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Spas, Wine and Luxury in Northern Michigan
By Rita Cook

Traverse City! Where, you say? Well, you're probably saying "where," but there is one thing I can tell you for sure, once you have visited Traverse City you won't forget exactly where it is in Northern Michigan.

In fact, it's a jewel of a secret destination so maybe you shouldn't tell anyone. Or, maybe just a few of your closet friends. After all, there are some amazing spas, lots of wines (think Madonna's father's winery) and some great food located in the downtown area and you don't want to spoil that with lots of people.

Too bad, there are already lots of people who know about Traverse City so you're just catching up. Even when you visit in the winter like I did you don't even have to go outside unless you just want to for the downhill or cross country skiing, tubing or snow mobile rides, that's available too. Me, I just hung out and drank wine, ate chocolate and enjoyed a few gourmet meals. Oh, and there's also shopping, lots of it.

Let's start with the wineries, why not, I like wine. I actually spent an entire day doing a winery tour so in a nutshell let's go over the options. I visited Chateau Chantal (www.chateauchantal.com) home to both red and white (demand the Chardonnay even if you aren't a Chardonnay lover, I'm not and this one made my palette sing). Chateau Chantal also has ice wine and a late harvest Riesling. Next stop, Brys Estate (www.brysestate.com). Again, home to some interesting whites and the winemaker hauls from South Africa. At Brys I found myself most fond of the Bordeaux-style blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc (I am more of a red wine lover anyway). Next stop was Two Lads (www.2lwinery.com) a sort of quasi-trendy place with a great sparkling wine that is coined as a "non-traditional blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Blanc."

In the afternoon we headed to what is called the Leelanau Peninsula (in the morning we were visiting the Old Mission Peninsula area) and our first stop was L. Mawby, (www.lm-awby.com), straight sparkling wines, the owner is worth the visit alone, I could have stayed all day if I had not been quickly shuffled out (after an hour). This place also has food pairings so my suggestion - expect to stay awhile. Up next was Shady Lane Cellars (www.shadylanecellars.com) for whites and Chateau de Leelanau (www.leelanaucellars.com) for some interesting blends. Finally, we ended up back in the downtown area at a place called Left Foot Charley (www.leftfootcharley.com) for well, more white and I also tried a bit of cider (too much wine had gone to my head, but the cider was spectacular). A side note on the left foot place, it's housed in the old mental institution - the laundry area actually - now you can't miss it, huh?

You know when the wine tour is over because it's then time for coffee. Next door to Left Foot Charley is a place called Higher Ground Trading Company Coffee Bar (www.highergroundstrading.com), it was good coffee too and you will be especially happy to note too that this company is all about organic and fair trade.

The spa portion of my trip was exclusively at Grand Traverse Resort (www.grandtraverseresort.com) where I also stayed for the week and ate quite a few meals too. Called, Spa at Grand Traverse - don't let the simple name fool you. They offer both Sonya Dakar and Aveda products and I enjoyed a pedicure, massage and facial. Since Traverse City is known for its cherries you will want to indulge in at least one of the "cherry" option treatments. I opted for the Cherry Infused Massage and my experience was more than amazing. There is also the Cherries and Cream Body Treatment, Cherry Honey Glow and either a Cherry Infused Manicure or Pedicure. You'll be in Cherry Heaven (and drop by American Spoon Foods (www.spoon.com) for chocolate covered cherries to take home.

Food was a hit in the Traverse City area, I headed up to a place called Shanty Creek (www.shantycreek.com) for a Culinary Institute class and I even learned how to make ice cream. As well, there is an amazing restaurant at Shanty Creek for dinner and one "cold" thing you might want to do is the lovely little sleigh ride. It's warm enough if you're bundled in blankets.

Other food options that you won't want to miss is the more relaxed (www.GTPie.com) Grand Traverse Pie Co. downtown (27 varieties of fruit pie and that's enough said), (www.eatatginger.com) Red Ginger also downtown for dinner (this is a must for any sushi lover) and again, where I spent a lot of time Grand Traverse Resort's Aerie Restaurant and Lounge (ask for a soup - any soup and you might consider partaking in one of the cooking classes there too).

Recap, did I mention Traverse City sits on Grand Traverse Bay - it does. Did I mention Traverse City is hip? It is. Did I mention summertime is also a great time to visit - for all the obvious reasons. I won't go on, it's time for you to experience it yourself. But did I convince you? Hope so, but gotta go, off to book a flight to visit there this spring.

For more information on Traverse City visit www.mytraversecity.com

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