As of 2020, there were 3,375 acres (1,366 ha) under wine-grape cultivation[3] and over 200 commercial wineries in Michigan, producing 3 million US gallons (11,000,000 L) of wine.

There are also a few disjunct wineries in every region of the state, including some in the Upper Peninsula that have opened over the past several years.

North American native grapes have the advantage of being adapted to local growing conditions, with consequent high fruit yield.

The River Raisin flows for almost 139 miles in that area, and there were so many grapes growing naturally along its banks when French settlers arrived in the 1780s that they named it after the sun-dried fruit and were making good wine as many were farmers and many had trading posts.

[citation needed] With large plantings of Concord in the southwest, mostly for the Welch Grape Juice Company, the state was well positioned to enter wine production.

[8] Presently, various hybrid varieties are being looked at which could allow grape growing in the Upper Peninsula to expand significantly over the next several years.

The Greater Traverse City area, which includes the peninsulas of Leelanau and Old Mission, is one of the primary wine regions of Michigan.

The soil is sandy, with good drainage, and a lake-dominated climate allows a longer growing season than in most of the U.S. Midwest.

[10] The climate of Greater Traverse City allows for the production of ice wine, which requires an early hard freeze so the fruit still on the vine can be harvested while frozen.

[12] Michigan is one of the foremost U.S. states in the production of diverse varieties of bottled, fermented fruit wine.

Fruit wine has a long history in Europe, especially in regions such as Poland and the Baltic states where grapes do not easily grow.

However, Michigan vineyards, particularly vinifera vineyards, remain vulnerable to late spring and early fall cold snaps, such as the killing frost of March 2003, insufficient growing season heat to fully ripen the grapes, and rot or mildew originating from rainfall while the grapes are maturing.

This festival was originally an event held in early May to attract tourists to Northern Michigan to view the cherry blossoms.

The festival is a two-day event with a non-denominational ceremony taking place to bless the cherry and grape blossoms for the coming growing season.

[20] Starting in 2010, Michigan International Speedway has hosted the annual Great Lakes Wine Festival.

The festival offers the opportunity to taste Michigan wine from all over the state while wineries demonstrate food pairings.