Take a drive to The Christmas Cove Apple Farm!

The following article was featured on our new eatdrinkTC website, a new guide to our area’s culinary culture that we have just launched. Lots of relavant Leelanau content including our Wine Touring Guide!

Apples are one of the finest flavors of fall, and one of the best places in our area to get your apple on is Kilcherman’s Christmas Cove Farm just north of Northport.

Many of the articles you read will highlight John & Phyllis Kilcherman’s massive (10,000+) pop bottle collection. While that’s certainly a sight to see, what sets my foodie heart beating faster is the 250 varieties of antique & heirloom apples. I had the pleasure of interviewing John Kilcherman a number of years ago and he explained how he came to be “The Keeper of the Apples”:

“I grew up three farms down from here. My grandfather had an old apple orchard that I would play in as a child. Years later, I thought I’d try and grow some of those apples that tasted so good when I was a boy. It really just started as something to do just to see if it could be done. I figured I could always sell the apples for juice, but I never really expected to see any money out of it.”

Today John is one of the leaders in antique apples and the farm is one of the premier designations in Northern Michigan for apples and their delicious cider made from 60+ varieties. On your way there or back consider the Garage Bar & Grill for lunch and also don’t miss the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. If you can’t make the trip, they also offer gift boxes.

Check out the video from UpNorthLive below with John and Phyllis showing off a number of apples including one of my favorites, the Lady apple, which was apparently the Altoid of the 1700s in Europe.