The Napatization of Northern Michigan: Wineries in the Context of Regional Gentrification
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Authors
Dayton, Emily
Issue Date
2008
Type
Presentation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The Traverse City region of Northwest Lower Michigan is
an area experiencing rapid growth and development. Its
economic and cultural identity is undergoing a
transformation, with a tendency towards trends characteristic
of high-status lifestyles. A significant part of this change is
the increasing presence of the region’s relatively young wine
industry, which has suddenly grown very large. Over 27
wineries have been started since the first grape vine was
planted in the mid 1970s. The increasing influence of the
wine industry has had a significant impact on the character
of the region.
The ties Northern Michigan residents have to the area are
not unusual. In addition to gender and ethnicity, much of the
process of finding one’s sense of place and identity in society
is highly affect by where one resides. Class, and the
opportunities and commodities it provides, is another method
of self-expression. In fact, entire industries are constructed
around creating desirable goods that people can use to create
and maintain certain identities. The wine industry is noted
for its ability to sell a product whose appeal is based on the
identity people wish to attain by consuming it. This SIP
addresses this idea in the context of Northern Michigan.