In the early years they laughed at him and even coined his wild experiment to plant European grape varietals in northern Michigan “O’Keefe’s Folly” for its apparent foolhardiness, but Chateau Grand Traverse founder and Michigan wine maverick Ed O’Keefe Jr. proved them all wrong.
“He was a pioneer and a leader and I can’t imagine anyone not saying that about him,” said Master Sommelier Madeline Triffon. “His spirit was irrepressible.”
O’Keefe may not have moved mountains but came close in 1974, when, under the guidance of renowned German viticulturist Helmutt Becker, he transferred a million cubic yards of soil and 900 tons of humus to create a southwest slope on a former cherry orchard on Michigan s Old Mission Peninsula, planting 45 acres of riesling, chardonnay and merlot grapes in an area where no one else believed they could grow.