm wonderful.

Thank you very much.

Excellent.

Once again, thanks for having us here today.

Really appreciate it.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: I'm delighted and I'm delighted

that you've come to the right spot on Traverse Wine Coast.

Oh, sweet Moses.

Smell the roses.

This place is gorgeous and we're gonna get to that in just a second.

So before we jump into all the good stuff, if you would just take

a couple minutes in, just explain to us what is Blackstar Farms?

What all did you entail?

Wow.

Okay, number one Blackstar Farms is a winery.

We started initially as a winery, and we, quickly added on an Inn because

this property that we purchased, this beautiful a hundred and acre 160 acres,

had a fantastic almost completed house on it, which we turned into an inn.

And opened that the first fall after purchasing the property in the spring.

So we are a winery.

We're an inn.

We are Bistro Polarius a Mediterranean inspired bistro.

We are an event destination.

We're a destination wedding venue.

We're a place to go hiking.

We're a place to come bring the kids and look at the horses and the baby goats.

We are a lot of things.

Yes you are.

There's a lot more to, Blackstar Farms is just a winery and you're right.

So why don't you tell us, just to do a recap, 'cause this is the

second time you've been on the show.

But just for a quick recap, tell us a little bit about where

you're from and where you grew up.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: So personally, I'm from

Michigan, but I grew up overseas.

Okay.

And that was part of the inspiration for Blackstar Farms was that my

parents spent a lot of time when we were living in Wales and Belgium,

going to wineries in Western Europe.

So they were able to get a flavor for what fine wine truly was and

develop an appreciation for it.

So as we fast forwarded and moved back to Michigan and were vacationing

up north up here in the Traverse City area, my father recognized that

people were starting to plant grapes.

They were making pretty decent wine.

So he planted his first 40 acres on Old Mission Peninsula in the early nineties.

Blackstar Farms, this property in Sutton's Bay popped up on

the market in the mid nineties.

And so purchasing that, it was a natural foray into, Hey, I'm

already growing, producing grapes.

we could start a winery.

Sure.

So we found a fantastic wine maker who was still with us to this day and we have

been making extraordinary, increasingly extraordinary wine for 25 years now.

So let me ask you this question, ' cause it's quite a leap from

going from, I'm interested in wine to I'm gonna go out and plant 40 acres.

Has your dad ever shared the reason why he decided to try to grow his

own grapes and make his own wine?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: Because why not?

He's a risk taker.

He is a risk taker.

Why not?

So he is an, involved in many different businesses and if something

grabs his interest, he jumps in.

So your dad's an entrepreneur.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: He is very much an entrepreneur.

Okay, so that explains right there.

You should have just led with that.

Beautiful.

Absolutely love it.

Okay, so we've got Blackstar Farms and this place is like up and running.

And at some point in time your parents asked you to join the business.

So talk to us a little bit about that.

What was your thoughts coming in about taking over the business,

being the general manager?

the two partners that were really mostly

involved in this business for many years, were my parents, Kerman, Sally

Campbell, and then Don and Mary Luco.

this other couple were also initial investors.

There were two others who bowed out.

earlier on.

And so when our family bought out the Coss at the end of 2015, that's when my

father tapped me on the shoulder ah, and said, I need you to leave your non-profit

that you're working for and come join us.

So I stepped in essentially, on the heels of the other managing partner.

Now coming in, you've got this business that's established out there

and they want you to come in and run it.

What was, what were some of the skills that you brought over?

'cause you said you were working for a nonprofit or

running a nonprofit at the time.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: for a nonprofit, Working.

So what was some of those skills that you transferred over to

really start to, to make this place go?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: Initially I came on board and headed

up marketing and public affairs.

Okay.

So I, I took over the marketing and the just our public voice and

started maybe reaching out and doing different things and getting our team

on board to I perhaps think a little bit differently about some things.

I've also been, have a background in sales.

So I love to talk about Blackstar Farms and love to sell the

opportunities that we present here.

And so those are a couple of the main things that I really brought to the farm.

And over the years, 'cause you said that this started

out as a vineyard and then within the first year you've added an Inn.

