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Open daily 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., year-round
Tours daily at
10:15, 11:15, 12:15,
1:15, 2:15, 3:15, and 4:15
For more information, contact us at:
1-800-VIP-WINE
E-Mail: info@wollersheim.com
PO Box 87
Prairie du Sac, WI 53578-0087
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Our Heritage
Just across from Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin,
the Wollersheim Winery sits on a scenic hillside overlooking the Wisconsin River. This national historic site was first selected for vineyards in the 1840's by the Hungarian Count Agoston Haraszthy. Following several years of disappointment with winter damage on his vines and unfortunate politics, he followed the gold-rush west in December of 1849. Haraszthy's activities are well documented as he eventually became known as the founder of the California wine industry.
After Haraszthy left, a German immigrant, Peter Kehl, took over the property and established the present buildings during the Civil War period. Peter Kehl planted conventional American grape varieties plus Riesling, which he buried every year to protect from Wisconsin's winters.
Following Peter Kehl's death, Kehl's son Jacob continued the family winery, installing a still for fortifying spirits. He sold his wine in small barrels to customers as far away as the state of Maine. Jacob Kehl operated the Winery until his death in 1899. At that time, the family stopped winemaking and converted the farm to more conventional Wisconsin crops.
In 1972, Robert and JoAnn Wollersheim purchased the nearly abandoned property with the intention of restoring it to a working family winery. The hillside slopes were again planted with vineyards, the underground wine cellars were refurnished with oak barrels and the upstairs made into a wine store for Wollersheim wine to be available for visitors.
In 1984, Philippe Coquard arrived from the Beaujolais region of France. Philippe had grown up working with his two uncles at the family wineries and has degrees in winemaking, viticulture, and wine marketing. Philippe later became winemaker and also married Bob & JoAnn's daughter, Julie. The legacy of family lives on as Philippe and Julie Coquard, are now running the winery.
In 1990, Wollersheim Winery bought Cedar Creek Winery in Cedarburg, Wisconsin and added Cedar Creek brand to its line of wine. Cedar Creek Winery is located in an old woolen mill that has large cool limestone cellars. Some of the wine production is done at the Prairie du Sac location where there are stainless steel tanks with double-jackets for temperature control and an automatic bottling line. The cool cellars at Cedar Creek Winery are ideal for barrel aging wines.
Wollersheim wines continued to expand and the introduction of Prairie Fumé in 1989 helped the Wollersheim brand gain respect. With 20 different grape wines from dry to sweet, annual production of Wollersheim and Cedar Creek wines has risen from 15,000 gallons in 1987 to now over 240,000 gallons. Most of the wines are marketed in Wisconsin with the majority being sold at the Prairie du Sac and Cedarburg locations. This regional winery has received numerous awards for its wines and has gained recognition as a leading winery in the Midwest.
As the wines continued to grow, so did the buildings with several expansions to increase wine production capacity built in the past fifteen years. In 2008, one-hundred fifty years after the original winery building, the winery continues to "build on tradition" and has opened the first expansion dedicated to more visitor space. The 15,000 square foot addition includes tasting and shopping areas, as well as an expanded area for tours. The old winery store is converted to tasting areas as well as historic displays. The new store and upstairs event room have beautiful views of the hillside vineyards. A balcony and outdoor wine garden are a nice place to enjoy a glass of wine spring through fall. The tradition continues....
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