Contessa Wine Cellars

Steven McHugh

2024-02

stumbled upon Contessa Wine Cellars on a lovely Sunday winter day touring Michigan after staying in South Haven. A nice couple was walking out as my wife and I arrived and when we walked in we enjoyed a private hosting from Tony the owner himself! the BEST wine tasting experience we have ever had and we couldn't have appreciate Tony's knowledge, enthusiasm and attention to our family and fun any more!! He's incredible and so is the ambience, Marilyn Monroe collection and overall essence of the entire location!! Family owned and carried on and we plan on coming back on our next weekend adventure!! the best wine in Michigan and most certainly one of the coolest owners on earth! We took home 3 bottles for the memory!! Like Dino said "Memories are made of these!" Cheers!!

Betty Amersbach

2024-04

We go there twice a year at least when visiting from Ohio. Tony has some great wines and such a beautiful winery that sets high on a hill. We always buy a couple bottles to bring home. Love to sit on the deck with our wine and just relax

Felicia Pfluger

2023-09

Sherry is absolutely incredible and highly knowledgeable! One of our favorite vineyards. Bring a picnic or a little charcuterie and sit out on the beautiful patio after your wine tasting! Definitely worth the trip! Non-commercialized goodness.

Will STUARD

2023-05

My wife and I do a south west Michigan wine trip every year. Every year we always come home with bottles of Contessa wine because it’s the very best. Year after year always the best wine you can find in the entire region. The owner is AWESOME, such a nice guy. See you next year!

Mike D

2023-10

Very cozy atmosphere and awesome deck with relaxing views!!! Very peaceful. Good selection of affordable wine tasting. Perfect spot for Sunday Funday.

Jose Rodriguez

2024-04

Not a fun experience. The old women behind the bar was cold and unwelcoming. Not patient at all and seemed to always be overwhelmed when only a few people can even fit inside. Definitely needs a lesson on people skills and customer service. To top it all off the wine was subpar. Can’t recommend.

Seth Damas

2023-09

A comparatively small selection of wines, but all the ones we tasted were very good.A great outdoor sitting area lets you appreciate the fantastic views.

patrick stemmler

2020-05

Great stop and some pretty cool items for sale such as a delicious smelling candle and logo wine glasses at a great price. $5 wine tasting and the wine is delicious. Its a must stop if you are off I-94 Exit 39. I stopped during the winter, but would like to come back when the grapes are in season.

Jacqueline Jablonski

2022-05

Great staff! Amazing service. Gorgeous deck. My first time! And I will definitely go back again! Just gorgeous! Very serene and peaceful!

Red

2023-08

Affordable wine tasting, stayed for another full glass. Enjoyed it on our stop along through the area! Bring your own food and snacks and have a picnic!

Peter Carparelli

2021-05

First and foremost, the location is beautiful. Secondly, Tony was a kind and gracious host. Third, the wines are great. Such a nice variety of wines here that there’s got to be something for everyone. We came on a nice sunny day, were seated away from other customers by well more than 10 feet, and the facilities were immaculately cleaned. We felt safe, welcome and had a great time here.

Adam Wong

2022-05

A Beautiful vineyard accompanied with delicious wines and a gracious charming owner. By far our most amazing wine tasting experience in Michigan. Even the restroom was gorgeously decorated.

Jim & Vartsana Winkels

2018-05

During our visit to Contessa, we were the first customers on that Sunday morning. We were greeted by a pleasant gentleman who I presume was the owner. Because we were the first, we had a few moments to chat and learn about the winery. We enjoyed the conversation as well as the wine and view of the valley (overlooked the freeway, but it was still a good view). As an added bonus, there was a chocolate shop nearby, which has delicious sea salt chocolate almond bark...mmmm.Instagram: _vartsana_

Sandi Planey

2022-05

My husband and I recently visited this winery kinda by accident! Boy are we glad we did! This place is absolutely beautiful! The owner, Tony, was wonderful as well. He was very knowledgeable and engaging! We each did a tasting while exchanging stories and pictures with him! We enjoyed the wines very much as well! We will definitely be back soon!

Clint F

2022-05

Great spot for a wine tasting. Owner was there and was just a pleasure to talk to. They are limiting the number of people inside to maintain social distance. This is the right thing to do and made us feel much safer.

Dustin Battles

2023-05

The place is beautiful and the staff was amazing. There was a storm rolling in and the owner was very funny. He said we have nothing to worry about. What better place to ride out a storm then a wine cellar with a cork screw. Highly recommend definitely our favorite vineyard now. We liked everything we sampled. My gf hates dry wines and the bartender got her to try a dry white they have and she loved it! Highly recommend going! Have been multiple times does not disappoint.

Raquel Munoz

2023-05

Place was dead when we came. I don't think there was a pouring that we liked. Every tasting was very bitter. My wife had a pouring of semi-sweets and I had a pouring of dry wines. I love dry wines but these wines were not good at all.