And it seems like you're adding all the time to, to what Blackstar Farms is.

So first off the, I know that you said that you built it in ' cause

the house was almost completed.

What was it like to turn that on?

like I said, it's just, it's quite a leap to just have just a vineyard.

You've got a tasting room, people come in, take, but all of a sudden,

people could spend the night.

So talk to us a little bit about getting that up.

Getting that up and running.

What was that like?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: So part of my family's goal was to

create a destination, world class hospitality experience for guests.

So if you're going to have that kind of an experience, it

needs to be a full experience.

So bringing the house to life.

The house had a private bathroom with each bedroom.

It was a natural just yes,

do that

now.

And so allowing people the opportunity to come up and to stay at a

winery adds a whole new dimension.

we have guests who come up for a couple of days in the wintertime, get

one of our suites with a fireplace.

They eat here.

They have some wine tasting.

If they take a nap, or read a book, they don't even want to

leave because this is so as you can see here, it's just so peaceful.

And it's idyllic and it's a wonderful escape from the real world or the big

cities that many people come to us from.

so just creating that awesome experience.

you get to stay here, you get to see, you get to walk and observe

what's going on on the crush pad.

You'll see the grapes coming in.

You see the workers up in the vineyard, in the estate vineyard.

You get to see it all going on.

So why not stay and be a part of it?

Actually, I really like that.

The fact that this is a working farm.

You can see exactly how the wine is being made.

And then you've got a really nice room to go back to at the end of the day.

Or if you just wanna stay and grab a bite to eat and maybe you've had one too many,

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: then that's even better, right?

No cars involved.

No cars involved.

And in addition to this, so you started off with the Inn.

And I know you've got equestrian.

You got horses running around here.

where did that idea come from?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: sound like a wacky idea.

doesn't it?

Well, if you've had too many, it might be a wacky idea, but it's

beautiful and for some reason it fits.

So talk to us, where did that idea come from?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: So the gentleman who was building

the house, his wife rode dressage.

So he built her these beautiful stables.

There was on the property and still is a centennial barn, which

was built in the late 18 hundreds.

So that was the hay barn for the horses.

It's now I might add an event space,

For cool weddings.

But there was that centennial barn and then he built a huge indoor riding arena

for her to ride indoors during the winter as well as an outdoor riding arena.

So when our family purchased the property, it was so gorgeous.

And like you said, who doesn't love seeing horses?

Like we just saw one walk by right before we started the podcast.

It's just beautiful.

So my father would call it marketing.

And we just love it.

So we have just kept it going.

We have anywhere between 20 and 27 horses on this property, privately

boarded at any point in time.

It just adds a different element to our winery experience that helps,

makes us, make us really special.

Wow.

I find myself at a little loss for words there.

So it seems like for this property here then your parents buying it, it seems

and of course this is the entrepreneur side coming out, but there's just a lot

of infrastructure was already in place when your parents bought this and was it

always the plan just to turn everything on and let's just see where it goes?

Or was it kinda hey, let's just feel this out and just do one thing at a time?

It

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: It just fell into place.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

A piece at a time.

the tasting room.

That is adorned with gorgeous, this post and beam structure.

the tasting room was built that first year when we started the business.

Sure.

but that's been added onto outdoor terraces and, more outdoor areas because

everybody comes up to Northern Michigan wants to be outside if they can.

We just built a new pavilion and opened that up last week with a

concert from Interlochen Arts Academy.

But yeah, things just kept getting added.

This building that we're sitting in front of right now, Bistro

Polaris, was an open air mirror barn.

It was turned into a, market.

Then it was turned into, we incubated a business called Nine Bean Rows.

And so we built this wood-fired oven in there, which we now use for pizzas.

Used to be used for things like amazing European style croissants.

So that business is up in Suttons Bay.

And we still have this fantastic.

Wood-fired oven.

So this building started morphing and is now a restaurant.

So things just developed over time.

The event business people started coming here and looking around and then thought,

I'd really love to have my daughter's wedding here, or, whatever it might be.

or we should bring our board meeting here.

Look how much fun that would be like when the meetings are done.

