Late-May Pours with a Window on the Bay

A calm, bright stretch of May on the Leelanau Peninsula—jackets still on hooks, corks quietly turning.

The light in late May comes in sideways and clean, even when the sky can’t decide what it wants to be. You hear it before you see it—screen door tapping once, a slow drip from an eave, the soft hush of tires on damp pavement out on the county road. Inside, the window glass holds a faint, silvery reflection from the bay, like Lake Michigan is just offstage, waiting for summer to step up.

There’s still a jacket slung over the chair back—photographable in that honest way—and a pair of shoes by the mat with a little grit stuck in the treads from vineyard rows that haven’t fully dried out yet. On the counter: a towel folded tight, a corkscrew laid down with its hinge open, and two stemmed glasses catching the last of the afternoon. Someone sets a bottle down gently—one small clink against wood—then pauses a beat to listen for the wind in the maples outside.

Right now on the Leelanau Peninsula, the pours that make sense are the ones that match the in-between. Think Mawby Vineyards Brut Sparkling Wine when the air still has that cool edge at the doorframe, or Bel Lago Vineyards Dry Riesling when the light stretches longer but you’re not pretending it’s July. If dinner’s coming in steady and warm, you’ll also see Black Star Farms Pinot Noir opened a little early so it can breathe while the kitchen keeps quiet.

And when the clouds thicken—because they still do in May, even on a good week—there’s something fitting about a glass that holds its ground without shouting. A bottle like Chateau Fontaine Pinot Blanc feels right on a table with a simple plate, a window cracked just enough to let in the sound of a passing gull, and that familiar lake-cooled calm settling into the evening.

Where to Buy:
Mawby Vineyards
Bel Lago Vineyards