Wine is so interesting,
you don't even have to
speak the same language.
You bring a bottle of wine,
a hunk of cheese
and a piece of bread.
Everybody becomes French.
I want wines that
people will walk away
and say, wow, that was
truly remarkable.
Really cool in the Midwest,
in Wisconsin, and helping
to promote this industry
that's just growing
and becoming
better and better.
We're proud to be
part of that.
I would love for people
to really experience
that Napa style winery.
But in local Wisconsin.
Wisconsin and winemaking.
You might not think
the two go hand in hand,
but years of selection,
cultivation
and hybridization
of grape
varieties have led
to a booming Wisconsin
wine scene.
And today,
we're visiting four that
we've deemed iconic.
Hello and welcome to
Discover Wisconsin.
When we started thinking
about iconic wineries
in Wisconsin, it was a given
to include our first stop,
located on a
scenic hillside across
from the Wisconsin
River in Prairie du Sac,
Wollersheim Winery.
Wollersheim Winery
is at its essence,
just absolutely stunning.
When you drive in,
you feel like
it's otherworldly.
Oh, it's just so beautiful.
This is right here
in our backyard.
So the first thing
I did when I arrived is
I got to
a wine tasting with Celine,
who is the daughter
of Philippe and Julie,
the owners of Wollersheim.
So this is the Eagle White.
It's
one of my favorite wines
here.
Grows on the estate,
and it's made with La Crosse
and Saint Peppin
grapes, which are both
bred in Wisconsin.
So they're native
to Wisconsin.
And so now we're going
to try the Scarlet Fumé,
which is the Prairie Fumes
counterpart, the red
the red versiom.
You know, Praire Fumé
was so successful
for the last 30 years.
And it's what allowed
our business to grow.
And we felt like it was time
to give it a red brother.
We wanted to bring
that style of the Praire
Fumé, that softness,
that hint of sweetness,
to one of our red wines.
My name is Philippe Coquard.
I am the co-owner
and the winemaker here
at Wollersheim Winery.
So I came on board in 1984.
It was a long time
dream of mine to
come to America.
Bob Wollersheim picked
my name
as a potential intern
and worked in the Vineyard.
Fell in love with Bob
and Joan's daughter.
And then one day, Bob
asked me to take
over the production
side of the business.
So I jumped in with head
first and two feet.
I ended up never making it
into California.
We have been able
to recreate a thriving
wine culture right here.
I, I
don't want to be anywhere
else.
Grapes have been
on this site since 1860s.
So continuing
that tradition,
passing it on to our kids.
And that's the uniqueness
of Wollersheim Winery.
Along with Philippe
and his wife, Julie.
There's multiple
family members
involved at Wollersheim.
Their daughter, Sunline,
is responsible
for the lab work,
quality control,
and tasting at the winery.
While her husband, Tom, runs
the Wollersheim Distillery.
There's also Philippe
and Julie's son, Roman,
head chef at the
Wollersheim Bistro.
So what
what is it like working
together as a family?
You know, the beauty of it
is that
it goes from generation
to generation, you know?
So we are looking for
a quick result right now.
We're building it
for the future.
I think for me, it's
that we've been able
to expand our family.
It's not just us,
but it's who we have chosen
to bring into
our family, too.
And so some of those people
I've grown up with and...
Like me. Like you.
You come in, you order your
food right at the counter.
Everything's on display.
You know, everything is made
in the kitchen downstairs
that morning.
I try to keep the menu
changing frequently just,
you know,
keep experimenting and keep
bringing in a different
ingredient, you know,
that's at the peak of
its quality at that time.
And when people come here,
what do you want
them to walk away feeling?
Happy, relaxed, peaceful.
Great experience.
Julie's dad always told us,
you know, you can you can
you can find
a great wine anywhere,
but you cannot recreate
this experience.
I think what I most
came away
with after talking
to the family is that
they are very passionate
not only about what they do,
but about working together.
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Up next,
we're taking you
to Wisconsin's only winery
on the
Lake Michigan shoreline.
Welcome back to
Discover Wisconsin,
where we're swirling
and sipping our way
through the state.
For the next stop
on our tour, Wisconsin's
most iconic wineries,
I am here in Algoma,
where the Ahnapee River
meets Lake Michigan.
Von Stiehl Winery.
My first impression
of Von Stiehl Winery
is that
it has a really gorgeous
backdrop and terrace.
And when we arrived,
there was a band playing
and it was just a
really great atmosphere.
And everybody
enjoying the music,
the scenery
and some really good wine.
Von Stiehl Winery
also happens to be
the oldest license
winery in the state,
which I took to mean
it had a fascinating history
worth learning about.
To find out more,
I arranged a tour
with Peggy, who knows
all the stories.
Can you tell me a little bit
about the origins
of this building? Sure.
It was built in 1868,
just after the Civil War,
and it was originally
built as a brewery.
In 1879, the brewery
sold
to Captain Henry smiling.
Years after the original
Ahnapee Brewery closed,
Von Stiehl Winery
was founded in 1967
by a local physician
known as Doc Stiehl,
who, in order to legally
sell his infamous door
county cherry wine,
obtained the very
first winery license
issued in Wisconsin.
