The Winery @ Young Farms

We had a primary goal when we started The Winery @ Young Farms: To prove that quality wine could be produced in Central Michigan.  We planted cold-hardy hybrid grape varietals and upon those maturing, converted Mark's "Man Cave" into a winery and tasting room.  With our background in healthcare, Mark a pharmacist and Abby a nurse, we knew this to be true: to produce a quality product, you need the right people, right materials and right equipment.

 

The Right People

 

Owner- Mark Young: If there is one thing Mark doesn't do well, it's delegate.  He personally cares for the vineyard and does all the wine-making.  "Every winemaker wants perfect grapes, but I could never find them so I decided to grow them myself."

 

Lady Boss- Abby Young: If Mark is the gears of Young Farms, Abby is the grease.  She picks up all the slack and is basically the swiss army knife of the operation. When she isn't at the winery, she's running their two children all over, or doing laundry, or working as a Pediatric Nurse in Big Rapids.

 

Farm Operations Manager-Brady Flachs: From the tasting room to blueberry production, Brady is Mark's cousin and now our right hand man. Mark and Brady grew up together selling Grandpa Eugene's corn and now we are so lucky to have his help with this venture!

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Tasting Room Staff:

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Michele Young-Level 1 Sommelier: Mark and Abby's sister-in-law,  Michele is a wine aficionado who has tasted wine in Italy, France, Napa, Sonoma and points in between. She is one of the "Original 4" sommeliers here at the winery. A retired English teacher, she recently became a certified Level 1 Sommelier.

 

Tracy Snyder: Tracy is also one of the "Original 4" in our tasting room. She warmly welcomed Abby to a playgroup in 2012 and Abby warmly welcomed Tracy to our tasting room knowing her humorous charm and friendly smile would bring our customers the relaxed atmosphere we are known for.

 

Olivia Hamlin: Olivia also joined our team in 2017 and quickly became a favorite to our customers in the tasting room. She loves to share her knowledge about Young Farms (and Michigan) in our tasting room, leaving her customers with a wide berth of knowledge about our facility. You will find her in her elementary school classroom where she teaches when the winery closes.

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Marie Chapman: Marie is a part of our family (literally married to Mark's cousin) and is also now a member of our winery family! Careful, if you blink, you might miss her as Marie is an avid runner, and has completed countless races ranging from 5k to marathons. In the off season, Marie is a social worker in our area schools.

 

Pattie Dzuris: Pattie became a member of our winery family in 2018. Always a team player, Pattie will jump in (even on her days off) to help if we need her. She also is an avid runner and has even qualified for the notorious Boston Marathon. Her warm personality and hospitality background make her a treasured employee here @ Young Farms.

 

Katie Wernette: Katie joined our winery tasting room staff in 2018, where her fun personality and warm smile makes even the shyest of patrons right at home. Katie spends her time the rest of the year as an agriculture teacher and new mom of Harlan.

 

Barb Farr: Barb is also a new addition to the winery in 2021. She has had a vacation home in the area for over 40 years, and is becoming a permanent resident in the area as of this year! 

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Ashley Covey: Ashley is new to the winery in 2022! Abby met her at a summer camp she was running last year, and immediately knew she would be a great fit for our winery....and she was right! Ashley's contagious smile and warm personality will make you feel right at home at the tasting bar or when you order from her smiling face!

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Jennifer Upham: Jennifer has recently retired from the Mecosta Osceola Career Center where she taught in the Hospitality and Food Service program. Abby knew that was a winning combo, and her warm and fun personality will have you smiling too!

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Jackie Booms: Jackie recently moved back to the area from Colorado and jumped right in! She coaches cross country for the Chippewa Hills Middle School and when she isn't doing that, you can find her friendly smile here at the winery!

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Lindsey Gibson: This is Lindsey's second season at the winery. She has picked the blueberries for us for a long time,and graduated to the tasting room last year. She recently graduated high school and is looking forward to serving you again this season.

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Stephanie Moore: This is Stephanie's first season at the winery, and she has also recently graduated from high school. Her warm personality and shy smile (no worries, we are sure she'll be as loud as the rest of us soon enough) can make the darkest days turn bright. 

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Dana Hatfield: Another customer turned winery staff, Dana is a gem of a person and our newest hire here at the winery. She is a teacher at a local elementary school. We love her smile and her personality and know you will too!

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Nora Toogood: This is also Nora's first year on staff this year, and another recent high school grad. Nora is warm and inviting and we know you will love her as much as we do.

 

Pinot: Pinot is the official winery dog of The Winery @ Young Farms. He doesn't like to go far from Abby but loves to watch over the workings of the winery and tasting room during our winery season.

 

The Right Materials

Grapes:  Every varietal wine is named for the grape, if there was no chardonnay grape, there would be no chardonnay wine.  Great wine starts in the vineyard, so at Young Farms all of the wine we make starts with grapes that we grow.  We do purchase grapes, if necessary, sourcing grapes from Arrowhead Vineyards in Michigan and the Dry Creek Ranch in California.

Blueberries:  Our Bertha's Blue blueberry wine is crafted with 100% Young Farms berries.  All hand-picked and sorted.  The Winery @ Young Farms is one of the few wineries in the world that make estate-produced blueberry wine.

Glass:  Our wine bottles were manufactured in France and our stemware and growlers are made in the USA.

Corks:  We use Diam corks manufactured in France and guaranteed to be TCA-free.

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The Right Equipment

Crusher/Destemmer: Our Zambelli Crusher/Destemmer and must pump was built in Italy and made of stainless steel.

Press: Our Lancman water-bladder press is Slovenian-made stainless steel.

Pump: Our flexible impeller pump has an Italian head coupled to an American made inverter-drive motor.

Tanks: Our tanks were custom made for The Winery @ Young Farms in North Central Italy.  They are high grade polished stainless steel and variable capacity.

Barrels: We use 100% French Oak medium toast barrels that have been re-coopered in the United States.

 

What does all this mean?

When you get the right people and give them the right materials and equipment, they make really good wine. Come out and try it yourself, we know you'll be pleasantly surprised.

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-Mark and Abby Young

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