Q: Does Hickory Creek have options for on-site wine tasting?
A: Yes!
We have indoor and outdoor options available with lots of choices for enjoying our small batch wines.
Indoors: We can host you for a traditional wine tasting at the tasting bar or you are welcome to enjoy a bottle of wine, flight board or glass pour at one of the high-top tables in the tasting bar. We also have space allocated in our barrel room where we can host small groups for a behind the scenes tasting experience. Masks are no longer required while walking around in the winery.
Outdoors: We have first come-first serve patio space, picnic area and firepit seating. You are welcome to bring your own lawnchairs and/or picnic blankets. You can pop into the tasting room to buy wine to take with you, pick up logo merch or shop the selection of gifts we carry from local artisans.
You can request to reserve space here.
Q: How much is the wine tasting?
A: We have two tasting options:
Our traditional wine tasting is $15 and includes 5 tasting pours (roughly 1 oz) and crackers to cleanse the palate between tastes. The traditional wine tasting takes place in our tasting room or in a group format in our barrel room/event room. Our staff will pour your wines of your choosing one at a time and tell you about each wine.
For those interested in an outdoor tasting, we offer flight boards for $15. This format also includes 5 tasting pours (roughly 1 oz) and crackers to cleanse the palate between tastes. In this format, we pour the wines you choose into individual carafes on a flight board. This allows our guests to take their tasting outside to our patio area. The amount of wine in this format is exactly the same as the traditional wine tasting. They are priced slightly higher as they require a significant amount of glassware, the actual boards and serving trays in order to offer this option. They take a few minutes to put together, sometimes longer when we are extremely busy on summer and fall Saturdays. We try, but can’t always accomodate flight boards for large groups.
Q: How long does the wine tasting take?
A: We typically block one hour for each reservation. This allows us 45-50 minutes for the tasting and a few minutes to reset for the next group.
If your group is pressed for time, let us know and we can usually accomodate a tighter timeline.
If your group is having a great time and want to hang out after your tasting, let our team know! This is a common request and most of the time we can make it happen. For example, many groups start out in the winery with a guided tasting and decide to grab a glass of wine to enjoy outside after. Depending on our reservation schedule, groups (especially later in the day) can often just stay in the space where their guided tasting took place.
Q: We are thinking about visiting your winery. Do you require reservations?
A: It depends.
Reservations are required for groups of 6 or more people. You can request a group reservation here.
Reservations are highly recommended for weekend visits, especially Saturdays, no matter the group size.
We also recommend reservations for smaller groups of 4-6 people no matter what day you are visiting. If you have less than 6 people, you can make a reservation here or by calling us at (269) 422-1100.
Reservations are encouraged and accepted for couples and small groups, seven days a week. It is helpful for us to know you are coming!
For parties less than four, you are welcome to walk in. Most of the time it isn’t a problem to get you in, especially if you have less than four people in your party.
Q: We are coming to visit. What can we expect?
A: We think you’ll find Hickory Creek to be a hidden gem. It’s relaxing and quiet out here in wine country. We want you to feel at home. We want everyone to feel welcome here. We also want you to feel like wine is approachable. And of course we hope you like the wine! Thanks for choosing to drink local and support a small business.
We like to say there are two Hickory Creek Winery experiences. One that exists on Saturdays during our busy season (late April through late October) and one that exists the rest of the week and/or in the off-season. Saturdays are fun, lively and can be busy during peak hours (noon to 5pm) during our busy season. The rest of the week can be much more low key, leading to a more intimate and tranquil tasting experience.
Once you get here, your first decision point is whether you want to be inside or outside.
Inside: When deciding to stay inside for their visit, most people opt for traditional guided tasting. After setting you up at the bar or at a table in our tasting room, you’ll choose five wines to try. We will pour the wines for you, discuss our winemaking approach, talk about varietals and tell you about the winery. You could always choose a glass or bottle to have at the bar or at a table in the tasting room. You’re welcome to snack on a charcuterie plate as you enjoy your wine. We have a small gift shop with HCW logo drinkware and merchandise, wine accessories and products from featured local artisans.
