An empty nest mission of ours is to go to places in our own state of Wisconsin that we’ve said to each other in the past (as we drove by), “I want to stop there sometime.”
Now that our kids are older and wiser about things like wine and distilleries, they, of course, love it when we say we want to go visit a winery. We had heard about Wollersheim Winery from friends, and we saw the billboard as we drove by when we moved our daughter to Middleton, so this past weekend while we were there visiting, I suggested we go visit the winery.
I simply can’t compete with the professional photos on their website, so do check it out. Here are a few from our adventure as we climbed the hillside of this winery set in the bluff rocks and towering trees.
It was a great way to spend the afternoon on a gorgeous day in southern Wisconsin.
The nice walking path leads up to the rocky stairs – good thing they have handicapped access too.
We didn’t take the tour – we went cheap by just trying the “free” samples in the winery.
Of the free samples, I’d say my favorites were the Dumaine du Sac or the Prairie Fume.
I’m not a great wine connoisseur, and as I tasted I remembered what Dr. B’s post said about how to describe the wine by avoiding the salad kind of technique. For me, I simply enjoy wines that don’t taste too acidic and those that have a smooth oak taste upfront that quickly vanishes at the end. If I have to grab the little crackers to munch on in between sips, it’s a wine I don’t enjoy.
As we were tasting, the staff suggested wines that would taste nice out on their seating area.
We headed over to the distillery to try the spirits before buying a glass of wine and sit down for a spell to enjoy the scenery.
We ended up purchasing a bottle of their sweet vermouth. It was our favorite out of all that we tasted. Served chilled, it is very smooth and refreshing.
We paused for photo ops after returning to the seating area by the Winery.
Since I was being adventurous, I opted for a glass of their chardonnay without trying it first. It wasn’t as I had hoped it would be, so I was thankful to have some crackers to munch on to get the full glass down. Mr. went for the Sweet Port.
This was a first for both of us. I guess you know the winery has hit the big time with the volume of visitors when you are served the wine in plastic glasses and the portions look so small. Small enough you want to set out your I-phone to give a reference. Frankly, drinking wine out of plastic cups cheapened the experience a bit, but we had a nice laugh and saved the cups to display in our bar at home. “Yay! Free souvenirs!”
It looks like there will be a great crop of grapes this year, and it is definitely an eye appealing location, very welcoming. I do want to go back again to take the tour and try a different glass of wine. I bet it is just as beautiful there come fall with the trees in full color.
Cheers to new adventures! Oh, and stop back again…we hit another winery the next day!
#31SRW Photography Challenge Day 10: Rocks (read rules here). Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge
PS – Have you ever been to Wollersheim Winery and Distillery? What’s on your must-see list for your state or location? What’s your favorite wine?
Well done Shelley, Dr B approves! That’s not meant to be a pretentious comment but I’ve of praise. First you visited and supported a local business/winery. Second you remembered my words 😂. Third you wrote from the heart, your tastes are very personal, express them and forget the fruit salad! Now do more!
Aw, thank you, Dr. B! I appreciate your words of encouragement and inspiration – I’m enjoying visiting wineries more now that I have been reading your wine blog. I’ve even tried some different cheeses just to see if the wine made a difference. 🙂
Thank you! This old duffer does his best! Sitting in our garden at the moment ribs in the barbecue and sampling a couple of South African Pinotage. Not good, but I am still at the cheaper end of 6 I bought. Excited to go to France next week.
You’re doing a splendid job and that sounds wonderful – never had any South African wine, so I’m interested in your perspective! Lucky you – enjoy your trip there and I look forward to seeing the reports on the wine you find there!
Not good so far, but I’m working my way UP price wise😂😂🏴
LOL! I’m taking notes…cheap is not the best! 😉
Sometimes it is! That’s the damned problem! Next week in Chablis I can buy an absolute classic wine for €70 in a restaurant or €204 from a U.K. wine merchant. What to do?
Buy, sip, enjoy, and repeat? 🙂
Did you know our Royal Air Force is 100 years old today? It will be on your news channels or maybe not! I am watching aeroplanes from WW1 and those magnificent Spitfires from WW2 that saved us fly above my house.
That’s awesome, and no, I didn’t know that it was the RAF’s birthday! How fun to be able to sit in your own yard and enjoy the show!
Here’s my final pearl of wisdom! I do this all of the time. Go back to that SAME winery and tell them your thoughts from a previous visit. If they are mortified and help you to a better experience…. winners. If they are negative, walk away. You’ve learned something, share and store!
I shall try that! I know the one in our own town is like that, they are so interested in feedback and making the experience nice – winners for sure! PS – thank you for all your tips, I do appreciate each and every one!
I have always wanted to go to a winery. What a lovely looking place you got to have such a memorable experience with your family with! I agree with you about wine-if you have to snack on something in between to hide the taste, then it’s not that good!
It is a beautiful winery – the largest in the state (so I hear!). I liked it too for the history there. It was a fun day – I can see why people enjoy touring wineries!
What a great adventure you had Shelley! Is that your daughter? Beautiful shots you have.
Yes, that’s my youngest looking back at me, wondering what was taking me so long! It’s easy to get pretty shots there – it is in a beautiful spot on the bluffs.
She has a striking resemblance with you. At first glance, I thought she is you 😉.
Aw, thanks! It’s fun to be mistaken for a 20 something LOL!! 😉
You’re welcome, Shelley! 😉
What a fantastic place! Bet the wine was fantastic? I did think, however, that empty nesters did things without their children? I’m the same as you. I want my kids (now adults) with me all the time. LOL.
Hey, check out my new photos: https://cindimatography.wordpress.com/2018/07/10/people-show-at-the-car-show/
Yes, it was and the wine was good, too, I’m sure if we would’ve paid for a tasting we would’ve tried their better wines! Next time. Yes, we’re suckers for hanging out with the kids on our adventures, too! LOL is right!!
And your photos are great Cindi! I love the crowd shots you captured – I’m a people watcher too!!
I’m not a big wine drinker (or drinker of any kind actually) so we’ve never been to a winery for wine tasting. We go to the Mountain Winery all the time for concerts. My daughter just graduated from Sonoma State so there would have been lots of opportunities to go on a wine tasting outing but it wasn’t on top of our list. Great pictures. Looks like you had fun.
I’m sure you’ve found fun places to visit that don’t involve alcohol – I should probably add things like that on my list eh? 😉 Yes, we had fun, I think that’s more important than what we consume while we’re on the outings! 🙂
Beautiful photos! Plastic glasses? Yuck! Makes me want to go buy a bottle of cheap red at Walmart!! Enjoy the empty nest adventures .
Thanks! Yes, it was weird, but I kind of got the point, it’s a big place and lots of places to drop or break glasses when people are walking around! It’s probably a safety thing too? Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts!!
My favorite wine is whiskey. Evan Williams. 😉
LOL! That’s a perfect kind of wine ;-)!
All your photos look so lovely! And it looks like you all had a great time!
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http://www.areweadultsyet.com
Thank you, we even kept up with the 20 somethings! 😉 Looks like you have fun discovering adulting, too!!
What a great post to go along with my photo this week. 😀
Thank you, Cee!