Maker: Gill’s Pier, Traverse City/Northport, Michigan, USA
Place of origin: Michigan, USA.
ABV: 10%
Purchased for: $15
Appearance: Dark burgundy.
Nose: Black cherries, blackberry, hint of leather and clove.
On the palate: Medium bodied and slightly tart. Black cherry, black raspberry, allspice.
Finish: More tart and long-lasting. Tart cherries, touch of mace.
Parting words: I’ve reviewed cherry wines before but it’s been a while. I have never reviewed anything from Gill’s Pier though, so when I saw this in my local grocery store I bought it and gave it a spin.
I’ve never been to Gill’s Pier and don’t know much about it other than what is on their website. It was founded in 2002, is located on the Leelanau peninsula and is owned by Ryan and Kris Sterkenburg. Judging by the wines on their website, their emphasis is on white blends with a couple reds as well. The winery was named after a nearby former Czech settlement, which included St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, now a parish Sutton’s Bay, Michigan.
The wine drinks very nicely. It is well balanced and fairly complex for a cherry wine. It’s not quite sweet enough for a a dessert wine, but it’s too sweet and dry to drink with a meal. It probably works best as an after dinner chitchat wine or with a cheese course. It’s not cheap, but it’s one of the better cherry wines I’ve had. Cheerio is recommended.
Sipology 
Where can I purchase Cheerio Wine? Is Gill’s Pier still in business? Do you know of a winery that has a cherry wine similar to Cheerio Wine?
Sorry for the late reply! Gill’s Pier is no longer in business unfortunately. It’s now an alpaca ranch.
The closest you might be able to get to Cheerio is Peninsula Cellars Hot Rod Cherry or Bell Lago’s Cherry wine which is great. Hope that helped!