There is a paradox that confronts you when you turn into the dirt driveway of Nathaniel Rose Wines, north of Suttons Bay.

Rose, a 35-year-old winemaker who grew up in Leland and three years ago won a double gold at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition for a five-year-old red, has a degree in biochemistry from Western Michigan University. He also has a budding reputation as one of the hottest winemakers on the peninsula, one whose wines can fetch $150 for a single bottle.

Yet as you pull up to the office-like tasting room (now closed due to the pandemic; tastings now occur outside and 20 feet apart because, as Rose says, “the whole loss of sense of smell and taste would be kind of career-ending for me”) you’re greeted not with the polish and indications of wealth that characterize most of the wineries on Leelanau and Old Mission peninsulas, but with a ramshackle barn, winemaking equipment spilling out into the parking lot, and, at the edge of a tree line, an old motor home and a couple of weathered boats on trailers.

Nevertheless, if you look close enough, hidden in this strange tableau is the unlikely story of how Rose became one of the youngest winery owners in the region. In this week's Northern Express, sister publication of The Ticker, writer Patrick Sullivan sits down with Rose to talk about his background, his long journey into Leelanau winemaking, and the ancient techniques that influence his knack for creative, innovative approaches to producing wine. The Northern Express is available to read online, or pick up a free copy at newsstand locations in 14 counties across northern Michigan.