So things just started happening.

It was, never really truly a grand vision beyond the winery

and the bed and breakfast.

And here we are.

and things just keep adding

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: We just keep adding things.

So I happen to acquire a carriage before my horse I fell upon a fantastic

carriage and then had to seek out somebody who was a trained driver

and had a horse that could pull it.

Because you can't just grab a dressage horse to pull a carriage, right?

So now we can offer carriage rides to the top of the vineyard before a wedding

and bring the bride and groom down after they're married because it fits.

We've got a really cool wagon and we'll give wagon rides.

That's one of our silver anniversary things that we're doing this fall.

Just a little family fun, free wagon rides at the end of October when

the colors are amazing around here.

So we just just keep adding different things.

one of the things that I would like to explore is when

we started this conversation, we were talking about just the vineyard.

And then your language had started using terms like experience and

destination, which is actually what I was thinking about when I was standing

here looking at awe at your place.

I was like, this is not a vineyard.

This is a destination.

At what point in time did you make that?

And you say, you know what?

We are no longer just a vineyard.

We're now a destination.

when did that happen?

That was really, that was the goal the whole time.

Ah, okay.

Was to be.

a destination experience.

to set the tone for what true hospitality truly could be.

And actually even the vineyard, as you drive in this, the big curve

as you come into the property, That was just a bowl essentially

when the property was purchased.

So we chose to terrace it, like the vineyards that grow that

come off the Rhine in Germany.

So a lot of people will come in, will drive in and recognize how

beautiful it is and not necessarily think right away that, Hey, that

looks like it along the Rhine River.

But that was the goal.

So just pulling in a lot of those different things from our

past and our past experiences.

And for our audience, we're gonna take a quick break to

thank our sponsors when we come back.

we're gonna continue our conversation with Sheri and talk some more

about some of the cool things that are going on at Blackstar farms.

We'll see you after the break.

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Hello everyone and welcome back to Total Michigan, where we

interview ordinary people doing some pretty extraordinary things.

I'm your host Cliff DuVernois.

Today we're talking with Sherri Fenton at Blackstar Farms, vineyards

and Inn and Equestrian Farms and Bistro, and everything else that's

going on underneath the sun.

This really is a destination, Sherri, speaking of which,

One of, there's a couple of big things that are going on that I

wanna share with the audience.

But let's talk about first bistro Polaris.

Talk to us about Bistro Polaris.

what is the inspiration for this?

How long has it been open?

What can people expect when they come here?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: That's a great question.

So we had a cafe here for a number of years, and you know when

you get to a point in time and something needs to be reimagined,

Guilty.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: We were ready.

And so along came Chef John Korycki, who is, a really incredible chef who has drawn

his inspiration from 30 years of travel in italy, and down around the Mediterranean.

So we brought him on board with his passions and he, I just charged

him with recreating this place.

So he created a fantastic menu, bringing in just the most fresh

ingredients from our farm and local farms within just a short

distance, bringing in truly authentic ingredients that you can really taste.

You can tell the difference, right when a.

When in ingredients, super fresh and really great quality.

So he has put together a very approachable, simple menu, but things

like salad neise with a seared tuna on top, which I'm living on this summer.

he has, napole, NATO style pizzas.

Some of them filled with, grilled vegetables or all

kinds of great ingredients.

and he's having so much fun doing that.

We've got paninis, salads, amazing desserts, and so he just

brought new life to the menu here.

we updated the interior and gave that also a new look, so that as our guests who have

come to us over the years could come in and know that they're in a familiar space,

but know that something was different.

Now is the bistro, Polaris, is that

something that's open every day?

Is it dinner only?

Weekends only.

How does that work?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: Right now it is open, Thursday,

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday brunch.

We just started our Sunday brunch, goodness, a month ago.

And it is very popular.

It's a fantastic brunch where you really, it's really a special brunch.

You get to choose between three different courses, so a salad starter

or a yogurt parfait, depending on you.

If you're feeling like it's breakfast or lunchtime, right?

And, a beautiful entree and a lovely dessert.

We offer dessert wines.

