It's a road trip.
Your discover
wisconsin host
andrea here today.
I'll put the pedal
to the metal
and had two
Door county.
One of Wisconsin's
most iconic places
and one of
my personal faves
more specifically,
one community
within Door county
that was on
my bucket list
to experience
Carlsville halfway
between Sturgeon
Bay and Egg Harbor
and an artery
to the heart
of Wisconsin's
treasured
peninsula.
Carlinville
exhibits
a charming esthetic
where local
businesses thrive.
This weekend,
I'll visit
four neighboring
businesses,
including the Door
County Candle
Company.
Door County Coffee
or Peninsula
Winery and Door
County Distillery.
Let's go.
and ready
to rumble,
but I do have a
little surprise
for you.
All right,
let's go.
Charla’s Driving.
Yep.
My sisters, Sabrina
and Charla
are joining in
on the adventure.
All right,
I got music. I
play the best.
Only Taylor Swift.
We're going to
Carlsville.
We're going
to Carlsville.
Mom's one request
is that we all
get along.
Buckle up
for an
exhilarating Gals
weekend.
A great place
for a quality trip
with the fam
or friends.
The Carlsville
community
has a few
secrets up
its sleeve
in these hidden
corridors.
Candles are
whicked,
coffee is roasted,
wine is fermented
and spirits
are distilled.
Talk about fresh
and local products.
This weekend,
we're on a hunt
for the
perfect Mother's
Day gift.
Adventure tasting
and, of course,
shopping.
Here we come.
After a
four hour drive,
we were hungry.
And so is the car.
We heard
the Carlsville.
JP Express
is the
perfect pitstop
for snacks
and drinks,
and we could
have missed out
on the adjacent
Little Caesars
Express,
where we snagged
some.
Ready to go
Pizza and
chicken wings.
We loaded up
with some snacks
to tide us over.
We head out
for Door
County
Candle Company,
where we met
Christiana
alongside her
husband, Nick.
She owns and runs
a candle business
that boasts
individually
hand-poured candles
and over
40 different
custom
made fragrances
while guests get
a glimpse
of the candle
making fun
at the candle
dipping station.
Today, we'll head
behind the scenes
for an
exclusive lesson
in the candle
making process.
Here we learn
how unique
each candle
really is.
Hi.
Welcome to Dark
County Candle.
I'm Christiana.
I'm Andrea.
I'm Charla,
Sabrina.
Pleased to meet
you all.
We're going to make
some candles today.
Yeah, let's go.
Well, we'll
first get
our apron on.
Okay, Sure.
Well,
you look great.
Magic?
Yes.
Over here.
What kind of candle
are we
making today?
A mimosa candle,
which smells
like champagne
and oranges
in a celebration.
So it's perfect.
It's hot wax
in here.
Now you're
just mixing
the color in.
Perfect.
Okay, great.
Good job.
So now I'm
just going to
mix it up.
How is her
stirring technique?
Very good.
Wow.
Really good.
Okay, great.
So when we're
done with that,
we can start the
pouring part,
which
is my favorite.
All right,
let's work.
Excellent.
Hey, whoa,
whoa, whoa.
This steady.
Look at
those amazing
ours right there.
Perfect.
That's a
perfect score.
It's amazing.
Perfect.
These are
what keeps
the wick centered.
So we want to
make sure
the wicks
are centered.
Otherwise the
candle won't
burn evenly
there.
Perfect.
Oh, what happened.
Did it fall in?
Right.
It was quite
a treat
to learn
all the candle
making tricks.
Christiana truly is
one of a kind.
In the past
two years,
she has used
the business
as a platform
for philanthropy.
Since taking over
in 2021,
she has raised
and donated
millions of dollars
to relief efforts
for Ukraine, Turkey
and hurricane Ian.
The Ukraine
candle alone
has raised over
$1 million
for nonprofit
helping people
in Ukraine.
We'll get to
hear more
about her
philanthropic
efforts
to finish her
candles
this afternoon.
Stay tuned.
Door County
Coffee aromas
for the
perfect invitation
to enjoy
some morning brew.
And although
specializing
in coffee,
this business
sure does
whip up
a fantastic meal.
