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Rock star Zach Filkins buys beautiful sprawling Michigan winery
OneRepublic guitarist Zach Filkins is embarking on a business venture outside the music industry - running a recently purchased winery.
Filkins and his wife Lindsay purchased the Karma Vista Winery earlier this year and renamed it Filkins Vineyards.
The vineyard and winery serves guests on site and features beautiful views of the countryside less than an hour away from Kalamazoo.
'We have dreamed of owning our own property and making our own estate-grown wines,' Filkins wrote in an Instagram video description.
'Southwest Michigan inspired us, and we were given the incredible opportunity to take over Karma Vista Vineyards and to make it our own.'
OneRepublic guitarist Zach Filkins and his wife Lindsay purchased the Karma Vista Winery earlier this year and renamed it Filkins Vineyards
The couple first visited the Karma Vista Winery in 2019 after a OneRepublic show in Grand Rapids. They enjoyed its wine, and their conversations with its then-owners
OneRepublic achieved success in the early noughties with songs including 'Apologize'.
Filkins and his wife had years of experience working in the restaurant industry before the guitarist's musical career took off.
However, all it took was one vineyard visit to make this pair want to buy a winery.
'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,' The Fikins' wrote on the vineyard's website.
After years of vineyard visits, the couple stopped by the Karma Vista Winery in 2019 after a OneRepublic show in Grand Rapids.
'We remember tasting almost all of the wines offered with the exception of the sweet options,' the website read.
The couple had dreamt of opening their own winery ever since they had a 'vineyard experience' during their honeymoon in California
'As we made our way through the whites and on to the red wines I remember thinking how wonderful each wine was.'
The pair were also drawn to the winery after conversing with then-owners Joe and Sue Herman during their visit.
The vineyard and winery serves guests on site, and features beautiful views of the countryside less than an hour away from Kalamazoo
The Hermans established their business back in 2002 and made the decision to stop using herbicides in the vineyard seven years later.
According to the Filkins', the Hermans used 'cover crops, compost, and other regenerative practices' to care for the land's soil.
The former owners used these practices up until they confirmed their retirement and land sale in a 2022 Facebook post on Saint Patrick's Day weekend.
'To everything, there is a season, and it is time for us to pass on this good vibration to a new generation,' wrote the Hermans.
'Zach, Lindsay, and family are the perfect people to continue the discovery of all that this truly gifted site has to offer the wine world.'
They added that the Filkins' share the same passion and eagerness they had in changing the world 'one vintage at a time.'
Previous owners Joe and Sue Herman stopped using herbicides at the vineyard in 2009, and instead uses various regenerative practices to protect its soil
The Filkins' insisted that vineyard guests will not see bare soil, but they will see grasses and vegetation that protects it from mono-crop damage
Filkins and his wife of nearly 20 years have worked on maintaining the Herman's legacy and their land practices.
The couple insisted that vineyard guests would not see bare soil, but they will see various grasses and vegetation.
These features are meant to prevent potential damage from mono-crops, leading to regeneration and carbon sequestration.
'By promoting biodiversity both above ground and below, the Hermans have stood as a shining light directing us forward to a better way to work with the land and this can not only inspire modern viticulture but any type of agriculture around the world,' Filkins wrote.
'As Lindsay and I move forward with Filkins Vineyards, our hope is to always keep the Hermans’ legacy and example in mind, and push our practices and principles in the direction that most resembles how this earth was originally intended to thrive.'
Lindsay's sister Melissa Feris is the vineyard's general manager. It has received hundreds of positive reviews on social media platforms since they took over the property
Since the Filkins' opened their vineyard's doors last May, the business has seemingly been booming, and guests have left positive reviews on various social media platforms.
The Filkins' hired experienced winemaker Jason Johnson to lead wine production, and Lindsay's sister Melissa Feris is its general manager.