Doc Stiehl
then sold the winery in 1981
to Bill and Sandy Schmiling.
That's right.
Schmiling descendants
of Henry Schmiling. Today,
Bill and Sandy's two sons,
Eric and Brad, run
the winery, which
still offers Doc
Stiehl's original sweet
cherry and dry cherry wines
made with door
county cherries.
It was really neat
to visit the wine cellars
and the tunnels
underneath the building
and to hear the stories
of what went into
constructing those tunnels.
And it was
just an absolutely
gorgeous space to be in.
Isn't this beautiful?
Can you
believe that
these tunnels were
hand built back in 1868
and immigrants
who had come over
from Europe laid
all the brick in here?
It's amazing how
it's kept up through one
hundred and fifty
three years.
How cool is that?
And then if we go back
into the tunnel,
we can see a little bit
about how you store
the wine. Right. Absolutely.
So wine barrels are toasted
and it's the
toasting of the barrel.
The oak itself
and the amount of time
that the wine
is in the barrel
and the grape that bring out
all those complex
flavors in a wine.
Beyond
honoring their storied past,
Von Stiehl
is also taking
big, bold strides
into their future.
My name is Anthony
Bilwin, I'm
the general manager for Von
Stiehl Winery
in Algoma, Wisconsin.
We're the original.
So we're the oldest licensed
winery
in the state of Wisconsin.
And I think that's
really the iconic piece.
So graduating really
from being a fruit winery
only to now
coming full circle
and making high end red
wines, really dry
white wines,
but still paying
homage to our culture
and still
doing the fruit wines
really, really well.
I think some
other unique things
kind of particular to us
is the fact that
we're sustainable.
So we make our own
gas's our own O2,
nitrogen and carbon
dioxide in house.
We no longer use
natural cork.
We do a synthetic cork,
which is a biodegradable.
I would love for people to
really experience
that Napa style winery.
But in local Wisconsin.
It's a family atmosphere.
Enjoy relaxed the scenery,
the terrace, the history,
the nostalgia, the stories.
We're not just the winery
to make good wine.
We believe in being a winery
that we can teach, educate
and hopefully entertain
the future generations
going down the road.
Slightly north of the winery
are the beautiful rolling
hills of Von Stiehl Winery
Vinery, Stoney Creek,
the oldest In Door County.
This vineyard produces
the grapes used in
the estates wines
which are then bottled
at the winery
on the bottling line
that was custom
built in Italy.
Von Stiehl Winery,
with her historic
vineyard and building,
amazing location
on the shores
of Lake Michigan,
unique red wines and award
winning hard ciders,
mixed with a fun atmosphere,
provides
a delightful experience
all wine lovers can enjoy.
Von Stiehl Winery
is a wonderfully
iconic Wisconsin winery.
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our favorite places
to visit in Wisconsin?
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Wisconsin's
official podcast, The Cabin.
When we come back,
Andea's taking us
to another iconic winery
that'll make you
feel like you're
in the French countryside.
We're back
discovering Wisconsin's
most iconic wineries,
here on Discover Wisconsin.
Oh, hey,
I just talked to
my friend Louis here.
He wanted you to know
that
contrary to appearances,
we are not actually
in 19th century France.
This stunning place
is the Chateau St.
Croix Winery, located in St.
Croix Falls, Wisconsin.
Yes,
this place is in Wisconsin.
Let's go check it out,
shall we?
Come on, Louis.
My first impression
of Chateau St.
Croix Winery is that they do
everything so big here.
I mean, you're walking into
an actual castle.
It's gorgeous.
Hi, I'm Irv Geary,
co-owner and winemaker
here at the Chateau St.
Croix Winery in St.
Croix Falls, Wisconsin.
About two thirds
of what we produce here
is locally grown.
We make almost everything
right here on site.
One thing that does
set the Chateau apart
from other wineries
is we do produce
quite a bit of port and
have won numerous, numerous
gold medals for our ports.
Irv showed me
how you steal wine.
And he has this contraption
called Wine thief
where you actually
can get the wine straight
out of the barrel.
All right.
Well, cheers. Cheers.
Oh, is there a procedure
that you take with you?
Yeah.
So when we're going
to taste the wine,
we don't just slam it back.
We usually
give it a good swirl
in the glass.
How's this swirl?
It's OK.
We'll work on that.
So then you want
to smell the wine.
And then when we
taste the wine,
we usually like to
aerates it on our palate
a little bit.
I lightly pucker up
and gently it's very gently
inhale through your mouth
and it aerates
the wine on your palate.
And they call it slurping.
It's best
if you practice with water.
I need a practice.
You need to
practice with water.
We don't sell wine.
We sell an experience.
James Peterson,
our tasting room
manager, he's really
a big part of that.
He gives people
such a great experience
when they come here.
Keeps people
coming back year
in and year out.
James, thank you
so much for having me.
I've gotta,
say you have a pretty sweet
gig here.
Yeah,
I get to work in a castle
and talk about wine
all day long.
It's not exactly a struggle
to get out of bed
every morning coming here.
