Lawton Ridge Vineyard Turns 50!

This fall we celebrate 50 years of wine grapes from our vineyard in Lawton!  Our wine vineyard was established in 1974, making it one of the oldest wine grape plantings in the state of Michigan.  To fully appreciate where we are today, we take a look back at the old world roots that grew to become Lawton Ridge Winery.

Lew Carlson grew up in Muskegon, MI and loved trout fishing and drinking beer.  He would later serve in the U.S. Army, where he was stationed in Germany. While there, he fell in love with the area and enrolled in University of Heidelberg. At the university, Carlson stayed at a boarding house and was assigned a roommate who would become a lifelong friend and the person that introduced the world of wine to Lew. This roommate was a German Baron, named Alex von Der Osten – Sachen.  As the friendship between Lew and Alex flourished, so too did Lew's interest and love of old-world wines.

Alex came from a well-established family in East Germany.  As World War II had progressed, Alex’s father was captured and sentenced to death for his participation in an attempted military coup.  Prior to his death he was able to smuggle a letter to his wife telling her to flee.  She, along with her 2 children escaped into West Germany, giving up everything they knew and everything they owned; except for an old family castle and winery in West Germany where she was able to continue to raise her young children. This is where Alex would learn all about grapes and winemaking, and later share his knowledge and experience with Lew. Alex and his family taught Lew the history and techniques of growing the grapes from the vineyard to pressing them into wines.

Lew eventually came back to the United States and became a professor at Western Michigan University. At the time, the area was dominated by Concord grapevines.  With his newly discovered interest in old world wines, Lew and his partner George Beech, another professor at WMU, decided to purchase a former peach orchard on a ridge out in Lawton, Michigan and plant old world vinifera grapevines. Alex would send him saplings and cuttings from Germany and Lew would work with a team at Michigan State University to understand how to plant these in our local conditions. They would also teach him how to fight off pests. The partners named the property Lawton Ridge Vineyard. 

Lew and George cultivated the land by hand, eventually purchasing a 1947 tractor from a neighboring farmer whose 10-year-old daughter taught them how it operated.  It was a labor of love as it took over 7 years to produce a meaningful crop. At this time, the grapes were primarily used for hobby wine making. However, in a short bit of time, they were able to supply many of the grapes to St. Julian Winery for large-scale wine production.  They grew the vineyard, expanding their plantings and developing the land into growing more varieties of wine grapes.

Dean Bender was a student of Lew’s at WMU. After studying to become a chiropractor, he returned to Kalamazoo to practice. Upon his return to the area, Dean ran into Lew at a dinner party where the Lawton Ridge wines were being enjoyed. Dean was impressed with the wines and Lew needed help with the harvest.  This lead to Dean ultimately becoming a partner in the vineyard.

In the mid-1990s, Dean Bender and Bill Harrison became sole owners of the vineyard and expanded the plantings to 10 acres, which include Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and Traminette. In 2008 Bender and friend Richard “Crick” Haltom opened Lawton Ridge Winery by buying an old building on Stadium Drive west of Kalamazoo. Dean and Crick produced a number of award-winning wines over the years, growing the winery into a successful staple on the Southwest Michigan Wine Trail.

After Dean and Crick's retirement in 2023, the Schultz Family of Mattawan purchased Lawton Ridge Winery. Bill and Denise, second generation farmers, and their son Andrew and his wife Ruth took the leap to bring Lawton Ridge into the future. Coupled with their restaurant and microbrewery - Texas Corners Brewing Company - it seemed like a natural fit. They look to continue and grow the legacy that was built before them, while adding cider, and new exciting wines from grapes and apples grown throughout Southwest Michigan.  It has been their family's mission to highlight and showcase the bounty of our local agriculture.

Lawton Ridge Winery is an extension of the Schultz family business.  From the beginnings on 80 acres outside of Mattawan in 1951, they’ve seized the opportunity to grow over three generations. Lawton Ridge Winery is the next chapter in the family's story.

We continue to celebrate and honor the history and the harvest of Lawton Ridge. Cheers to 50 incredible years of growing local wine grapes!

Lawton Ridge Vineyard, circa June 2024