My mixed impressions of this place have been basically confirmed by the reviews here. My guy and I wandered in after dinner at Trattoria Stella - full, but interested in a glass of wine to wash down the rich food. We both opted for the $5 tasting - 6 samples each, which works out to a pretty good deal! Of the 8 wines we tried in total, we were really impressed by one wine, enjoyed the second, and were 'eh' on the rest. The ciders were enjoyable but nothing to write home about, though we agreed that the Cinnamon Girl might be good at Christmastime.
The first server who helped us seemed to be more familiar with LFC's wines than with wines in general, but gave us little information beyond what was printed on the menus that we were given when we were seated. The second server was charming, friendly, and personable, and made an effort to engage us in the tasting, which I appreciated. We stuck around for a glass of wine on the patio - I would tell you which one, but their website doesn't list any of their wines (hmm), and I'd hate to steer you in the wrong direction.
The wines are adequate, but the location is wonderful, and there are many worse ways to spend a pretty summer evening than drinking an adequate white on a beautiful patio.
A harsh critic of Michigan wines is taken to the woodshed.
I heard LFC was trying to put out a Sauvignon Blanc. Â Really? Â In Michigan?? Â I mean, one of life's most simple and perfect pleasures is a bottle of good Sav Blanc, some rustic bread and fresh goat cheese. Â In Traverse City it is pretty easy to get the last two, but Michigan just doesn't grow this grape.
Until now.
We were visiting the Saturday Farmer's Market and stopped across the street at Left Foot Charley's for a snack. Â Preparing for disappointment, I order a glass of their Sav Blanc to go with the aforementioned bread/cheese. Â Honestly, it was lovely. Â The wine was nice, not over the top, reminiscent of a entry level French blend. Â Nothing Parker would be over excited about, but a nice glass worth the price. Â HOWEVER, then Brian brought me a little sample of what they were doing with the current SB harvest. Â WOW. Â Although still a way to go yet, this wine was already on par with some of the $20+ bottles of New Zealand Sav Blanc we frequently enjoy. Â The grass is in there as well as the sharpness. Â Wonderful. Â Perhaps, just perhaps, there is hope for SB in Michigan yet.
Left Foot Charley's is always worth a stop. Â Eclectic setting, friendly staff, yummy snacks and good (potentially great) wine.
Oh Charley, in the words of Olivia Newton John "I honestly love you". Your hard cider makes me so very happy. I filled 2 growlers with 2 ciders I haven't tried before now - but loved the free samples I tried prior to my purchase.
The wines I have purchased in the past I have also loved. Basically I haven't met a drink here that I didn't like!
The people working are always friendly too! Love this place!!
Our group visited Left Foot Charley on a stopover in Traverse City. We had visited the Sleeping Bear Dunes earlier in the afternoon and wanted to try some Michigan wine; no other wineries were open but Left Foot Charley was open until 9 PM. SCORE! We went and each did a double tasting (tastings are normally $5 for 6 wines/ciders, we paid $10 for all 11). Â Left Foot Charley's wines are very sweet--I'm a fan of sweet wines but even found these to be a bit overwhelming at times. The Cinnamon Girl cider was the last thing we tasted and it was the best; wish I had it earlier in the tasting. Service was slow, but there were only two sommeliers working on a very busy night.
Review Source:Even before my first visit to Traverse City, I had heard of Left Foot Charley courtesy of a friend who brought a growler of Cinnamon Girl hard cider to a weekend reunion. Â Great friend, great cider. Â
When I finally made it to Left Foot Charley myself - located on the site of the former Northern Michigan Asylum - it was a homecoming of sorts for my liver. Â The location is beautiful: treed, quiet, large windows, and ample seating both at the bar (inside) and on the shaded patio (outside). Â A pour of sweet-but-not-too-sweet cider and you have all the elements in place for a happy hour indeed. Â
Yelp note: invest in a growler. Â It's eco-and-budget-friendly, sure, but it's also just: dang cool. Â There. Â Said it.
