Could Traverse City's winemakers be reality television's next big stars?

Detroit-based producers Gerry Vendittelli and Skip Starr – along with partners videographer Andy Vance and Tabone Vineyards and Orchards owner Mario Tabone – believe the answer is a resounding “yes.” The group, operating under the moniker Red & White Entertainment, is now pitching a reality TV show called “Wine Warriors” featuring three prominent area wineries and their personalities to national network executives.

Last spring and summer, cameras followed the owners and staff of Chateau de Leelanau and Good Harbor Vineyards on Leelanau Peninsula and Chateau Chantal on Old Mission Peninsula as they went about their daily operations, including harvesting, producing, bottling and selling. Larry Mawby, owner of L. Mawby Vineyards in Suttons Bay, provided humorous narration in the form of “Mawby Moments."

“My family and I go winetasting every year on the peninsulas, and everywhere I went I kept hearing customers ask the same questions over and over,” says Vendittelli, explaining the show's premise. “'How is the wine made? How long does it take? Do you grow your own grapes?' I met with my partners and told them there was a story to be told about these wineries, and no one was telling it.”

Starr says producers spoke with “many wineries” about participating in the project, but settled on the three involved to provide a balance of business models, sizes and personalities.

“Chateau Chantal represents a larger winery, almost a corporate model, with shareholders, a bed and breakfast and a large tasting room,” Starr says. “Matt Gregory at Chateau de Leelanau is our 'cowboy winemaker' – he comes from a family of big-time cherry farmers and is now independent, taking the business into wine. And Taylor and Sam Simpson at Good Harbor are in the middle, siblings who were brought back into the family business unexpectedly after their father passed away.”

The producers, represented by The Television Syndication Company (which is pitching “Wine Warriors” this week in Miami at the National Association of Television Program Executives), envision the show being a 30-minute, family-friendly program in the vein of Gold Rush or Duck Dynasty. An eight-minute promotional “sizzle reel” includes a revealing montage of behind-the-scenes action at the wineries' tasting and production rooms.

“We really believe in the Michigan area, and we wanted to tell the story of this region in particular,” says Vendittelli, who says he's already received positive feedback from networks including PBS. “This is not the screaming, cussing reality TV show. It's character-driven, it's colorful and it shows everything these winemakers have to battle with the elements and technology to produce this amazing wine.”

Gregory, one of the show's featured winemakers and the president of the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association, says he's mindful of the potential pressures that could arise if the show is picked up and becomes highly successful, or if his business were to be portrayed in a negative light. However, he says he has faith in the producers and believes the “positives far outweigh the negatives” in the venture.

“From very early on, all of us (winemakers) expressed the concern that if it was going to be negative for the wineries or for the region, we didn't want any part of it,” says Gregory. “But these guys aren't here to do that. Everyone who's involved just wants to make more people aware of our great local wineries, and to bring more tourism to our area.”

The producers affirm that aspiration. The company has already created a “Wine Warriors” website and is in talks with the participating wineries to produce exclusive varietals for the show to be sold online – all with the goal of branding and promoting the region as a whole.

“There are enough stories on those peninsulas that we could keep this show going for years, if there was an interest and demand for it,” says Vendittelli. “Our intention is to compliment the great winemaking craft there, and to highlight the region in an entertaining, interesting way.”