A Kewaunee winery three-peats in a competition for wines made from cold-climate grapes

KEWAUNEE - It's a three-peat for Parallel 44 Vineyard & Winery .

The Kewaunee-based winery and vineyard , which also has its Door 44 sister winery and vineyard just north of Sturgeon Bay, was named Winery of the Year for a third straight time at the 2024 International Cold Climate Wine Competition held in late July in Minneapolis. Six wineries in Door County, including Door 44, and one other in Kewaunee County also were recognized with medals.

Sponsored by the Minnesota Grape Growers Association, the annual competition is the only one dedicated specifically to wines made from grapes varieties grown in the Upper Midwest, Northeast U.S. and parts of Canada. Double gold, gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to top wines, along with Best of Class winners for specific wine types and Best of Show winners for broader categories (Best Red Wine, Best White Wine, etc.), with the Winery of the Year award going to the winery earning the most medals.

Parallel 44 wines won 18 medals, including two Best of Show awards, three Best of Class nods, three double gold medals, four golds and 10 silvers. A total of 343 wines entered by 61 wineries from eight states, from Maine and New York to Minnesota and Colorado, were taste-tested by a panel of 21 judges who included sommeliers and professional writers on wine.

This is not only Parallel 44's third straight win for Winery of the Year but also its fourth in the seven years the competition has taken place, with its first coming in 2017.

Steve Johnson, wine maker for Parallel 44 and Door 44 and co-owner with his wife, Maria Milano, said the win matters to him, Milano and the team at their wineries because of their efforts to gain recognition for Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest as a place where grapes can be grown and wines made from those grapes that can compare favorably to wines from better-known American wine regions like California, the Pacific Northwest and New York.

“The reason this means a great deal to us is that this competition is focused solely on the new pioneering grape varietals and maverick winemaking styles that are making their presence known in the wine world,” Johnson said in a press release. “From day one, our mission has been to grow and establish a world-class wine region in a place no one ever expected, the 'frozen tundra' of Wisconsin.”

In that regard, Johnson is among the leaders of wine makers from the area who helped wines made from grapes grown locally gain official recognition as one of the newest wine appellations in America, a defined geographical name that indicates where grapes for a wine were grown. It's called Wisconsin Ledge in respect to the Niagara Escarpment that cuts through Northeast Wisconsin.

“It takes a great team to pioneer a wine region that was barely a thought only 15 years ago," Johnson said. "You need a ton of perseverance and passion on everyone’s part to pursue this mission of growing and producing wines from this part of the world. … The goal is to elevate the quality and reputation of this whole region."

Parallel 44's White Frosting was awarded a double gold medal and named Best of Show in the dessert wine category, while its Petite Rose was named best in the rose wine category while taking one of its four gold medals. Those two wines joined double gold medalist Itasca, a white wine, as Best of Class winners. Its other double gold winner was its Frontenac Blanc white wine, while gold medals went to its Promise and Vintner’s Reserve reds and Drink Pink rose.

Among other medal-winning Door and Kewaunee County wineries:

• Door 44 won six medals, with two golds for its Bubbler sparkling wine and White Door blended white, and four silvers.
• Mixed Meadia in Egg Harbor won five medals, with two golds for its Ledge Blanc white and Cote Fraiche sparkling, and three silvers.
• Door Peninsula Winery in Carlsville won five medals, including a gold for its Radiance sparkling wine and two silvers.
• Lake Fire Winery in Baileys Harbor won three medals, including a gold for its bourbon barrel-aged Cherry Wine and one silver.
• Anchored Roots Vineyard & Winery in Egg Harbor won three medals, including two silvers for its Ledge Rose and Ledge Blanc.
• Whitecap Winery in Ellison Bay won two medals, including a silver for its Beachstone blended white.
• Cold Country Vines & Wines in Kewaunee won a silver for its Petite Pearl Ice Wine.

C ontact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@gannett.com.

MORE: The Door County Land Trust adds 12 acres to a wetlands project area near Sturgeon Bay

MORE: The Door County Fair opens Aug. 14, and there's a new way to buy your passes to get in

FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: A Kewaunee winery three-peats in a competition for wines made from cold-climate grapes