Mark LaFaire

2023-05

I will be going back to Contessa's the next time I'm in the area. The wine and the wine tasting are priced fairly, Mellisa did a great job as hostess, Ed (The Owner) was super friendly and informative, Beautiful views, all around a very pleasant experience. Nice distinguished atmosphere....

Ken Kettring

2023-05

The entire experience at Contessa was awkward, extremely uncomfortable and overvall horrible. First, none of us like the wine. We had sweet wine livers and dry red/white wine lovers. Walked in to find a busy location which is to be expected. Woman behind the bar greets us friendly and tells us to take a seat and they will be with us shortly. Man (later to find out is the owner) comes over and begins directing traffic. His demeanor was awkward and agressive in body language and tone. Three men begin walking out and owner confronted the men and was upset that they took off and let us know. At the bar we decide to do 2 tastings yet there were three individuals (two would share). Charged us for three tastings at the end of it all. Before pouring our last wine he came up to us telling us others needed to have access to the bar so we needed to move away from the bar to taste. We had empty glasses and he just looked at us so we asked for our last tasting. All 3 of us wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. We should have followed suit and left when the 3 men did ahead of us. We will never return to this winery as it was the worst experience in wine country.

Mark Bruning

2022-05

The deck is beautiful and the wines are tasty, there's just not that much of a selection. The bartender was exceptionally nice and it was an all around pleasant experience. We had a great time. I would definitely recommend Contessa for a nice mid afternoon visit.

Joel Reyes

2021-05

We love to chill at this Winery. The wine is alway good, pairs well with all the cheese, crackers, olives and snacks we bring with us.The service is always outstanding, the ladies treat us well and are friendly with big smiles on their faces. We really appreciated the staff allowing us to celebrate my 53rd birthday today. You made me feel very special.Thank you and we will be back soon.Joel

Noe Uribe

2023-05

very nice place to enjoy the view as well of wine!!!!

Bradford Czochara

2023-05

Excellent wine and patio experience! Wine tasting is always fun and nice staff to help guide you even if you are not sure what wines to try. Definitely recommend!

Carly Baranak

2020-05

This was the second stop on our wine tour, when we walked in we were immediately greeted by the bartender / owner that did not seem happy to see us. he questioned whether or not we were ready to have a tasting, at this point in time we were sober I'm very disappointed to be asked this question. every other winery we visited was extremely excited and inviting to have us come in, I would not recommend this winery. Also, there were children welcome, which seems weird for a place where adults should be drinking.

Thomas Douthart

2017-05

The wines here are very well done. They were very good from the white to the reds and the cherry wine is the best I've tasted anywhere. Tony is very great at what he does. Very well done. Thanks will be back for sure. Try these wines and the view is outstanding from the tasting room.

Lauren H. Logan

2018-05

I stopped here after seeing their signs on my last few drives through MI. I am glad I stopped. The service was very friendly, and they helped recommend a wine as a gift based on what I described. I enjoyed the Prediletto Blush very much, and got a bottle for myself. The tastings were of ample size, and I enjoyed that they have animal crackers as the palate cleansers. I would stop here again.

Sonya Persky

2020-05

Had an uncomfortable encounter with the owner, who argued with me about taking glasses of wine on the patio. Also, before we got there, we called and asked if dogs were allowed on the patio; they said yes, and then when we got there the owner told us a “Michigan Ordinance” does not allow it, and proceeded to be very assertive when I said I would just leave. I did not get great vibes from the customers either. However, it is a beautiful winery with beautiful views.

Brian Wilson

2017-05

Wine was about par for the area. Did not try anything sweet so I can not comment on that. Decor was a little dated but quaint, deck has a great view. Negatives of the visit was the man doing our tasting was very flustered by the crowd. He was slow in getting from customer to customer with non wine related small talk. Also stopped to overexplain to multiple groups of people waiting that they aren't used to crowds and they can't accommodate them for a few more minutes and on and on. The crowd was maybe 30 people and if he had focused on pouring and talking wine with the customers he had he could have turned over the tasting groups twice as fast and still given a good experience. Wasn't bad just out of his element. Then when we were told we couldn't buy a bottle to sit out on the patio and enjoy with the 4 of us, and that they only sold by the glass (to maximize profits no doubt) we decided we had seen enough. Probably a good experience during a slower time but with all of the other options we probably won't be back.

Kara Edge

2022-05

Would be nice to have tried a tasting, but they were very rude. We stepped in and they told us they’re busy - no issue. We stepped aside to wait. They then let 3 groups that came in after us go to taste before us. When we pointed this out, he said in a very rude tone that we can wait outside. We said we’d leave and he said we can come back another day - No thank you.

Veronica Ramsey

2022-05

Wonderful location and great wine, will be back