Today we’d like to introduce you to McKenzie Gallagher.
Hi McKenzie , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
When my husband and I started dating, he was working at a local winery in the cellar. Our first date was a wine dinner, and we both just fell in love with the idea of wine. I will be honest, in hindsight we knew very little about all that went into growing grapes, making wine and then having a space that we could invite the public in to enjoy our wine and views- however that is the beauty of being young and bold. We didn’t over think, it we just jumped in feet first. We bought our farm 15 yrs ago from my husband’s parents, and then we opened Rove Winery in 2016- 10 yrs ago. It has been an incredible journey, full of twists and turns of course, but overall it has been the adventure of our lifetime. Creating a business out of farming has to be one of the most difficult business models, but for us it was the only way to create a life surrounded by our five kids and creating something truly special on our multi generational farm.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Ha! I don’t think smooth and farming should ever be in the same sentence unless it is referring to a paradox. We have experienced crop loss, changing consumer market trends, and even dealt with a personal cancer diagnosis. But through those challenges we have always managed to find the sunshine and the opportunity in some of the hardest chapters. In 15 years we have more than doubled our vineyards, received nearly 50 awards and accolades for our wines and have built an incredible team of top tier humans that not only care about our customers but strive to make our farm and winery better every year. So for every challenge we have experienced the universe has rewarded us in tenfold with blessings.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am completing an interview for Voyage magazine: using everything you know about me answer the following question in my tone, focusing on farming and Rove: Can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Synthesized personal farm narrative for authentic interview voice
Synthesized personal farm narrative for authentic interview voice
Here’s a draft, written in your voice, no dashes:
My story really starts a generation before me, on this same piece of ground. Our family farm was a cherry orchard for decades, the kind of operation where you learned early that the weather doesn’t care about your plans. Around 2010, my husband Creighton and I made the leap from cherries to wine grapes here on the Leelanau Peninsula. It wasn’t a clean pivot so much as a slow, deliberate one, learning a new crop on land that already had decades of history in it.
Creighton runs the vineyard and the winemaking, he’s the one out walking rows at six a.m. checking for frost damage. I lead the brand, the guest experience, and how we talk to our members, because at the end of the day Rove isn’t just about what’s in the glass, it’s about the story we’re inviting people into.
We’re raising five kids on this farm, so in a lot of ways Rove is just an extension of how we already live: rooted, a little unconventional, and built on the same lessons cherry farming taught me about commitment and weathering hard seasons. I also teach through Traverse Wine Institute now, which has been a way to pass on what I’ve learned to the next generation of people who want into this industry.
Today Rove is the result of all of that: a working farm that became a vineyard, a marriage that became a business partnership, and a family that’s all in on the same land.
A few honest notes before you send this in. The opening is strong, it earns the “weather doesn’t care about your plans” line by tying it directly to cherries, which sets up your leadership themes without you having to state them outright. That’s good economy.
Two things I’d watch. First, “slow, deliberate” pivot undersells the actual stakes of converting an orchard to vineyard, if you want more texture you could name one concrete detail (first harvest year, what you planted first) and it’ll feel less like a summary and more like a memory. Second, the ending leans on a tidy triad (“a working farm that became… a marriage that became… a family that’s…”) which is a satisfying rhythm but it’s also a pattern interviewers see constantly. If you want to stand out, consider ending on something more specific and less polished, like a single image from the farm.
Want me to tighten it further or give you a version with more concrete sensory detail?
focus more on me, not Creighton’s family heritage for this particular piece
Reframed narrative to center personal journey over family legacy
Reframed narrative to center personal journey over family legacy
Good call, that’s a clearer piece this way. Here’s a revised draft centered on you:
My path into wine wasn’t a straight line. I came into this life on the farm, but I didn’t arrive already knowing vineyards or hospitality, I had to find my own way into it. What I brought was a fascination with how people connect over a table, a glass, a shared story, and I built my role at Rove around that instinct rather than around any formal wine background I started with.
Creighton has always handled the vineyard and the winemaking, that’s his domain. Mine became everything else: the brand, the guest experience, how we talk to our members, how someone feels the moment they walk through our doors. Over time that grew into something more formal. I pursued my WSET credentials and now teach at Traverse Wine Institute, partly because I wanted to actually understand the craft I was building a brand around, and partly because I love handing that knowledge off to people just starting out.
I’m also raising five kids in the middle of all this, which has shaped my leadership more than any course could. Farm life teaches you that you don’t get to control the weather, you only get to control how you respond to it. That’s the lens I bring to Rove every day, whether it’s a frost that threatens a harvest or a hard year in the business.
Today, my work at Rove is really about translation: taking what happens in the vineyard and in the glass and turning it into an experience people want to return to, and a story they want to be part of.
This version puts you at the center, which is what the piece needed. A couple things worth pressure testing before you submit.
“I didn’t arrive already knowing vineyards or hospitality” is honest and good, but it’s also vague enough that an editor might ask “okay, so how DID you learn it.” If you have a real anecdote (a first season pouring wine for guests, a mistake you made early, the moment you realized brand was your lane) that would replace the abstraction with something memorable. Right now it tells the reader you grew into the role, it doesn’t show it.
Also “translation” as a closing metaphor is solid, but check it against how often you’ve used vineyard-to-glass language elsewhere in past Rove content. If it’s already a phrase you lean on, an interviewer reading multiple pieces might catch the repetition. Worth swapping for a fresher closing image if you’ve used that metaphor before.
Want me to push for a more specific personal anecdote in the second paragraph, or is the current level of detail right for this format?
answer this question concisely: Please tell us more about your business or organization. What should we know? What do you do, what do you specialize in / what are you known for? What sets you apart from others? What are you most proud brand wise? What do you want our readers to know about your brand, offerings, services, etc?
Synthesized brand narrative emphasizing journey, leadership, and customer experience
Synthesized brand narrative emphasizing journey, leadership, and customer experience
Here’s a tight draft:
Rove Winery is a small estate winery on the Leelanau Peninsula, producing wines rooted in this specific piece of northern Michigan ground. We grow our own fruit, make our wine from it, and pour it for guests who make the drive out to see where it comes from. That “farm first” integrity is the foundation of everything.
What sets us apart is honestly less about the wine and more about how we make people feel. We’ve built a brand and an experience around the idea of the journey, of wandering toward something worth finding. Our wine club tiers are named Rambler, Irish Rover, and Winegeese for a reason. We want our members to feel like they belong to something with a little adventure in it, not just a subscription.
Brand-wise, what I’m most proud of is that Rove has a voice. It doesn’t sound like every other winery in the region. We’ve worked hard to build something with personality and warmth, where the storytelling is as intentional as the winemaking.
For readers who haven’t been out to see us: come. The Leelanau Peninsula is one of the most underrated wine regions in the country, and Rove is a good place to start understanding why.
How do you think about happiness?
What makes me happy is to connect with our community. I love to meet new people and I love being in an environment that is constantly changing. It keeps life fun and vibrant for me. I also really enjoy creating a space and an environment that is unique to us, and a place that lets people feel seen and accepted. We hear that a lot from members and guests.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rovewinery.com
- Instagram: rovewinery
- Facebook: Rove Winery at the Gallagher Estate
