Berrien Springs, Michigan · Lake Michigan Shore AVA

Ninety minutes from Chicago,
a different pace entirely

Skip the two-hour brunch line. By the time your friends are seated,
you could be holding a glass of estate wine among the vines.

The Day Trip

Wine country is closer than you think

Chicago sits at the bottom corner of Lake Michigan. Curl around that corner into Southwest Michigan and you're in the Lake Michigan Shore AVA — real wine country, with vineyards that ripen on lake-tempered air. Free Run Cellars is a small family winery tucked into Berrien Springs, and this is how to make a day of it.

01

The drive: easier than your commute

From downtown Chicago, take I-90/I-94 east toward Indiana, then I-94 into Michigan — exit at US-31 toward Berrien Springs and follow the country roads to Burgoyne Road. That's it. No ferries, no toll-road labyrinth, and most of the drive hugs the bottom of the lake.

One thing Chicagoans forget: Michigan runs on Eastern time. Leave the city at 10 AM Central and you'll arrive around 12:30 PM Eastern — right when our doors open on weekends. The good news is the hour comes back on the drive home, which feels like cheating.

~90 min Chicago to our tasting room
Vineyard rows at Free Run Cellars in Berrien Springs, Michigan
02

A day at Free Run

Start with a tasting flight — dry whites off the Lake Michigan Shore, estate Pinot Gris, reds with real backbone, or the sweet flight if that's your speed. Then take your glass outside. There's a pond with its own resident wildlife, ten acres of vines and grounds to wander, and exactly zero pressure to be anywhere.

Come on a Sunday and you'll catch live music from 3 to 5 PM — free, always — with wine cocktails and small bites to carry you through the afternoon, and Happy Hour from 6 to 7 PM to close it out. Dogs are welcome on the grounds and patio, so bring the whole family, including the four-legged member who's the real reason you leave the city.

3–5 PM Live music every Sunday · free
A wine tasting flight at Free Run Cellars
Atithidevo Bhav — the guest is akin to God. It's the philosophy this place was built on, and you'll feel it the moment you walk in.
03

Make a full day of Southwest Michigan

We're one stop on the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail, and we're genuinely glad to share the neighborhood. Pair your visit with a morning on the dunes at Warren Dunes State Park, a stroll through the beach town of St. Joseph, or a wander through Berrien Springs itself — a village with more history (and better produce stands) than it lets on.

Curious why wine even grows this well here? The short answer is the lake. The long answer — 307 miles of open water, thermal mass, and a growing season that stretches two extra weeks — is a story we tell properly on our Lake Effect page. Read it on the drive over (passengers only, please).

The vineyard and grounds at Free Run Cellars, shaped by Lake Michigan

The practical bits

Hours

Thu 2–6 PM
Fri 2–7 PM
Sat & Sun 12–7 PM
Mon–Wed by appointment
All times Eastern.

Address

10062 Burgoyne Road
Berrien Springs, MI 49103
Open in Google Maps →

Reservations

Walk-ins are welcome for tastings. Groups of 8 or more, or anyone planning a celebration, should look at our private event packages or give us a call.

Contact

(269) 815-6885
contact@frcwine.com
Questions before you drive? Visit & Contact.

The city will still be there
when you get back

Berrien Springs, Michigan · 90 minutes from Chicago · Open Thursday through Sunday

Plan your visit

Free Run Cellars

Stay close to the vineyard

First word on new estate releases, invitations to gatherings at the winery, and the occasional note from the vines. No noise — just the good stuff.

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