Sandhill Crane Vineyards

We held a private party at Sandhill for our parents 60^th anniversary. Unlike another reviewer who stated the venue was horrible for private events, we had a lovely time.
The staff were accommodating and helpful. Service was excellent. We had a sit down dinner for 50+ people and found the food to be very good, and served in a timely fashion.
Everyone had a great time and no one was bothered by any staff member. It may be because we had a slightly older group (though not entirely) more mature and respectful. Certainly no one was refused service.
There are two very nice decks next to the private room, no need to go into the café to disturb other patrons to enjoy the evening air.
I would definitely visit again and would not hesitate to hold another function at Sandhill

I just had my sons wedding here. Very disappointed. Do not ever book a wedding at Sandhill Crane Vineyard.
+The service was absolutely horrible. Staff refused to help with anything. Hire a wedding planner because the one here won’t be of any help, before or during the event. Staff were rude and unprofessional. You’re not allowed to be anywhere but the banquet room. We were continuously told that the deck was only for customers and told to move, despite the fact that we were clearly the biggest customers there.
+Unannounced to me, there are staff members that will watch guests with binoculars as you go to your car and will treat you horribly. They were untrustworthy of guests and sniffing drinks.
+Make sure the owner schedules the garbage pickup at a time that you’re not saying your vows, otherwise they may be difficult to hear.
+Food was okay, but cold and not worth the price.
+Elderly guests were told to leave their tables as they were eating in order to make room for a dance floor.
+Bartenders had tip jars although you already pay gratuity.
+The bar was shut down nearly 5 hours early due to only 2 over-​served guests.
+Their kegerator was broken, so they served warm beer and without apology. Conveniently, they had unlimited amounts of $ 25 bottle wine.
+There’s bird feces everywhere
In general, guests were completely uncomfortable during a time when they should be celebrating the joining of two families.

Attended a wedding of a close friend here. The employees made a lot of the guest feel not welcomed. Guests of the wedding were not allowed to stand or sit on the patio. There was an old woman standing at the patio at all times with no other job except to yell and scold the wedding party for being near or on the patio. Mind you it was raining outside and there were not many other customers there because of a festival in downtown Jackson. The bartenders also drank wine behind the bar, which is illegal, but found it necessary to close down the bar three hours before the wedding reception was over due to two overly drunk individuals. The whole entire wedding party left two hours early from the horrible and unwelcoming experience.

All the local Michigan goodness in one store! Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor tends to be a long wait for their sandwiches and snacks, but luckily, they are a staple in most local businesses including Sandhill Crane.
We came here on the drive home for a late lunch. The vineyard is just off the expressway about 2 miles. It will be hidden if dark, but during the summer hours a peaceful getaway with lots of wine tasting. The $ 5 tasting allows you to sample a quarter pour all of their whites, reds, semi-​sweet, sweet and dessert wines. It’s probably one of the better wineries in Michigan, but I’m not a big fan of the wines in this area. Either way, a fun and cheap excursion.
The food is pretty good. Half half of the Michigan salad with mini Thanksgiving sandwich was a healthy amount. Casual sit down place, order at the counter and they drop off food. Great rest stop from all the driving, nice staff and yummy food.

This place is a hidden gem! I’ve popped in a few times and grabbed a bottle, but went with friends for a full tasting on a Saturday afternoon in April.
It was pretty full, but every staff member that we came in contact with offered help and direction.
We were seated in front of the café, which is much bigger than it looks. Our tasting professional was Ed, who was helpful and knew a lot about the different wine. They have a full array of wines, we were able to try as many as we wanted for $ 5.
With us not being seated at the tasting bar, this did take a long time and was a lot of running for poor Ed. We were there for a longer time than probably necessary, but were having fun so it was fine. If I had one piece of advice I’d say they need a tasting counter in the café too, so the servers don’t have to run back and forth so much.
I LOVED the blush, and the Mystic was great too. We also ate and found the menu to be interesting and flavorful.
Looking forward to going out again to sit in the deck in the Vineyard!

Very nice hidden gem in Jackson, MI. The food served is prepared with Michigan made items. The Maddie sandwhich was good and the soup of the day: wild rice bisque was great. We also enjoyed a cheese plate with delicious crackers & apple slices. One of the cheeses stood out among the others and we were told it was a gouda with dill. The combo was great. The wine tasting is very generous for only $ 5. Very nice place to go to get away from all the typical soup, salad and sandwich type places with the added benefit of wine.

We came to Sandhill Crane as a group and experienced incredibly rude service. They talked about our group in the corner where they thought we couldn’t see, and barely poured us any wine during tastings. This was quite a large group, so I feel they were perhaps annoyed at the noise level, but nonetheless we paid them a substantial amount of money and were prepared to buy several bottles before leaving. We experienced polite service everywhere else we attended in Michigan and would vote you skip this establishment to avoid being treated rudely.

