Hickory Creek Winery — Attraction in Baroda Township

Hickory Creek Winery is a reprieve from wild work weeks and stressful days. It is a rustic and bucolic spot with a big, red, and memorable barn. Nothing about the location is showboating, however. There is a calm and authentic approach to the service in the tasting room that is different from some of the other wineries on the trail, which is fully noteworthy. The wines are made in a French style and are wonderful with or without pairing food. If you bring a little picnic, you can sit outside under the big apple tree and make an afternoon of it.

Saturdays are incredibly busy with large groups coming through for parties because some wineries in the area don’t take them, but Hickory Creek tries to accommodate to make an event reasonably priced and approachable for groups from Chicago, South Bend, Grand Rapids, and other nearby cities. I have had friends book bachelorette parties and they have received the attention they uniquely wanted. Some people come in wanting a lot of education about the wines and others want the social connection of the large and lovely wine club; either way, the focused experience is uncommon.

I recommend coming to Hickory Creek if you are looking for a brief escape and a place to taste and take home well-priced and...

My first interaction with this winery was via the phone when I had called a few weeks ahead to reserve a tasting for 4 people. The gentleman on the phone was dismissive and seemed disinterested in helping. He reluctantly took down my information after I had said it seemed he didn’t want to help me. That should have been a red flag and I should have taken my business elsewhere. But I chose to go ahead and give this small business a try. Upon arriving to our reservation, the tiny front lawn “patio space” was teeming with people and not a single one was wearing a mask nor were they 6 feet apart (not that they could be with the limited space provided). The host sat us inside without so much as a greeting or an explanation of how the menu options work. The server was even more rude. She rushed us in our ordering and didn’t clearly explain how you could only order a tasting inside vs. ordering a flight outside. We took a sip of one wine and found the taste to be spoiled! With only one bathroom for all of those guests, we decided to cut our losses and headed down the road to...

Disappointed. After making a $15/pp reservation for 6 of us, Jeffrey delivered a checklist of possible wines to us, and said to pick 5 for sampling. Unfortunately, he was as inviting as the uncomfortable metal table and chairs we were seated at. The barn-ish tasting room included a couple of vats he pointed to (where he said the wine was made), and was cold and sterile -- except for the parade of bachelorette parties that streamed in.

We interrupted his order taking to ask for a description of the wines. And he delivered nonsensical chemistry-like wine-making components. Then he became busy and left us to another staff member (who introduced himself as not-Jeffrey.)

Unfortunately, we never heard about the origin of the vineyard, it's owners, their passion. Nada. Nothing interesting about the staff, barn or region. We walked away without the typical complimentary souvenir wine glass or the desire to return.

P.S. we bought several bottles of wine, cheese and crackers at our next stop (and wonderful experience), the Lemon...