And just wait
until you
meet Vicki.
Welcome, girls.
They're from
Discovery,
Wisconsin.
Good to see you.
We're so
excited to
have you.
And we hope
you're ready
to be captivated.
Yes we are.
After learning
that Vicki starts
today off
with a
pot of coffee
and drinks
eight to nine cups
throughout the day.
I had to find out
more about her love
for this cozy
beverage.
I had
a corporate job
and thought,
Oh, I need
to do
something else.
We came up here
for a weekend
and I said,
How do we live
in this
beautiful place?
I read an article
about a coffee
roaster.
Boom.
Light bulb went off
and the rest
is history.
Even of Arabica,
there are
five different
grades.
The top grade is
the only thing
that we buy,
and that is 2%
of what's grown
in the world.
We only choose
specialty class
one in
every one of
our packages
and we don't know
another roaster
that actually puts
the grade
of bean
on their package.
What's your
favorite part
about owning your
own business?
Well, the people,
the people,
the people
I would love
working for you.
I've always wanted
to be a barista.
So we'll show you.
We'll teach you.
Wait can you?
Yeah.
Charlie, you
got to get
behind the bar.
Hi, there.
Good.
How are you?
What can I get
for you?
Can I get an almond
milk latte?
You sure can.
And guess
who's going
to make it.
One latte
coming right up.
What are you doing
back there?
Like your
portafilter
tamped down 32
pounds of pressure
as hard as you can.
Okay. Okay.
Here we go.
Back over here.
I'm going
to stick it
into the machine.
You take two short
classes, place them
right underneath.
Now, she wanted
some almond milk,
so you're going to
come right down
here.
There you go.
Right now,
just eyeball it.
That's what it's
professionals do.
You're going to
press this button
right here.
This one.
Don't burn
your fingers. Okay?
Oh, cool.
How did it feel?
It was intense,
but I loved it.
Ten out of ten.
After throwing
on our hairnets
the caffeine
kicked in,
and we were ready
to have some fun
in the warehouse.
Go, Sabrina,
Go, Sabrina, go.
Charla, go Vicki,
go Vicki.
Talent.
Show your stuff.
Little did
we know that
this building
was 40,000
square feet.
On the tour,
we learn that
the facility roasts
in small batches.
Roughly 80
pounds of coffee
at a time and 7,000
pounds of coffee
beans a day.
Vicki brought us
to the shipping
and packaging area
and introduced us
to her work family.
Erin, Tammy,
Terry
is our
first employee.
Mary just
got a promo
and Mandy.
Pretty cool
to see a warehouse
of so many women.
We even left
with a few
take home goodies.
You saw all of
our work family.
Now I have
a real surprise.
You get to see
my real family.
Yeah,
and everyone
works here
except for the
young ones.
Oh, she's
drinking coffee.
Now I hear that
you have a
gift shop.
Get those crazy
blue helmets
off, lets go.
All right.
Shopping time.
This is Charla.
Do one thing
everyday
that scares
your family
from coffee
and kitchen goods
to sunglasses
and comfy sweaters.
We had a
pretty easy
and fun time
finding a gift
for Mom.
Thanks to Vicki,
the catalyst
for our beverage
sampling journey,
we were now ready
for round two.
Across the street
at the Door
Peninsula
Winery and Door
County Distillery.
Here we met
with Robin Beth
in what
was originally
the Carlsville
schoolhouse
from 1868 to 1964.
I was a little
hesitant
when Rob started
us on a tour
in a dark basement,
but we soon
learned that
this damp
and cool
limestone
walled room
was the
perfect environment
for winemaking.
Back in 1974,
the year
this building
was turned
into a winery.
Today, the wine
cellar houses
archival photos
and objects
from when it was
a schoolhouse
and a 1970s winery
sheltered life
in cold countries.
Through the grade
book,
we sometimes
have people
whose relatives
lived here,
so they'll
flip through.
See how
Uncle Carl did
an English back.
Oh, when
he got a D,
when the
building became
a winery in 1974,
the business
employed a six
bottle filler,
three aging tanks,
and two people
who had
corked everything.