We were excited to try some of their ciders which had gotten great reviews but upon arrival we were informed they were out of all of their ciders. Â Disappointed we chose other wines to taste only to discover they were out of several other types of wine as well so the selection was pretty limited. Â The service was only ok despite there not being many people in the tasting room. Â We chose not to purchase anything other than the tastes and then left.
Review Source:LFC is housed in they laundry building of a renovated state hospital. The grounds are beautiful and this specific location has a great patio with mature trees to enjoy your beverage of choice. I was a little disappointed with the wine itself. They were out of several of the wines on their tasting menu including their "famous" hard cider. Our server was sporting a pretty awesome handlebar mustache, but overall it was just okay. I probably wouldn't go back.
Review Source:Cool urban feel to the tasting room. Â If you're a fan of whites aged in stainless, you'll like this place. Â The guy that did our tasting was cool and attentive. Â Really like the Murmur and The Stumble. Â The Stumble really reminded me of a Mulvasia Bianca I had at Sterling Vineyards in Napa.
Review Source:I was staying in the Grand Traverse Commons and we popped by the Left Foot Charley tasting room one afternoon for a taste. We had attended a Left Foot Charley & Bowers Harbor Vineyard wine pairing dinner back in January at The Boathouse and I had been wanting to try more of their wines ever since.
Unlike the other reviewers, we had a great service experience (thankfully). Our server was attentive, but not in our faces (which can be annoying when tasting). We did not feel rushed, nor did we feel ignored.
I enjoyed each of their wines, and their experimental cider. In fact, my husband does not typically like wine, but he did enjoy many that we tasted. When the tasting was done we lingered over a pint of cider out on their patio before going out for the night. We had such a nice time there that we returned on a Saturday evening with the intent of having some cider, eating their small plates and calling it a day. We got the ploughman's lunch for two, and it was tasty, but their ploughmen must be very small and have teeny appetites! Meaning, the portions were fairly small for being touted as a lunch for two. I will say, the sun dried tomatoes on the plate were divine! We did end up going elsewhere for a more substantial meal, but I still loved the food and the cider. There were five people working behind the bar that Saturday, and the service remained attentive.
I do love the space that they occupy, which is the old laundry facility of the state hospital. They warmed up a fairly industrial space with warm wood and towering windows. Their patio is also very cozy with small tables and umbrellas.
This will definitely be a regular spot for me when vacationing in the Traverse City area.
The ciders were nice and the wines were good, albeit not very diverse. Â I know Northern Michigan is known for its Reislings, but that was 75% of the tasting menu here at Left Foot Charley. Â It was off the beaten path and a cool location, but the service was sort of average. Â The staff was nice when they noticed us, but they were all over the place and sometimes we waited a good 15-20 minutes for one of them to come back and serve us our next wine. Â Also, the menus were incorrect and they didn't let us know that certain selections weren't available until they were serving us the substitute beverage.
Review Source:Did not care for the service or the lack of interest in customers. When I arrived I thought it looked like a really cool place to take a break and try some wines. Unfortunately I was not able to get any information regarding any tastings or specials so I ordered a glass of whatever kind of reisling that sounded ok on the menu and it was horrible. drank half of it and left since they were obviously not interested in serving their wine or talking about it.
Review Source:I liked the location in the Grand Traverse Commons, behind the main building. Â A cool rehabbed outbuilding, I think it was historically used as a laundry facility. Â The wines are good, all white wines since that's what works best for northern Michigan. Â However, I am giving only 3 stars because the ladies that were working behind the bar were not attentive at all. Â Given we were perusing the wines and taking our time, so it wasn't like we were in a hurry. Â I had to stare them down to get their attention to try some wine and then a star down again to get a taste of another wine. Â Then when I did want to buy a bottle, they never came back and so they lost my business. Â It was nothing like the service and expertise you get at the wineries up Old Mission or Leelanau Peninsula. Â I won't be going back despite liking the concept of urban wine, but I didn't feel welcome there.
Review Source:
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