All right.
Well,
I'm thirsty for some wine.
Shall we start? Yeah.
What I would love
to start off with
is our cheese head white.
Cheers. Cheers. Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
The swirl first. Yes.
So, yeah.
I was learning about
the swirl from Irv.
Yes.
Well,
how would you rate my swirl?
It's pretty good.
Thank you.
That's
what I'm talking about.
Right?
That's very good.
This is our number
one selling wine
in-house here.
This is a wild river rosé.
This has one of my
favorite aromatics
of any of the wines
in our lineup.
To me, this is like
watermelon Jolly Rancher
is what I smell.
Alright, Rosé all day.
Rosé all day.
I absolutely love
the high quality
reds that they have here.
And I think
the coolest part is that
these red wines are
made in Wisconsin.
They are made locally.
We've discovered
early on that it's
all about the events.
I think we have a total of
about twenty five events
every year
from spring to fall.
We also do a fair
amount of weddings.
At the end of the day,
when people tell me
this is wonderful
wine and I had such
a great experience
and we can't wait
to come back, then we know
we did it right .
I think the Chateau St.
Croix Winery
is iconic because,
have you walked into
a castle in Wisconsin?
Have you?
I don't think so.
I have now.
There's music playing
in the backyard.
You have a crowd of people
all enjoying the best wines,
laughing, dancing
and having just a
lovely time here.
I think that's what
really makes Chateau St.
Croix Winery stand out.
binge all of the
Discover Wisconsin episodes
from this season
on the Discover Wisconsin
YouTube channel.
And don't forget
to subscribe.
Stick around.
Because when we come back,
I'm visiting a young winery
that has skyrocketed
in popularity.
Don't miss it.
Welcome back to Wisconsin's
iconic wineries
here on Discover Wisconsin.
OK, so we visited
a variety
of amazing wineries,
some of which had long,
rich histories
here in Wisconsin.
Well, that's not
the case for this place.
Bailey's Run
Vineyard in New Glarus.
This winery is young.
It's fresh, it's
insanely popular.
And as they say
themselves, it's
where wine goes to have fun.
Let's check it out.
We are Todd and Janet,
and we are the husband
and wife team behind
Bailey's Run
Vineyard and Winery in New
Glarus, Wisconsin.
We are
where wine goes to have fun.
We are all about
having a good time
laughing, smiling,
taking a break from
real life
and just coming out to enjoy
the scenic view
and having a wonderful time.
We started
this venture in 2015.
We moved down to New Glarus,
bought 10 acres of land
and thought it would be
a great fun idea
to plant some grapes.
And then we had
a lot of grapes.
So we decided to open
a winery.
And we've come a long
way in three years.
We've come a long way.
Come a long way.
We now do music
every Friday,
Saturday and Sunday.
And we've got this
beautiful outdoor
area that overlooks
the gorgeous scenery
here in New Glarus.
My first impression
of Bailey's Run Vinyard
was that
this place is a party.
The staff is so nice.
I walked in,
I immediately had wine.
They gave me some merch,
which I love.
There was pizza.
There was cheese boards.
There was dancing.
There was live music.
I might have whipped out
the worm, which is my one
go to dance move.
And you can basically
just be yourself
here at Bailey's Run.
We do mimosas, Bloody Marys,
we do different wine
cocktails
throughout the seasons.
Our champagnes are awesome.
We always have our
traditional dry
reds, dry whites,
you know,
touch the sweet stuff.
But then
some different wines too,
that are more
on the fun side, so
little something
for everyone.
We have food every day.
We have incredible
local meats and cheeses.
We put on platters.
And Friday,
Saturday, Sunday,
we do our
authentic Neapolitan
brick oven pizzas
in our brick oven
that we imported
ourselves from Italy.
And they're delicious.
They're absolutely
delicious.
This this isn't a place
where you necessarily
come and do a tasting
and buy a bottle
and just leave.
This is where you come in
you with friends
and you hang out
for an hour or two.
Two or three or six.
Or the afternoon.
Bailey owns the place.
I mean, she's walking around
like the star of
the show, which she is.
And everyone flocks to her.
She makes friends
everywhere she goes.
So Bailey's Run is named
after our
Golden Doodle Bailey.
She is probably the most
spoiled golden doodle
you will see
throughout the state,
possibly throughout
the country.
She loves visiting
with all of our guests
when they come in.
She's a big fan of
cheese and sausage.
It just makes people's day
to see her.
One of their wines called
Remember Me Red.
They actually give
some of the proceeds
from the wine to a Dementia
and Alzheimer's charity,
which they have that
in their family.
So was very meaningful
to them.
So, yes, it's a winery.
It's really fun.
But there's also a
lot of meaning behind
what they do here.
And I thought that
that was very,
very, very special.
For me, I'm most
proud of the experience
that our customers
walk away with.
It's just the happiness
you see on people's face,
especially in the
last year or two.
Yeah.
When they've
able to be out here
and breathe
and spread out and
and enjoy themselves.
People need this fulfillment
and need something
in their life.
We're a little part of that,
so.
And wine doesn't hurt.
Wine doesn't hurt at all.
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