A One-Woman Winery

The vines and vintages of Achrimère Wines

Aimee Desautels is the one-woman operation behind Achrimère Wines, perhaps the smallest winery on Old Mission Peninsula (OMP).

Along with being a vigneron (someone who grows their own grapes for winemaking), Desautels does all her own marketing, ships orders to 38 states, and makes the delivery runs in her van, all while co-parenting her two sons and living between Traverse City and the Detroit area.

She’s proud of this feat, joking in an Instagram post, “I am happy to report that I earned the award of ‘EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR’ from Achrimère Wines. Let me tell you, I was up against a number of other worthy candidates (Aimee in shipping, Aimee in purchasing, Aimee in label design, Aimee in customer relations….the list goes on).”

We met with Desautels on a snowy afternoon on OMP to talk about her passions for wine, motherhood, and the grape-growing community.

Stories and Science

Desautels has always worked in the hospitality industry and fell in love with wine over 25 years ago. She was captivated by winemakers’ stories of carving out a niche for themselves to make something truly unique.

“I was so interested in all of the stories—how all the vineyards could be right next to each other and everything [all the wines] tasted different. I just really enjoyed the idea of ‘Well I’m going to try to do my own thing.’ I just thought that was the neatest thing ever, so I kept reading and reading.”

This led Desautels to complete the Court of Master Sommeliers program and start her own business, called Wine and Roses, downstate. She hosted wine tastings and created wedding floral arrangements, and facilitating tastings with customers deepened her interest in wine education.

The next step in her career was a brand manager job with a wine distributor in Detroit where she represented around 200 brands and was able to hone her marketing skills. A major perk of the job was being on supplier trips to visit wineries around the world, where she decided that she wanted to try her hand at winemaking.

“There are so many stories that are connected to passion in the industry, and that was it was all about for me,” Desautels says. “The willingness to work so hard toward something and care so much about it, that just resonated with me.”

To pursue her next career, she took courses in winemaking at UC Davis and worked the harvest in Paso Robles, a renowned wine region on the Central Coast. In 2008 she bought a plot of fallow land on Old Mission Peninsula, the future site of Achrimère.

Motherhood First

After her second son was born, Desautels decided to make the leap into being a full-time winemaker. In 2015 she planted her first vines on the Old Mission property, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. “There’s never this moment where you are like ‘this is the right time.’ I just went for it; that’s the bottom line,” she says.

A lot of thought and heart went into the Achrimère name. It’s a word she created herself, with the letters from each of her son’s names, plus the French word mère, mother. Desautels sees herself first as a mother, whether it be mothering her children, her vines, or her business.

“What was important to me was that it [the name] was a reflection of what is most important to me in life. Everything in life is a passion project,” she says.

Desautels adds that “every bottle is a dedication to somebody. The whole project is a dedication to everybody else because I have had so much help.”

For example, the EM12 Pinot Gris is named in honor of her son Emerson, who was born in 2012. Likewise, the CM10 Chardonnay is named for her son Christopher, born in 2010. The 1971 Sparkling Brut is named for the year her parents were married, and the Symposium Rosé honors the winemaking community that helps make Achrimère possible.

The Wine

With only 7 acres of vines on her 16 acre property, Desautels knew she would have to get creative to find customers. Peninsula Township requires a winery to be at least 50 acres to have its own indoor tasting room.

So, using her marketing background, Desautels created an Instagram account called The Wine Associate, featuring videos about various wine topics to educate followers on different aspects of the industry. Those followers are the foundation of the Achrimère wine club and its loyal customer base.

Desautels produces about 200 cases of Achrimère wine per year and ships directly to customers/wine club members. She also partners with a few retailers and restaurants in Michigan, like The Cooks’ House and Peninsula Grill in Traverse City.

Currently, Desautels makes the four wines listed above. All are aged in stainless steel to preserve and showcase the flavor of the fruit as much as possible.

“These are clear, intentional wines,” she says. “I have a palate that leans towards France. I really enjoy the fact that a lot of French wines match the foods that are grown there, the cuisine that happens there. I wanted to make food wines, and I think these really fit the bill.”

Speaking of food, Desautels has pairing recommendations for each of her creations:

- 1971 Sparkling Brut: whitefish pate and/or a bowl of fresh strawberries
- CM10 Chardonnay: butter broiled lobster with gnocchi in a light cream sauce
- Symposium Rosé: pan fried walleye in a ber blanc sauce
- EM12 Pinot Gris: brie with fig jam and caramelized onion

While much of her inspiration as a winemaker comes from international locales like Chablis, Desautels’ wines highlight what northern Michigan vineyards can produce. “These are 100 percent Old Mission Peninsula wines. I’m so proud of this region; it’s a special place,” she says.

Coming Soon

For Desautels, her business and personal goals are inextricably intertwined. When asked about what she’d like her legacy to be she says, “My biggest thing will have to do with the raising of my kids. Being the mère, the mother, of all of this means making sure that good humans are created, and that everybody takes care of everybody. [Achrimère] is a huge testament to everybody taking care of everybody. My goal is to help teach people about something they’re passionate about, go after it, and then pay that forward to everyone else.”

In the near future, Desautels plans to scale up operations and hopes to one day have a tasting room space where she can interact with and educate her customers.

When her vines first started producing, she sold the majority of her harvest to existing wineries. Now that Achrimère has been fully established, she plans to keep more of her fruit to expand production. In 2023 she planted an acre of Pinot Noir, which will be used for sparkling wine.

You can find Achrimère wine at Lake District Wine Co, Blue Goat Wine & Provisions, Folgarelli’s Market & Wine Shop, and Bad Dog Deli.

Learn more and order wine at achrimerewines.com and find their social media at @thewineassociate.

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