by Sharon Flesher
Dave Bos About 20 years ago, Dave Bos was fresh out of college and curious about wine, so he moved to Traverse City, where he worked for a couple of years harvesting grapes and bartending. Then, like many a pioneer, Dave Bos heeded the call to go west, a journey that gained him a wife and two children in addition to honing his skills in viticulture and wine-making at some of the most prestigious estates in Napa Valley. He started his own wine label there in 2010, purchasing grapes from growers in his consulting business and releasing a small portfolio of wines that garnered glowing reviews in the crowded Napa scene. When the young family wanted to expand and plant their own deep roots, it was California girl Jackie who suggested Dave’s native Michigan, where Bos is now pioneering biodynamic farming and transitioning his Napa-born BOS wine label to a Michigan-centric brand based in Elk Rapids. Despite producing fewer than 1,000 cases of wine in Michigan, having none of his own vineyards in production, and opening a tasting room not on any wine tour trail, Bos is creating a big buzz. With his a able personality and talent for networking, he's spread tendrils to vineyards, wineries and retailers in the region, where his in uence may be growing faster than his own label. “He has done so much for our wine community up here, everything from consulting on vineyards on both peninsulas and sharing his biodynamic farming experience and passion, to connecting people for local collaborations, and bringing together people for fun experiences,” says Alaina Leech, co-owner of Traverse City Lake District Wine Co., which held a soldout tasting event for BOS wines in November, the rst (and as of January, only) winemaker to get a solo event at the shop since the pandemic began. “He’s one of the most charismatic people I’ve ever met. We’re all so lucky that he and Jackie have landed here.”
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