We offer mimosas all kinds of little things to accompany that brunch.

We will be adding a Wednesday special wine paired dinner.

We would like that to be really a chef dinner.

And, a nice approachable price point we offer at Blackstar Farms about five or six

times a year, an Arturo's dining series.

Where we have a very, elevated 5, 6, 7 course meal that is wine paired.

This one, we want to bring it down so it's a little bit more approachable for

everybody, who, to be able to come in and experience that kind of a dinner.

So we're looking at getting those going very soon.

And, continuing those through the winter.

This, the intention is that this will stay up and through the winter.

We've done weekend dinners at the Inn that have been very well received.

We'd like to move those down here now.

and do them in a similar manner.

And because I think, if I remember correctly,

you offer, now you offer

food here at bistro polaris, but you've also had, you got another kitchen that

you offer food there as well, like when you were talking about the dinner.

So your plan is to move everything down here to Bistro polaris?

Okay.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: because the other kitchen is inside

the inn and that's not a restaurant, so that those are special events.

Oh, okay.

Alright.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Yeah.

Let's talk about the next thing.

I wanna save the big thing for the end.

Let's talk about the music that you've got going on here.

what is happening with the music?

Talk to us about that.

So this summer we started bringing in every

Thursday night, a young man who has a passion for rock, soul, blues, like

just almost like every genre of music.

And he is really talented.

So he is blessing our winery terrace with music on Thursday nights.

But it spills over down here to the bistro.

So it's a great opportunity to just come and have dinner, have a little

farm, true farm to fork experience, and then go up and have a glass

of wine and listen to some music.

we just find that, Those kinds of things add to people's experience.

it gives' them a little bit reason to just linger and enjoy, the surroundings

as someone's, singing out their favorite tunes.

yes.

Beautiful.

And then of course, all right, so we're gonna let the big thing outta the bag.

What special year is this?

Woohoo.

25.

baby.

Oh, that's incredible.

Congratulations

on that.

Yes.

So what do you got going on to celebrate 25 years of being awesome.

we like to party around here, so instead

of just throwing one big shindig, we are having parties every month.

the end of this month we are having a special cocktail party because we also

started, the year after we opened the winery, we started a distillation program.

So we are creating European style eau-de-vie.

these amazing brandies.

And so we are really bringing forward some fantastic cocktails that

we're making with those products.

So we're gonna have a cocktail party.

And show people how they can, mix different cocktails out of

some of our base basic products.

after that we're going to have a summer soiree with live music and

dancing and some fantastic food.

I think I mentioned we're gonna have hay rides in the fall for families.

Oh, I did not know that.

This you got going on.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: So we're just, we're celebrating.

We already released a special anniversary Covet, so it's a

hundred percent pinot noir grape.

Awesome.

And it's been in the works since 2019.

that's its vintage.

So made in the true method style, it takes.

It takes a while.

It takes longer than if you're just infusing with bubbles, a wine.

So this is a fantastic covet.

We only made 150 cases and just released it.

So that's a special tribute to our 25th.

So the question I got, ' cause I do drink a

little bit of wine on occasion.

So when you talk about it being pinot noir, is it a rose, is it white?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: It is more like a rose.

Okay.

because of it being a pinot noir.

Okay.

we do have a blanc DeBlanc that is the, a true white grape.

so yeah, this is more of a rose kind of champagne.

Wonderful.

I love having a good rose bubbly.

Yep.

On a nice summer day.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: Absolutely.

That's absolutely credible.

So 25 years, and you've been with Blackstar that, that whole time

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: I have been with

since

2015.

2016.

16,

okay.

You guys have grown so much over that timeframe.

Did you ever envision when you came here that Blackstar would be what it is today?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: Actually, no.

honestly.

Okay.

when Blackstar Firms was started, I was.

Raising a family and,

I wasn't paying that much attention to the family business, honestly.

Okay.

And, we were, we set a goal that making 10,000 cases a year would be fantastic,

but we kept planting more grapes and we kept growing and the demand kept growing.

We distribute in Michigan and Illinois and, we shipped to a

number of different states just to people's houses through our.

Wine Club, which has 3,500 members.

