Downtown Detroit and the Detroit-area Wine Scene

Detroit and southeastern Michigan have an exceptional wine culture. Certainly, there is a great variety of fine wines at their appropriate high prices. But notably, many Downtown Detroit Wine Bars and Lounges focus on wonderful "value" wines – wines with great taste at a great price.

Only about half of U.S. states are home to a Master Sommelier, and just a handful can point to a woman Master Somm on its roster of wine professionals. Remarkably, Michigan is home to three Master Somms — all of them women.

Most notably for southeast Michigan is Madeline Triffon, an American wine specialist and Master Sommelier. Ms. Triffon has had a significant influence on the Detroit area wine culture - especially in regards to approachable Value Wines. Upon her completion of the Master Sommelier test in 1985, she was the ninth American, the first American woman, and overall, only the second woman in the world to pass. She has been nicknamed "Detroit's First Lady of Wine." In 2012, she was named IntoWine.com's 90th most influential person in the United States wine industry.

Michigan’s enviable group of top-tier sommeliers isn’t the only way the state punches above its weight when it comes to women in the wine industry. From award-winning winemakers and restauranteurs to vineyard owners, distributors, wine bars, and importers, women are undeniably at the forefront of the state’s wine scene.