There’s been a quiet buzz for a while about a change coming to one of the well known wineries in Michigan’s Great Southwest. There’ll be new owners and a new name on top of the hill East of Coloma at 6991 Ryno Road.
Karma Vista Winery will give way to Filkins Vineyards, with opening slated for May 1.
‘Filkins’ refers to Zach Filkins, the lead guitarist and co-founder of the Pop-Rock band One Republic. Filkins and his wife Lindsay are buying Karma Vista from founders and long-time owners Joe and Sue Herman, who are calling it a career.
Neither the sellers nor the buyers have formally announced the deal. Herman declined our request to comment on the sale. However, Filkins has already posted a new website previewing the name change and spotlighting the biographies of two key hires.
JASON JOHNSON – WINEMAKER
Jason started in the wine industry in 2000 at Beaulieu Vineyard in the cellar as harvest temporary labor and a musician in his free time. For the first two years he learned every aspect of cellar operations possible and worked his way up to leading the George DeLatour Reserve winery in 2008. Jason fell in love with the hands-on process of making wines which then turned into a passion for crafting luxury wines. After 12 years at Beaulieu Vineyards, he transferred as the Cellar Master for Provenance/ Hewitt Vineyards where he was able to fine tune his winemaking knowledge and refine his skills with some great mentors. In 2017 Jason took the role as Assistant Winemaker for Conn Creek Napa Valley working with grapes from all over Napa Valley AVA’s.
To Jason, winemaking is live music. Each instrument creates a unique sound and draws emotion out of the listener. When you start putting these together (like blending wine) you can begin to create and craft a masterpiece and make something unforgettable. Music can take you to a certain place and time, create and bring back memories, and wine does the same. This is his approach to making wine each vintage; using the grapes as instruments to produce the highest quality wines that define a specific place in time. While at Conn Creek he completed the UC Davis winemaking certificate program and learned how to manage all the fun of a smaller facility.
In 2023 Jason took the role as Assistant Winemaker for Beringer Vineyards where he was able to go back and work with some of the same vineyards, winemakers, and teams that trained him in the cellar all those years ago. When the opportunity was presented to take all of his years of hands-on winemaking skills and knowledge to South West Michigan, he couldn’t pass it up!
In his free time Jason still enjoys creating music and spending time outside, hiking & camping, and values his time with his wife, two daughters, and dogs.
MELISSA FERIS – GENERAL MANAGER
Melissa Feris, a Chicagoland native, spent most of her adult life in Kansas City, where she attended college and played women’s basketball under former NBA player Joe C. Meriweather. While participating in collegiate level sports, Melissa attained a Bachelors of Arts, prior to earning a Masters degree in Science. Post graduation, Melissa applied her education and talents to owning and operating a nationwide commercial mural painting business where she painted murals for small to large corporations such as IHOP and Walmart. Not only did Melissa find passion in owning and operating a business, she found even more passion raising her 3 boys into men. Coincidentally, during this transition period of becoming an “empty nester”, Melissa’s sister, Lindsay and brother in law, Zach purchased Karma Vista and offered Melissa the position of General Manager, where she will apply her business management, sales, marketing, administration, HR, customer service, sales, and marketing experience to the wine industry. In her spare time, Melissa likes to paint, be active, spend time with her children and family.
How did the Filkins’ come to purchase Karma Vista Winery? In their own words, from their new website:
“Our first taste of Michigan wine was experienced at Karma Vista in 2019. After a OneRepublic show in Grand Rapids, we decided to drive back home and taste Michigan wine for the first time, and Karma Vista was our very first stop. I remember tasting almost all of the wines offered with the exception of the sweet options. As we made our way through the whites and on to the red wines I remember thinking how wonderful each wine was. As Joe poured each wine into our tasting glass he gave us detailed information on the winemaking process for all of the wines. As he spoke, we could feel the passion and love he had for the winery. His knowledge and excitement was intoxicating as we stood there listening and soaking it all in as if we were children focusing during story time. I recall Suzie sharing her favorite wines with a big smile on her face as she cleaned the tasting glasses and her love for the tasting room was evident by the meticulous condition of the property.
As we wrapped up our visit with a half case of wine and a head full of knowledge I recollect walking to our car smiling and both of us saying aloud “Wow, Michigan wine is good!” Karma Vista was our gateway into Michigan wines and such a great winery to start the Michigan experience.
Our passion for food and wine dates back many years. We both worked in the restaurant industry for many years which is where we first developed a love and understanding of wine. At that time food and wine pairings were having a serious impact in the restaurant scene so we soon found ourselves hosting pairing dinner parties with our friends and really enjoying it. Hospitality was a giftedness that both Zach and I shared which made it fun to dream together. Ever since our first winery visit on our honeymoon in California, we have dreamed of owning a winery where family and friends could come together. We are incredibly grateful and humbled by the opportunity to take the torch from the Hermans and are honored to own and operate the very first winery that attracted us to southwest Michigan wine country. Connection with one another is such a big part of who we are as humans so to be able to provide a location for couples, families and friends to come and connect brings us a lot of joy. We hope you stop by!”
Cheers,
Zach and Lindsay Filkins
It doesn’t appear that the vineyard will slow down Ffilkins’ music career. One Republic has a Summer Tour that includes several stops in Japan.