Outside: We have a large outdoor seating area with picnic tables and patio furniture for you to use. Most people who decide on an outside visit choose a tasting flight. In this format, you’ll go to the bar and choose five wines that will be poured into small carafes and served on a flight board. You’ll then do the tasting on your own outside. (PLEASE NOTE: There are often 15-30 minute waits for custom flights to be poured on busy Saturday afternoons). Or you can skip the wait and get wine by the glass, wine by the bottle and charcuterie boards. We can try to accommodate larger groups that want to do tasting flights, but you will need to be patient as each flight is customized to your individual choices. A group of eight people requires us to pour 40 samples of wine, each in a custom lineup to suit individual tastes! If all of our flight boards and carafes are in use, we may ask that your group choose wine by the glass or wine by the bottle instead.
Q: How can I ensure the best experience during my group wine tasting?
A: After being in this industry for several years, I think a list of DOs and DON’Ts for wine tasting could be helpful!
The DO list:
Do make a reservation if you have more than 4 people, especially on weekends. This ensures we have space for you and you spend less time waiting! A few more thoughts about reservations:
When planning your trip/scheduling your reservation, remember that we are on Eastern Time, not Central Time. For example, 4pm in Chicago is 5pm here at Hickory Creek Winery.
Do show up on time for your reservation. Plan for traffic. Plan for time to herd cats before leaving your AirBNB! Our reservations are typically stacked up back-to-back-to-back. If you are late, this has a domino effect through our entire reservation schedule. With that said, we realize things happen that are outside of your control. If it looks like you will be more than ten minutes late or early, please call and let us know at (269) 422-1100.
Do keep your reservation. We staff our employees because you are coming. We often turn down other reservations because we are planning to have you here!
Do have an open mind and try a wide variety of wines! This is the point of wine tasting. If you always drink sweet wine, try something dry. If you only drink reds, go for a complex white wine. This is your chance to broaden your palate and see what else is out there. You aren’t committing to a bottle or even a glass, just a small tasting sample. Might as well have a little taste adventure, right?
Do interact with your tasting consultant about the wines! Ask lots of questions! This is especially true if you have someone dedicated to your group and/or are tasting behind the scenes in our barrel room. We are here for one reason, to host you. We love talking about this stuff and want you to learn something!
Do understand we are a small business that sees 90% of our business during a 5-hour period on Saturday afternoons. Please be patient with us if there is a short wait for your next pour or while we are putting together your flight board. We are working our tails off, I promise!
Do eat plenty of food before your wine adventure. Drink a LOT of water.
Do offer feedback about the wines! It’s important for us to know what you think. But also be aware that the person who made the wine you are tasting is often within earshot of your commentary. If something isn’t hitting your palate or nose just right, that’s fine. It happens. We just ask that you be polite with your feedback. If you don’t like a wine, a simple “It’s not for me” will suffice.
Do support us and other wineries with purchases of bottled wine, merchandise and artisan crafts. The dollars you spend are mostly invested right back into the winery and/or keep the local economy going here in SW Michigan.
The DON’T list:
Don’t bring outside alcohol onto our premises. It’s illegal.
Don’t bring your portable speaker into the tasting room or barrel room. We have music already. (This is okay outside in our picnic area if you are not disrupting other guests).
Don’t overdo the fragrances. Lots of perfume and cologne can really disrupt a wine tasting. Same thing with smoking immediately before wine tasting, particularly cannabis. The odor is very strong and stays with you whether you realize it or not. Not only will it affect your wine tasting, but it will negatively impact others’ tastings as well.
Don’t bring your inappropriate bachelorette party paraphernalia (anatomically shaped items, specifically). We really enjoy hosting groups celebrating upcoming weddings! But at the same time we encourage families to visit our winery and we want this to be a welcoming environment. We kindly ask that you keep questionable items in your car/bus please!
Q: What are your hours?
A: Our current hours of operation are the first thing you’ll find on our homepage. We also update our Google, Yelp and Facebook listings with our current hours.
Q: What payment options do you have?
A: We accept cash, credit cards, and Apple Pay.
On a related subject, guests participating in group tastings are welcome to pay separately or all together. We can accomodate advance payment for groups, but this is not required.