Beautiful.

And so yeah, we have just continued to grow.

Sometimes in a really good year, we'll make 35,000 cases that's awesome.

But we also have a lot of different kinds of wines, which is great because we have

something for everybody's palate.

we have over 45 different wines and spirits.

We truly do say that we have something for everybody.

We now even have a slushy

machine.

Okay.

We gave in, we have a non-alcoholic for the designated driver or kids.

And then

we have whatever's the flavor of the week.

I think it was sangria recently.

Man, you guys get your figures in everything.

I gotta get out more the, what I would like to do is I would like to talk to

you about, ' cause it 25th anniversary.

There's a lot of things that are going on.

So the question I got for you is how

do you manage all this?

How do you manage the growth?

How do you manage the quality that you produce every single year?

Making sure that when people come here to this destination that

their expectations are being met.

How do you manage all that?

We select the right people to be on our team.

We have the most incredible team.

they are, they understand what true hospitality is.

They know how to treat people.

They know how to bring people out of.

Out of, their maybe discomfort.

A lot of people who come to tasting rooms have never been in, been wine tasting

before, so they dunno what to ask for.

They don't know, they don't know anything about it.

We've got a great team who really knows just how to make people feel at ease

and that it's okay to try something that every wine, if if you like a

wine that you think you shouldn't, like, everybody has different tastes.

So that's the wine you like.

So it's awesome.

It doesn't matter if it's the least expensive wine we make or

the most expensive, that's great.

it's what you like.

And at the end we've got a fantastic team, events, people just that

know how to embrace and truly, take ownership of what they're doing.

They, our team members, our leaders want to make sure that the

experience that every guest receives is the best that they can get.

And it takes time to find the right people.

we feel it when we don't, when somebody's not a right fit.

and I think our guests feel it.

So that's something that I hold true to my heart, that we really select

the right people, which has been challenging for the last few years.

But we're very blessed.

We have a amazing team and they are the reason for our success.

because in doing some interviews with some other hotel

operators, especially independent family run operators, it always

surprises me that there's a good portion of guests that are repeat guests.

That come here, and I'm sure you could probably quote off maybe 30

or 40 people I won't ask you to,

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: who've been coming here for 25 years.

guest.

Yes.

or three or four times a year.

Yes.

Yes.

We have a.

a, nice, healthy amount of repeat guests.

So we are very blessed with that.

And the word of mouth spreads.

Sometimes people come and they meet.

We have a hospitality hour every evening in the Pegasus Lounge where

you can sit on, bar saddle stools.

And guests will become good friends.

They'll end up going out to dinner together.

They'll leave and they'll rebook the same time next year so that

they can be together again.

we love that kind of experience.

so we're, we have.

We're blessed with

repeat guests and we're blessed with a lot of new guests who

just keep discovering us like you

try again today.

Yes.

And that's one thing too that I do wanna discuss because as

I, you and I first started talking, I did not realize that Blackstar

actually has two locations, so I was always going to the one.

I believe it's probably the one that's located closer to traverse city.

That's correct.

And then this one here is up further in suttons Bay.

When did the second place open up?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: So we opened here in 1998.

We're three miles south of Sutton's Bay.

And in 2008

we opened up on old mission peninsula.

We're the first winery as you start up center road off of center

road on Old Mission Peninsula.

Gotcha.

Okay.

Because we, this location, the one that we're at is the, which one is this one?

near Suttons Bay.

Okay.

This is the one that we're talking about.

Okay.

cause I didn't, if a member of the audience wants to come here, I

wanna let them know that there's two

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: actually, that's a very good point.

Yes.

Yes.

So on old Mission Peninsula, we produce our white wines there, and

then we have a full tasting room here.

We produce our red wines and our champagne style Bubbies.

and then, oh, and we also produce our brandys on old Mission peninsula.

So

Old V that

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: is, is truly, a tasting room.

Stop there.

Here is where you could spend

the night

or spend the weekend if, you still wanted to,

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: if you're lucky enough to get

a reservation on a weekend.

Yes, I ahead.