When we started,
we just made
cherry and
apple wine
got into
other fruit wine
such as strawberry,
blackberry
plum, mango.
Oh, there we go.
I'd say that
these machines
were slightly
antiquated,
given that
the winery today
produces over
180,000
gallons of wine
per year.
Which leads us to
the bottling
machine.
Were all
non-carbonated
wines.
Liquors
and spirits
are sanitized,
filled
top with
CO2 quarter
screw caps
and finally
labeled.
In an eight
hour day.
This bad
boy produces
6 to 7000
bottles of wine
from the
bottling machine.
We head down
the hall
where all the wine
begins in
stainless
steel containers.
Originally
cheese vats
in the 1970s.
Here
we start
fermentation.
The wine then moves
to the temperature,
aging tanks,
and when
the time is
ripe, the
bottling machine.
Last but not yeast,
we end at
the distillery,
which opened
in 2011.
The Door
County
distillery houses
a 600 gallon
Italian pop style,
which produces
whiskey, rum
and brandy.
This room
also houses
the mash tun
for whiskey
production.
Finally,
we make our way
over to the lounge,
which was designed
to look like
the inside
of a barrel.
The heating
and air
conditioning unit
was even designed
to look like
a still.
Below
is the original
150 gallon
German copper.
Still today,
every product goes
through this sale
for refining.
Oh, head to
the distillery bar.
Oh, sounds good.
Ooh, Apple
brandy, luminous
vodka,
golden rum,
cherry bluff
infusion, Java
infusion and barrel
finish apple
brandy.
What are the tips
here?
Take just a
little sip
of the spirit,
swirl
it around
a little bit
and then a
second sip.
And on that
second sip,
you're going
to get more
of that full
flavor of
the spirit
cleansing the
palate here.
All right.
Cheers.
First one. Yes.
Having learned
the proper
tasting techniques,
we were ready
for the wine bar
where we met GT.
Hi ladies.
I heard that
you have some
wine for.
I definitely do.
Everybody gets five
complimentary
samples.
You got a front
and back menu
right here.
I have to try
the sinister.
You've got it.
It’s our
most popular
dry red wine.
Swirl it
around the cup
and then you'll
kind of take
a look see
at what we
call ligs.
And that's
the sugar,
basically,
that you'll see
when the wine goes
down.
You'll give it
a sniff
and I'd say
go for tasting.
Hi, Beth.
Hi.
I have
so many questions
about the winery.
So how about
let's have a chat
and then I'll
leave you to
to the tasting.
Sounds good.
See you Andrea.
So what do
we have here?
This is our rosé
soiree.
It's my
personal favorite.
It is
a marquette grape
which is a
grape grown
locally here.
Not all of
the common grapes
you know of
can grow
in our climate.
We're a little bit
too cold,
and our soil
is a
little shallow.
If you ever see
a bottle
that says Wisconsin
ledge Ava,
that means
it was grown
in our county.
Did you have a
background
in winemaking
or distilling
before this?
Everything
I learned,
I learned
here on the job,
and we try
to make wine fun
and approachable
for everybody.
How would you
describe
the people
of Carlsville.
The Carlsville
community
is wonderful,
huge businesses
across the street.
It's like
your next door
neighbor.
Are there
any fun facts
about Carlsville
that most people
wouldn't know?
When Carlsville
was named,
it was named
because there
were 12
or so people
who lived here,
and five of them,
I believe, were
named Carl's.
No, it's a
true story.
Beth this has
been so amazing.
I've learned
so much.
The wine has
been incredible.
Spirits are
so good.
And thank you
so much.
Thank you.
I will
definitely be back.
I wondered
how much chaos
Sabrina and Charla
were causing
at the wine bar
and headed back out
to rally the troops
for one
last bought of
tasting at the food
and fudge bar
and another round
of local shopping.
All of our fudge
here is homemade.
The woman
who makes it, she's
been making fudge
for over 30 years.
Our specialty
is made
with our sweet
cherry.
I’ll try
some of the dark
chocolate.
Perfect.
All right,
Cristiana,
we are back
and ready
to finish
these candles.
I'm so excited.
Why does the wick
start like that?
Paraffin
just naturally
contracts
all of our
kilns are
a two pour process.
