Top 100 wines of Wisconsin

Discover the top 100 best wines of Wisconsin as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the wines that are popular of Wisconsin and the best vintages to taste in this region.

Discovering the wine region of Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a Midwestern state located on the western shore of Lake Michigan. Although wine making dates back to the mid-19th century, Wisconsin's wine industry is small and focuses primarily on cold-hardy Hybrid varieties developed specifically for the colder Climates of the Northern half of North America. Valiant, Edelweiss, La Crosse and Frontenac are among the most widely planted varieties in Wisconsin vineyards. Wisconsin covers 170,000 km², between latitudes 42°N and 47°N.

This puts it on par with many parts of the world. This puts it on par with many of France's most famous wine regions, but other climatic considerations come into play in Wisconsin's challenging Terroir, making viticulture much less commercially viable. The state's continental climate is prone to extremes, making most of its mesoclimates unsuitable for quality viticulture. Freezing winters threaten the survival of most vines, with the notable exception of some varieties of Vitis riparia.

News from the vineyard of Wisconsin

Argentina harvest report 2022: ‘wines with excellent ageing potential’ 

The grapes have been picked and Argentina is able to file another successful harvest for 2022, to match the previous four years. However producers are reporting that 2022 was the most singular of recent vintages, with each region experiencing its own challenges. Mendoza ‘The 2021-2022 season reminds me of a good Hollywood movie,’ said Martín Kaiser, viticulturist at Doña Paula in Mendoza. ‘It certainly kept us entertained. Our hearts were in our mouths all the way through, but it had a great end ...

Champagne houses announce ‘first’ with B Corp certification

The Champagne houses, part of the family-owned EPI Group, announced their B Corp certification after scoring 91.9 points in the assessment by B Lab, a non-profit network founded in 2006 with the aim of improving corporate performance in the spheres of social and environmental issues, plus accountability and transparency. The certification involves an assessment of the social and environmental impact of each brand through more than 200 questions concerning governance, employees, communities and t ...

Vinexpo Paris to host wine and climate change talk

Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris, running from 14 to 16 February, will host a discussion on climate change as part of series of roundtable ‘wine talks’ at the show. Decanter contributor and international consultant Rupert Joy will moderate the discussion on ‘making wine in a changing climate’, to be held at 2:30pm on Tuesday 15 February, in Hall Six. Members of the panel include: Pau Roca Blaso – director general of the International Organisation of Vine & Wine Jeremy Cukierman MW – dire ...