Wisconsin Wine

Wisconsin wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The first wine grapes were planted in Wisconsin by Agoston Haraszthy in the mid-nineteenth century, before he emigrated to California and helped to found wine industry there. As have others since, Haraszthy found the climate of Wisconsin very difficult for wine grape production. Only about a dozen wineries have commercial operations in the state, with most making wines from other fruits in addition to grapes. Some Wisconsin wineries rely upon vineyards in other states for all or part of their grape sources. Wisconsin has two designated American Viticultural Areas, the Lake Wisconsin AVA and the Wisconsin Ledge AVA. In 2007, 41 wineries operated in Wisconsin.