In love and wine, there’s a certain kind of alchemy that just can’t be denied: You know perfection when you see it. The Michigan wine industry, defined by dreams, hard work, and long hours, is a ripe field for budding romance. Here, four couples share the story of how their love grew among the vines.
Cristin and Brian Hosmer
Interviewed on the day of their 18th anniversary, Cristin and Brian Hosmer say they met long before either imagined a life shaped by harvest schedules and cellar work.
The two were classmates together at Michigan State University, where they were paired for a group project in an environmental economics class. For three years, they were just friends.
Who eventually pursued?
“Oh, it was me,” Cristin says. “He was totally oblivious. He’s still oblivious.”
Post-undergrad, Brian says visiting wine regions in Europe nudged him toward graduate work in horticulture, and Cristin studied agricultural economics.
“Brian is the scientist,” Cristin says. “I’m more business minded.”
That balance has anchored their careers in northern Michigan’s wine industry. Brian has spent more than 18 years as winemaker at Chateau Chantal on the Old Mission Peninsula, while Cristin has worked in production, consulting, and education.
As for being married and staying in the wine industry, Brian says it can be a true test.
“[The industry] will definitely test your relationship, so if you’re meant to be together and you’re willing to work things out, you’re going to be … on relationship steroids,” he says.
When they’re asked how they’ll celebrate their anniversary, the answer checks out: Brian suggests a 2012 Chateau Chantal Pinot Grigio.
“It’s very elegant,” he says, “unexpectedly age-worthy, and full of longevity.
“It reminds me of Cristin.”
Amy Birk and David Cockell
Amy Birk and David Cockell were working in different corners of Michigan’s beverage world, but their shared curiosity about fermentation, flavor, and community worked its magic to bring them together.
Birk is the winemaker and operations manager at Berrien Springs’ Domaine Berrien Cellars, where she has worked off and on for nearly a decade. Cockell, a former chemist, is co-founder and owner of the 10-year-old Watermark Brewing Co. in nearby Stevensville.
Their paths crossed about 10 years ago.
“I started noticing this young winemaker come into [Watermark], and she’d sit there reading about wine,” Cockell says.
Conversation naturally flowed from there — Cockell was interested in adding wine choices for non-beer drinkers.
“I began my wine education at the hands of Amy,” he says.
Birk’s take on their meeting is a little less cerebral.
“One night at the bar, I was like, ‘Oh, that guy’s pretty cute,’” she says, admitting that she was the first to recognize their chemistry.
Their relationship shifted into high gear after they attended a fellow beverage producer’s soft opening.
“We had a great conversation, had a couple drinks, and then he asked me out for dinner,” Birk says about the early days that eventually led to their 2024 wedding at the winery.
These days, their shared vision for southwest Michigan’s evolving beverage landscape is always top of mind, with future collaborations on the docket.
“We’ve got some fun stuff cooking up,” Birk says.
Holly and Kirk Peterson
Family is at the heart of Sandhill Crane Vineyards, both in its roots and in its leadership.
Owner Holly Peterson says the winery began 22 years ago through her father’s basement winemaking hobby, eventually leading to a vineyard and full-fledged winery near Jackson.
“I loved wine [so] I became the winemaker pretty much from the beginning,” she says.
Years later, it was a winery worker who insisted her father meet Holly, calling her a “really cool lady.”
The father in question — Kirk Peterson, a machinist — made quick work of the suggestion, taking Holly to a Detroit Tigers game for a low-pressure test run.
“We had a lot of fun,” he says. “It just took off from there.”
When they first started dating, Holly says she was up-front about the realities of harvest season.
“I [told him], ‘You’re not going to see me in the fall — I’m here all the time,’” she says.
So Kirk did what any sensible man in love would do: He showed up and helped wherever he was needed, learning the ropes as he went.
When Sandhill Crane needed a vineyard manager a few years later, Holly says the decision to hire Kirk felt right.
“I told him, ‘If you want to quit your machining job and take a pay cut, there’s an opportunity,’” she says.
Kirk says the choice changed his life.
“I wish I would have done it 20 years earlier,” he says.
Holly says their roles now fit naturally: “Where one of us leaves off, the other picks up.”
Regarding what fosters romance in Michigan wine country, Holly says it’s “the whole package.”
Kirk adds that watching people enjoy something nurtured from grape to bottle is deeply fulfilling.
“It’s love in a glass,” Holly says.
Britta Dennis and Matt Killman
At Walloon Lake Winery, the partnership between Britta Dennis and Matt Killman has been defined by a deep understanding of what it means to work — and love — inside Michigan’s wine industry.
Killman says he moved to the Petoskey area for a job as an assistant winemaker at Mackinaw Trail Winery & Brewery just as Dennis’s family was opening Walloon Lake Winery.
Dennis, a Petoskey native, noticed a spark with the newcomer after they met at a local wine competition. Killman admits he was completely unaware.
“I thought we were just going to be friends,” he says, recalling a moment when a mutual friend had to spell it out. “He said to me, ‘Britta Dennis doesn’t need any new friends [in her hometown] — it’s a date.’”
At work, their roles reflect their personalities.
“I’m way more outgoing and talkative,” Dennis says, explaining why she thrives working in the tasting room, managing the wine club, and building guest relationships.
Killman says he prefers the cellar.
“I like my dark cave where I don’t have to talk to people,” he jokes.
But their palates align almost perfectly, they say.
“We agree on about 98% of wine,” Dennis says, quickly adding the one exception: oaky Chardonnay, which Killman loves.
“Chardonnay is gross,” she says.
At their wedding, they sealed their vows with wines that they had each made that year.
“Instead of burning a candle, we drank each other’s wine,” Dennis says. (It was not an oaky Chardonnay.)
Now parents of two young children, including a newborn, the couple say wine continues to be the great unifier.
“[Wine] brings people together,” Dennis says. “Romantically or platonically — it’s really easy to make a connection based on that. There’s a lot of love in this industry.”
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2026 Michigan Wine Country magazine.
Facebook Comments