Chateau Aeronautique Winery and Blue Skies Brewery is a unique destination in the Irish Hills of Michigan that combines aviation, wine, and beer. Founded by international airline pilot Lorenzo Lizarralde in 2008, the winery began as a small operation in his hangar attached to his home in an ‘Airpark’ community, where he vinified his first wines. In 2009, a tiny ‘Gazebo’ Tasting Room overlooking the grass runway opened for wine tastings.
Over the years, Lorenzo’s passion for aviation and wine has led to the expansion of the winery and brewery. In 2014, after a two-year search for a south-facing slope, Lorenzo purchased 22 acres in the Irish Hills for a vineyard. The winery then moved from the hangar to a new facility in the Irish Hills in 2017, which also included a restaurant called the Irish Hills Kitchen. Blue Skies Brewery was founded in the same year on the Irish Hills property.
Since then, the winery and brewery have continued to expand. The Irish Hills Kitchen got a pizza oven capable of baking 8 pizzas every 15 minutes in 2020, and a timber frame ‘Pavilion’ was added to the Biergarten outdoor space for hosting weddings and concerts in 2022. They also cleared 20 acres of trees and graded the land for a vineyard, which finally got a name in 2021: Laurent Vineyard, in recognition of the Laurentide Ice Sheet that formed the Irish Hills.
In addition to their aviation-themed tasting room and brewery, Chateau Aeronautique Winery and Blue Skies Brewery also hosts live bands every Friday and Saturday night all summer long, as well as special events like live paint and pour. They offer a variety of wines and beers for visitors to try, including reds, whites, and sparkling wines, as well as IPAs, stouts, and lagers.
Whether you’re a wine enthusiast, beer lover, or aviation buff, Chateau Aeronautique Winery and Blue Skies Brewery is a must-visit destination in the Irish Hills of Michigan.
