Wisconsin Wineries making a name for themselves
A competition won here and a competition won there means you’re good at what you do, but when the awards come year after year it means something more.
Danzinger Vineyards overlooks the mighty Mississippi from its perch atop the Alma Bluffs in Buffalo County. The vineyard was started in 2003 and now consists of 18 acres of popular cold-hardy grape varieties. Their tasting room opened in 2010.
All of Danzinger’s grape wines are estate wines meaning they use only their own grapes, as well as make and bottle the wines on site. It didn’t take long for these homegrown wines to start making a name for themselves—a Gold for St. Croix; a Best of Show for Golden Sunrise; a Double Gold for River Paradise; a Best of Division for Raspberry Rapture and the latest title of “Best Wisconsin Wine” for their Late Harvest St. Pepin. To top it off, in 2013 the Wisconsin Grape Growers Association named Danzinger Vineyards Winery of the Year.
Door Peninsula Winery was founded in 1974. Since Door County’s climate was too cold to grow conventional grapes, the winery’s initial products were made from locally grown fruit. Cherry, apple, strawberry and plum wines were then, and still, remain popular customer favorites. As their product line expanded, they added a vineyard of cold-hardy grape varieties.
Door Peninsula has consistently been recognized for their high level of quality. Their double gold Mango wine was named Best of Class and their gold winning Cranberry just recently won the Best of Division in the 2015 Wisconsin State Fair Professional Wine Competition. Their focus on excellence was recognized in 2009 when the Door County Economic Development Corporation named them the Door County Industry of the Year.
Homesteaded in the 1850’s in Trempealeau, Wisconsin, Elmaro Vineyard was planted in 2006 on the family farm. Wine took hold of their hearts on a trip to Italy, and the rest is history. Their tagline “your NAPA Valley, close to home,” beckons wine lovers from near and far to stop, sample and take home their award-winning wines.
In 2014, their West Prairie White won the Sweepstakes Award at the Long Beach Grand Cru followed by three golds at the Indy International held this past summer. At the 2015 Wisconsin State Fair Professional Wine Competition, their top prize was a Double Gold and Best of Division for their Elmaro La Crescent.
Parallel 44 Vineyard and Winery & Door 44 Winery are sister wineries located in Kewaunee and Sturgeon Bay, respectively. Parallel 44 opened in 2007 followed by Door 44 in 2013. Their similarity in name and owners isn’t all that these two share; they both also produce award-winning wines.
Most recently, in the 2015 Wisconsin Professional Wine Competition, Parallel 44 took home Best in Show for its double gold Petite Pearl, Best in Division for Frozen Tundra Original and Best Red Wine for its Petite Pearl. Door 44 was awarded Best Sparkling Wine for its Bubbler the second year in a row.
To learn more about cold-hardy grape growing in Wisconsin visit www.wigrapes.org. To learn more about these and other Wisconsin wineries, visit www.wiswine.org.
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