Q: Do you serve food? Can I bring my own food to your winery?
A: We do have some limited food options on-site. We offer snack-sized, local, organic charcuterie plates that include rosemary crisps, raw cow milk tomme cheese and rosé infused salami (seasonally available). These pre-packaged plates are delivered weekly and are subject to availability (they sell out quickly). We also partner with The Blueberry Store and carry an assortment of their products including their famous chocolate covered blueberries.
Wine crackers are available with every tasting, intended for cleansing your palate between tastes.
You are always welcome to bring your own food and picnic to enjoy in our outdoor seating area. Outside food is not allowed inside the winery on Saturdays without prior arrangements.
Q: Are you dog friendly?
A: Yes, you are welcome to bring your well-behaved dog. In fact, often the dogs are more welcome than the people! We ask that you keep your dog leashed and that you clean up after any messes. We have a couple of water bowls, just let us know if you need one! The Blueberry Store’s famous blueberry dog treats are available for purchase for your pup.
Q: Can I bring my kids?
A: Yes, children are welcome! Kids love climbing around our vintage tractor and playing on the tire swing. Obviously they are not allowed to consume alcohol, but we have grape juice, soft drinks and bottled water available for purchase.
Q: One of the people in our group is under 21. Can he or she participate in the group tasting?
A: Kind of. While individuals under 21 cannot participate in any actual tasting of wine, they are welcome to join in with the rest of the group in the tasting area. Underage participants need to be identified to our staff before the tasting starts. We have grape juice, soft drinks and water available for purchase.
Q: What beverage options do you have other than wine?
A: We don’t serve beer, spirits or hard cider at HCW. While some other wineries in the area may be branching out to offer these options, we are a winery that focuses on making wine.
For those sitting out the wine tasting for whatever reason (pregnant, designated driver, had a rough night last night, etc), we have grape juice, soft drinks and bottled water available.
Q: Are there dining options close to the winery?
A: There are many amazing restaurants in our area. Baroda (4.7 miles), Sawyer (7.3 miles), and Bridgman (7.6 miles) are smaller towns near us that have quaint local options including cafés, breweries, delicatessens and farm-to-table restaurants. It’s best to check restaurant websites or call ahead for operating hours as some of these small businesses close midweek, even in the summer and fall. Many of these establishments encourage reservations. Stevensville (9.8 miles), St Joseph (15.1 miles) and New Buffalo (17.5 miles) are bigger towns that have great local fare too and also offer fast food and chain restaurant options.
Q: Where is the closest gas station?
A: Yes, this is a frequently asked question! We are kind of remote out here in wine country, so make sure your gas gauge isn’t on E when you drive out here. But to answer your question, the closest gas station is 6.8 miles from the winery. The address is: Phillips 66, 7733 Stevensville-Baroda Road, Baroda MI 49101.
Q: Do you offer winery tours or vineyard tours?
A: Not really. We are a very small winery, producing around 2,000 cases of wine annually. Most of our production activity happens in our barrel room, which can be viewed from our tasting room. Upon request and depending winery activity, we can take a few minutes to show you around and talk about the winemaking process. We do not, however, offer a formal tour.
Q: I like sweet wine. Will I find wines to enjoy at Hickory Creek?
A: We hope so, even though we are known for making drier wines from European varieties. We do have several off-dry wines on our tasting menu between 2% and 5% residual sugar. But our winemaker’s approach is to make wine in a more traditional style, which tends to be dry. One of the great things about wine tasting is that you have the ability to try something new and expand your palate without committing to a full bottle or even a full glass of wine. We encourage you to try something new with an open mind… you might be surprised. And if you really don’t like it, that’s ok. We just ask that you try to be respectful with your comments to our staff who work so hard making these wines.
Q: Do I get to keep my glass as part of the tasting?
A: Sorry, the tasting fee does not include the glass. When considering the option of including the glass as part of the tasting, we would have to raise the price of the tasting. In our experience, not everyone wants or needs another wine glass in the cupboard at home. So rather than being wasteful or forcing our guests to buy something they don’t want or need, we reuse them.
For those who do want a stemless logo tasting glass (because they really are awesome tasting glasses), we offer them for sale for just $8.