So it's
the first pour
then the top pour.
So it's even,
and then it's
all ready to go.
All right, cool.
Okay.
You know the drill.
Yes, we do.
All right, We
only need a
little bit
about that.
Perfect.
That was
the exact amount
you needed.
Excellent.
Nailed it.
Perfect.
Very good.
Wow.
Most improved
goes to Sabrina.
The last
step is labeling.
Yes.
You can feel
on the side
like where
the seams are
so make sure
the label is
in between
the seams.
We're
just going to
go to eye level
and we're
just going
to take it
on just like that
eyeball it.
Yeah. All right.
Which label
do you on
do you want?
Happy Mother's
Day, Sisters
Weekend or
I love Foxy,
which is our dog
by the way.
Those looks
so good. All done.
All done. Perfect.
I know
they want to do
some more shopping,
and I want
to talk to you
more about the
philanthropic work
you do here.
I love that.
All right.
So have fun.
All right,
let's go.
How'd you
get involved
in the
candle company?
I had another
little online
gift box business,
and I
was buying candles
from the
previous owner
from here,
and
I got to know him,
and he just
one day asked
if I wanted to
buy the business
it was just
wearing on him.
And I'm like,
I'd love to.
That sounds great.
So then on June
2nd of 21,
I officially
bought it.
Wow. Yeah.
Had you done
anything
with candle making?
No.
I worked here
undercover for six
months,
bought this
course online
about candle
making and watched
a few episodes,
and I'm like,
okay, I think
I can do this.
So I want to
talk to you
about your
philanthropic
work here
and how you use
your candles
for change.
Our Ukraine Candle
was our first
philanthropic
candle that
we launched
when Ukraine
got invaded.
My family
is Ukrainian.
I'm
second generation.
I still speak it
and we had a goal
of $5,000 in mind.
And the first week
we had people like
lining up
outside our door.
It quickly
became very big
and we sold over
80,000 of
the Ukraine candles
when
in a typical year
we would make
15,000 candles
total like
for the whole year.
How much of
the proceeds
go to Ukraine?
100%.
We've raised
over $1 million,
for Razom
for Ukraine,
a nonprofit
supporting people
in Ukraine.
And after that,
we launched
a candle to support
the American
Red Cross
with Hurricane Ian,
and we raised
over $14,000
for that
in like a month.
We currently have
a candle called
Powerful.
It's benefiting
nonprofit called
Girls Aid.
Well, I imagine
little girls
that come in
and get candles,
they meet you.
They would
look up to you
and think, okay,
that's something
that I could do
someday.
And one girl came
and made
a little like
gummy bear
candle earrings
and she's like,
I want to start
a business, too.
It was amazing.
This community
is the most
incredible
community.
They honestly
are all rooting
for you,
and I
cannot imagine
living
anywhere else
but here.
I really want
to be known
as a philanthropic
candle company
and I want
our candles
to not only
be candles,
but like a
sign of hope
and light.
I want people,
when they have
our candles,
to feel like
they are
part of change
and part of making
a difference.
Well, Christiana,
thank you so much
for telling me
all about
your candles.
I love everything
that you do here.
I should go
check on
my sisters, though.
They've been
shopping for
a while.
Okay then maybe
even green yellow.
Wow, we've
been busy.
Yeah.
Although I was sad
that our day
trip in
Carlsville
was nearing an end.
We had one
last hurrah
with our
new friends.
Beth and Rob
were gracious
enough to host
a toast
in the
barrel lounge,
which once again
speaks to
the welcoming
atmosphere
of this community.
Christiana came
by to drop off
her candles
and even
brought her
dad, George,
who was a big hit.
Wow, thank you.
Yeah.
Want some wine?
We couldn't
thank Rob,
Beth, Vicki,
Christiana
and the
entire Carlsville
community
enough
for welcoming us
into their family.
My sisters
and I weren't sure
what to expect
on this trip,
but we did know
one thing.
We would most
definitely be back.
Here’s
to Carlsville.
Cheers.
Happy Mother's Day.
Let's say
the girls
loaded up
on some shopping.
Happy Mother's Day.
I love
my kids.