Southern Wisconsin Wineries

Southern Wisconsin Wineries

Wisconsin is notable for a variety of cheeses and now for the Super Bowl football team the Green Bay Packers. But did you know that Wisconsin has other great things to explore. Although, Door County has a few wineries’ so doesn’t the southern part of the state. There are many private wineries that specialize in Artisan (hard) cider, brandy, red, blush, or white table wines. All the specialty spirits are blended with a variety of apples, pears, cherries, blackberries and even pumpkin. The southern Wisconsin wineries are best to visit between late August through November when the grapes have been harvested to produce such a variety wines.

If you are looking for a day trip or even a weekend get-away to relax and taste of the wines; southern Wisconsin has several family orientated wineries. These wineries will relax you and please the palette. Many of the wineries are open year around but during the winter they have specific hours and days of operations. I found the best time to go is during late August right after the fall harvest. This way you can view some of the wineries actually picking the grapes and making the wine. If you don’t want to go at this time, try to go from September to the end of October when the fall foliage is peaking and the weather is still warm enough to be outside.

On my adventure of tasting wines I began the road trip just north of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The small winery was located at Brighton Woods Orchard called Aeppeltreow Winery. The word ‘aeppeltreow’ originated from old English refers to the apple tree and the essence of the apple. The tasting room is in the back of the orchard where customers comfortably can sit and taste a selection of their wines with a small tasting fee. The selections range from sparkling ciders, champagne, table wines and dessert wines. My favorite was called Apple’s Summers End, which is made with mid-season apple wine and with a semi-sweet flavor. There was a hint of Riesling and Blanc. The cost of a bottle of wine ranges from $9.50 and up. It went well with seafood and a mild cheddar cheese platter.

My next stop was the Apple Barn Orchard and Winery. We drove west to Elkhorn, Wisconsin where the orchard was just off of route 12. They host an apple festival during late September and host several events throughout the fall. They close in November and reopen in June for strawberry season. The tasting area was located in the barn and charged a small fee. They had a selection of white, blush, and red wines for everyone to try and served with oyster crackers. My favorite was the Wild Blackberry wine was semi-sweet and could be served as a dessert wine. The Pumpkin Harvest wine had a unique taste with a hint of nutmeg to give the wine a sweet and spicy taste which could be served with any turkey dinner. A cost for a bottle ranged from $8.95 to $13.00.

My last stop was just west into the small town of Delavan, Wisconsin. The Staller Estate Vineyard and Winery had wines ranging from dry white wines, to semi-sweet with peach, pear and apple flavors only one blush wine and several red wines. The winery tasting room had a small and homey atmosphere for customers to try their specialty wines for a small fee. They are open from May through the end of November. I found I liked the Lady in Red wine, which was a semi-dry wine with deep aromas of dark cherry and raspberry which went well with any pasta dish with marinara sauce. A bottle of wine cost from $13.95 to $20.00. I hope you enjoy the wine journal of some unique wineries in Southern Wisconsin and have a great tasting adventure.