Great place to get together with some friends for a relaxing time! The food was great as was the wine! It was definitely better than expected and I would gladly make the hour drive again and can’t wait to go back!

Have since visited other wineries and Sandhill maintains my favorite.
Went again for wine tasting to taste the new availabilities. Followed by lunch with a glass of our favorites.

I was there today with a group of my girlfriends. Service was slow it took 3 hours and we didn’t even get through the whole list. Pours were skimpy to the least and when we asked if we could have a little more on our pours (so we could actually taste the wine) we were told «this is a tasting room, not a bar» Seriously? We just wanted more than the ¹⁄₈ of an ounce we were getting. We were laughing and having a good time and one of the waitresses came over and said we were being too loud. We were laughing, not yelling, and the room was full and loud to begin with. Then to get the wines we wanted we had to wait in a huge line at the front of the counter. It was not worth it. We enjoyed the other wineries so much better and we were all bummed we wasted so much time at Sandhill
I have been here a few times before and enjoyed myself. I even ran the ½ marathon they hosted in the summer, but today might be my last time I ever go there.

I always have such a lovely time here. The staff is pleasant, the food is amazing, their wines are exquisite, and the ambiance is laid back and fun. If you sit outside, the view is beautiful and I always feel like I’m on vacation. The only downside is that they close at 6 pm which makes it difficult for me to get there with enough time to enjoy myself. I recommend this winery to anyone looking to do a wine tasting. For $ 5 you can taste all of their wines and it’s fun!

We have been here before, & enjoyed it very much. This time we came 15 minutes before closing, & they wouldn’t serve us. Incredibly disappointed. They list a good sale.

This place is a class act. I had a house salad with a charcuterie platter. The perfect meal to go along with the wine tasting. And, boy do they pour it out. I think they would have let me taste every wine on the list. Wait, it gets better. I was at the wine and wool festival and when I was done with my lunch and left that group of friend. I went to find other friends who were still waiting for their food. The manager came over to explain there was a mixup and she would take care of everything. Minutes later she returned with their food and a plate of cookies for all of us. She also said she would comp their meals and promptly returned with their money. And, then. About five minutes later, she returned with a bottle of wine, and apologized again. Now that is what I call over and above service.

If I could give this place more than 5 stars I would. I’ve been there on numerous occasions and have had a great experience every time. I’ve gone to some of their events as well, the Wine and Wool fest in particular. Today was probably my third time going to the W & W fest, as usual the place was packed and there were a lot of really great vendors. We ordered lunch and picked out a table. I went back to let the woman who took our order which table we were at and we ordered a couple glasses of wine at the wine bar. I expected our order to be a while given the amount of people that they were serving that afternoon but after an hour and a half I went to check to see what the delay was. Despite the fact that I’d seen other tables getting their food when I knew we’d ordered before they had I was assured that our order would be up soon. After 2 hours my friend went to check at which point we found out there was some sort of mix up where it went to the wrong table and they cancelled the order. This is when one of the managers, Heather stepped in and promptly brought out our meal (which she refunded us for), along with a large plate of cookies and a bottle of Blushing Crane and extra glasses for our friends who had joined us. Now this is how customer service is done. Kudos to the staff at SHC for handling everything beautifully. As usual I picked up several bottles of wine to take home.
I’ve read some of the other reviews of their wines and would like to comment. I think that as far as Michigan wines go, they have some of the best I’ve tasted. I really like the semi-​sweet wines and I am not really partial to sweeter wines in general. At the top of my list would have to be the Seyval Blanc, it’s light crisp and has a wonderful citrus finish. I also enjoy the Blushing Crane, and Sassy Rose but basically I think all of their semi-​sweets are amazing. They also do a very nice Pinot Grigio. If only they would bring back the Miel Amore Mead… hint hint. ;-)

What an amazing place to spend an afternoon. The view is breathtaking and then you get to drink a few yummy wines! We did the tasting and tried everything. At $ 5 for 5 tastings, it was very reasonable. Our server was very friendly and knowledgeable and offered insight into everything we were about to taste. The food was good too. I kind of wish the cheese offerings were better, but hey, I came here for the wine!

Thursday dinners here are great. I wish they’d do them more than one night per week. If you live in Jackson, decent restaurants are in short supply, so I love coming here when I’m in town. After three visits, I’ve never had a bad dish, and, when possible, their foods are locally grown and organic — not something you find too often in a Jackson restaurant.

