How it all began...
Andy and Tracie Roush met during the summer of ’99 while boating in Ohio. Just 2 months after meeting, Andy invited Tracie up North to share his special place. After 72 hours of Northern Michigan, Tracie also shared a love of this extraordinary spot.
Since that summer of ’99, Andy and Tracie married, had 2 girls and have vacationed at Andy’s parent’s home in Indian River as they retired up North over 20 years ago. In 2009, Andy said to Tracie one day “I can’t do what I am doing for the rest of my life”. After praying and much consideration over what they could do to sustain a living for their young family, they decided to sell everything downstate and move north to pursue building, owning and running their dream business.
For anniversary trips, Andy and Tracie both enjoyed wine country. They loved what it meant: relaxing, enjoying God’s countryside, the gift of each other and the wine that blessed each of them throughout the year until the next anniversary trip. The anniversary trip in the fall of 2010 made them realize they could do this, and give the same experience to other people in the land Andy had dreamed of calling home.
On June 30, 2012, after everything was sold, they moved their family of four to Indian River while they looked for the perfect property to build their dream. On July 20, 2012, Tracie’s birthday, they closed on 22 acres of beautiful hills and rolling countryside. They started planting 1600 grapevines and planning their business. With Tracie’s father passed, but his memory still very much alive, she decided to put her love and experience of building and remodeling to the test and take on the hat of General Contractor on the construction of their 5000+ sq. ft. facility that holds their home, winery and tasting room. With the completion of a beautiful building in May of 2014, situated on the perfect scenic hill in the Joy Valley, they opened their doors for business on June 21, 2014.
Since then, they have planted another vineyard (now totaling 11 acres), added on to their outdoor patio, extended the cellar, have added more wines and hard ciders to their menu, and have 6 full-time employees as well as an amazing seasonal group. Their wines are well received and their place is the perfect spot to relax and enjoy. Pictured above is the Roush family (from left to right is Natalie, Tracie, Andy, and Alaina): the top canvas is from 2014 when they first opened, and the bottom canvas is from 2022. The story continues... 8 years into living in the same building as the tasting room, it was time to move the family out of the business. Yes, the Roush family of 4 (sometimes 5!) resided in the 1,300 sq ft space above the cellar, in the back of their small business while the girls were growing up. While the views from the windows were beautiful and the Roushes had no commute to work, it was time for some home/work life separation.
In 2022 they made the move out of the winery, leaving their residence space to be repurposed and incorporated into the winery in some way. Andy and Tracie brainstormed many ideas of what they could do with the beloved, characterful space that held so many family memories. Meanwhile, their daughter Natalie was finishing up her senior year in college and found a passion for all things coffee amid serving at her campus coffee shop and going on a one month study abroad to Costa Rica. When an opportunity to write a business plan came up in her entrepreneurship class, she looked no further than her home roots at Petoskey Farms to add a new beverage to the winery’s menu. In May of 2023, Petoskey Farms opened the doors to the new Coffeehouse! Once a family home, now a place for the community to gather and enjoy fun espresso beverages at the family’s scenic farm. Any day is a great day when it starts with a cup of coffee and ends with a glass of wine.
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