Hey, I tell you, I drove in here and your sign up front said no vacancy.

we're right now, we're in the middle of the week shooting this interview, so yeah.

I couldn't believe when I pulled in, saw no vacancy.

I was like, okay, good for them.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: I love that site.

Yes.

How many only have 10.

Okay.

so we have three suites.

One has a complete kitchen in it, and a separate bedroom.

We have another suite that we call the girlfriends quarters.

It has a room within a room.

so it's great for either girlfriends on a weekend trip or a family traveling

perhaps with like young adult kids.

and then we have one that's affectionately called the honeymoon suite

For the weddings that happen here.

yes.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: two of those rooms are on the main

floor and then eight rooms upstairs.

Okay,

Okay, great.

And the other thing that I would like to talk about too is the fact

that this is a year-round place.

Because you also have snowshoeing.

And talk to us about the winter stuff that goes on here.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: Oh my goodness.

So winter we have had many guests.

Tell us that they feel like they're in a hallmark movie.

How do you do it?

' cause when this place is blanketed in snow, yes, just hop in your SUV

and put in your four wheel drive.

It's gorgeous up here.

We have snowshoes that are hanging at the back door of the inn for a Inn Guests.

We have every weekend we have, a whole rack of snowshoes up at the

taster room that are for rent.

We have over three miles of recreational trails.

So whether you're riding a horse or walking or snowshoeing, there's

a great opportunity to just really experience beauty in nature.

the trails are one of my favorite things, seasonally.

In the fall, the colors are amazing.

in the winter to go snow shrew through there, it's so quiet in the woods

in the winter time, it's incredible.

In the spring, I'm crazy about flowers.

All the little wild flowers that are there are just amazing.

you might find some wild, some ramps growing in the woods.

some famous morale mushrooms.

It's just a great opportunity to get out and let nature surround you.

I just have peace at the top of the trail system.

You'll end up at the top of the vineyard.

That's our wedding ceremony site.

You have little peekaboo glimpses of the bay depending upon the time of year, and

that's just a great place to just hang out up there at the top of the vineyard

too, and looking down over the farm.

So the last question I have for you is, you said you've got

45 different types of wine and drinks here, which I really wish I could sample

them all, but I can't do it all at once.

Here's my question to you.

What would be the one that you would recommend that people

try when they come here?

I would say that people need to try our

dry riesling, and I'll tell you why.

Okay.

So this region grows Riesling and Pinot Noir.

varietals very well.

They like this climate, our soil, everything.

In 2018, we won the best of Show at the canberra international riesling challenge.

Which was essentially being named the best Riesling in the world, beating out

the best Riesling growing, countries in the world over 600 different entries.

We meddled in every six, riesling that we entered.

And one best of show.

So our dry Riesling is fantastic and I would suggest that people try that.

It is lovely and fruit forward, but because our cool climate has a nice crisp

acidity and it's smooth, it's lovely.

So I would say people need to try that.

Alright, perfect.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: For a red, gosh, you can't go wrong

if you try acab Franc or a Merlot.

We've got some great red blends too.

It's really challenging sometimes to,

certainly to,

but I am quite fond of cabernet franc.

Okay.

Excellent.

Sherri, if somebody's listening to this interview and they wanna check out

what it is you're doing, I want to book a night at this mysterious inn that

I've heard so many great things about all the activities you got going on.

it's your 25th anniversary.

Where can they go to do that?

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: Please go to Blackstar farms.com.

We have a fantastic website.

we keep it very updated with the events, the current events, the events that

are upcoming, New Year's Eve dinner.

You can come spend New Year's Eve with us.

Do you know that you can have a wine pair dinner stay right at the Inn?

Piece cake after wine case waste after wine tasting.

Why do I get the feeling?

Your rubes are probably already booked for New Year's Eve.

Sherri Fenton, Blackstar Farms: they might be

be.

somebody could crash, I could crash at someone's couch.

Awesome.

And, for our audience, you can always roll it over to tone michigan.com and

click on Sherri's interview and get all the links that she just mentioned above.

We'll see you

next week when we talk to another ordinary Michigander doing some

pretty extraordinary things.