I stopped in here for a tasting and lunch today. The tasting was an excellent price at $ 5 for all the tastings you wanted — there must have been at least 25 different wines — and I only sampled a few as I had to drive.
The café was nice. I got the turkey, Brie and cranberry panini. I’d rate it at a ⁶⁄₁₀. Could have been better but was decent.
I from out of state so I bought 4 bottles and had them shipped home. I usually pay about $ 20 for shipping but they charged $ 36 which I thought was a little steep.
Overall a nice place to visit and excellent wine! Worth a stop in a state that I didn’t even think had wine.

Let me just say that this place has really gone from good to great since adding on the expansion. Before it was simply one of my favorite places in Michigan to stop in for a quick wine tasting, pick up a bottle or two that I can pop open to impress my guests later that month, and be on my way.
Now that they’ve added the expansion, they have a full kitchen, a deli counter, space for live music or other attractions — it’s really a destination where you can go and spend an entire afternoon or evening enjoying yourself. And the wine is still great! Go on a nice Spring afternoon or evening and enjoy the view, the fresh air, and the ambiance.

For $ 5 you can taste all the wine you want? Really? Where am I!!!
My parents and I went here on a recent weekend and tasted several wines and had a bite to eat at the café. There is a front bar area to sit as well as tables in a winding room near the café. (Though, sometimes they have live music and with the vaulted ceilings, it would be difficult to hear conversations if you sit near the back/​stage area.)
The wines are divided into three groupings: Dry & Off-​Dry Wines, Semi-​Sweet Wines and Sweet Wines. (We stuck to the first group). The standouts for me were the 2010 Syrah, Sassy Rose, Moulin Rouge, the 2012 Vignoles, Merlot, 2011 Sur Lie Chardonnay, and the 2010 Proprietor’s Reserve Chancellor.
The food is okay… just small bites. They use Zingerman’s bread and a lot of Michigan-​based products (yay! support local businesses!). I had goat cheese crostini (not a smart choice on my part b/​c the tomatoes in balsamic vinegar affected the wine tastings. oops, my bad), my mom had a salad with goat cheese, walnuts and Michigan dried cherries, which she liked and dad had a sandwich, which he enjoyed.
Our server was friendly, attentive and quite knowledgable about every wine on the menu.
Looks like a nice place to sit and relax with friends on the deck/​porch in the warmer months. Definitely check it out if you’re in the area. Michigan has many vineyards and a lot to offer.
**You get a 10% discount on full cases (you can mix and match wines too) AND, if you have a Vintage Michigan membership you get an additional discount.

Love this place really… bit off the beaten path and hard to find if you don’t know where it is but, worth the effort to experience.
Here’s the skinny:
That big sign on the highway — drew me in.
Off the beaten path.
Great Appetizers.
Huge selection of wine.
Beautiful in the summer.
Classy cottage style décor.
Ice Wine — DO NOT PASS IT UP!
Here’s the fat:
«Free Wine Tasting Every Day» — that’s all it took… plus I’ve never been to a vineyard before so… hey why not. We needed a driving break anyway. (Macomb, MI to Chicago, IL)
It is off the beaten Path, we passed it twice because at the time there was just a small sign and what looked like a dirt driveway into the woods. I did adjust the location on Unilocal!so GPS it and you’re golden. BTW that’s what’s great about Unilocal!too USER input :) love it!
The Appetizers are spectacular! and almost too good looking to eat… Almost.
Picture This —
I forgot what it was called. Crostini maybe?
The Wine selection is also rediculous! They have a serious amount of variety and prices that will fit into any budget. I will have to suggest to do the free tastings, you’re sure to find one you love.
This is a review I’ve been meaning to write for a while… sorry #YelpFail. Anyhoo, I really like the décor in this place, it’s very homey and has kind of a turn of the century classic flair to it. Tables are simple yet exude an ambiance of elegance too… it all fits together nicely. There is a piano in the main dining area, the day we went someone was playing some really awesome piano versions of 60s, 70s and early 80s music.
Summertime is also a great time to visit and take a walk. There’s also a balcony that overlooks the vineyard. It’s very relaxing, get a bottle of wine, bring a loved one, enjoy the scenery and the company.
Picture This —
Now to the GOOD stuff!
We did the tasting, all free except for the Ice Wine… $ 5 if I remember right. Let me tell you, it was worth every penny! If you ONLY go for the free tasting cough up a Fiver and try it, I guarantee you’ll like it.
I bought a bottle of it for a special occasion, little less than $ 100
Picture This —
All in all, a great place to visit, people are friendly, food and wine is awesome and it’s genuinely peaceful. If I end up getting married… I might even propose here, on the balcony, summer eve, Ice Wine, stars, vineyard overlook… #Perfect
But, I digress into emotion… places like Sandhill Crane bring that out.
SYOY