Wine Tasting in Wisconsin

My wife and I decided to make the best of the fact that there was no Farmer's Market on July 4th by closing the store and taking a brief wine tasting trip to Door County and Green Bay.  We visited three wineries, Simon Creek Vineyard & Winery in Sturgeon Bay, Red Oak Vineyard also in Sturgeon Bay, and Captain's Walk Winery in downtown Green Bay.  These are three very good wineries and certainly deserve a visit (and a tasting!) if you get the chance.

Simon Creek Winery in Sturgeon BayWe left on Saturday morning and made the Simon Creek Winery our first stop.  It's actually a few miles north of Sturgeon Bay just east of Carlsville for those of you familiar with Door County.  This is a fairly new winery with a nice tasting bar that overlooks the working part of the winery and there is a nicely stocked gift shop as well.  They allow you to taste four different wines for FREE, or you can pay to taste more. They have a nice selection of 13 wines. Our favorites were the Untouchable Red, a Ruby Cabernet with a medium dry taste, and the American Golden Muscat, a light, fruity, medium-sweet white wine with a fantastic bouquet. We are carrying the Golden Muskat in the store, and plan to get the Untouchable Red as well.

After our nice experience at Simon Creek, we headed back south to Sturgeon Bay proper and the Red Oak Vineyard.  Red Oak Red Oak Winery in Sturgeon Bayis located in the downtown section on North Third Avenue. They have 23 wines on their tasting menu, and charge $5 for a taste of seven wines, giving generous samples of each. The tasting room is nicely appointed with a bistro feel, and small portions of food such as cheeses and appetizers help you to sit back and enjoy the tasting experience.  This winery produces some really good wines, including a Sauvignon Blanc (using fruit from the Colombia Gorge), a Reisling (Yakima Valley fruit), and a Syrah that's aged 24 months in French oak barrels.  My favorite however, was their 2005 Zinfandel (using Russian River fruit).  This is a big, bold Zinfandel with a lot of fruit flavor that's not overly dry.  We selected this wine for selling at Ruth-Anne's because it's a great example of what winemakers in Wisconsin are capable of.

Astor House B&B in Green BayFrom Sturgeon Bay we drove back south to Green Bay, and spent the night at the Astor House Bed and Breakfast.  Located right downtown, The Astor House provides a comfortable, quiet setting for you to relax after a hard day of wine tasting.  After a delightful breakfast the next morning, we set out for Cook's Corner in Ashwaubenon ... what a great store for perusing thousands of kitchen items and related things. An hour later (and a few dollars poorer) we drove the short distance to the Captain's Walk Winery in downtown Green Bay.  The Captain's Walk Winery Captain's Walk Winery in Green Bayis owned by the same folks that own the von Stiehl Winery in Algoma.  They differentiate Captain's Walk in that they craft classic wines with New World style.  Their wines are priced from $13 to $75 per bottle, and range in varieties from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to Gawurztraminer in white wines, and Cabernet Sauvignon to Sangiovese in red wines.  My favorite here was a Rose called Maiden Voyage made from Wisconsin-grown Marechal Foch grapes.  Unfortunately, due to an exclusive contract with Festival Foods in Green Bay, we cannot carry Captain's Walk wines in our store.  Oh well, c'est la vie.

August 2010 Update: We are now carrying Captain's Walk wines! 

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[Franklin]

Update: as of August 2010, we are carrying the Captain's Walk wines!