Walter and Eileen Brys, proprietors of Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery on Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City, Michigan, planted the first of 40,000 vines in 2001 and opened the doors of their tasting room in 2005. Their 40-acre vineyard is part of the 80 acres that makes up Brys Estate.

The farm originally harvested cherries and apples, was historically successful, and was locally known to have good produce even when other area farms were suffering. The farm was active until the 1970's when all the fruit trees were removed. The land sat dormant until 2000 when the Brys family planted a cover crop to enrich the soils before the first planting of the vinifera grape vines in 2001. The Brys family is the third owner in the history of the farm since the late 1890's.