TRAVERSE CITY, MI - Cruise lovers, you’ve got a new reason to raise a glass to evenings spent on Grand Traverse Bay.
The Tall Ship Manitou is partnering with award-winning winery Black Star Farms to offer wine-tasting sunset sails around the bay. The wine cruises are set for a handful of dates this summer.
“Come and enjoy a relaxing sunset cruise while tasting the best of one of our local wineries,” Tall Ship Manitou staff said while announcing the new event schedule this week. “This wine-tasting event aboard the schooner Manitou features five different wines from Black Star Farms winery. What better way to enjoy the evening than with the scenic beauty of sailing on Grand Traverse Bay and the rich flavors of local wines?”
The first wine-tasting sail is set for Tuesday, July 9, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The vineyard’s menu includes a dry and semi-dry Riesling, a Pinot Noir Rosé, a Pinot Noir and a cherry dessert wine.
Other wine-tasting sail dates are: July 30, Aug. 6 and Aug. 13.
Tickets are $70. This includes five tastings and a two-hour sail.
Samples of wine are poured at Black Star Farms on Old Mission Peninsula in Grand Traverse County on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. Black Star Farms is one of ten wineries that make up the Old Mission Peninsula Wine Trail. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)MLive.com
Sailing aboard the Manitou is a popular Traverse City experience for locals and visitors alike. In the summer and fall, it’s a familiar sight gliding across the bay with its big sails unfurled.
The double-masted tall ship is a replica of an 1800s coasting cargo schooner. It represents the workhorse chapter in our maritime history, the type of boat that tirelessly ferried cargo and fed the early industries around the Great Lakes.
But this 114-footer was built to carry passengers. She’s now in her 33rd summer in Traverse City. It offers daily trips and a growing number of specialty sailing events.
While the tourist demographic has changed since the Manitou was built in the 1980s, the need to get away from it all and feel the bay breeze in your face is still a big part of vacationing on the Great Lakes.
Constructed in 1983, the schooner was outfitted specifically to offer multi-day cruises on Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont. The Manitou was later moved to Grand Traverse Bay, where the biggest chapter of its working life has been spent.
The schooner’s busy schedule includes daily Moomers Ice Cream sails, weekend brunch sails, and evening sails with live entertainment.
To see the Manitou’s sailing schedule, check here, or follow the Traverse Tall Ship Company on Facebook.