Door 44 F2 Red Blend 2018
Kewanee, nestled in the heart of Wisconsin beer country, is 40 miles east of Green Bay and on the western shore of Lake Michigan. This is where Parallel 44 Winery calls home. (They also market their wines under the Door 44 label, where they are offered in a tasting facility in Door County farther north.
The story of Parallel 44 Vineyard & Winery began in 2005, when husband and wife team Steve Johnson and Maria Milano planted their first grape vines. Steve grew up in Green Bay, where his father Carl experimented early on with growing grapes. Maria grew up in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where her Italian-born father continued his tradition of making wine for friends and family celebrations. Steve and Maria met while in school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and then attended law school together. While working as attorneys, they attended seminars on grape growing in Wisconsin, with an eye towards getting into the wine business.
After years of searching for a location with the soil, sun exposure, and temperatures for growing grapes, they found the location that Parallel 44 now sits on. Originally, it was a simple corn field and former gravel pit. As soon as they purchased the land, they began to plant vines, a novel idea at the time.
A year after the vineyard was planted, in 2006 construction was started on the winery and tasting room. Since opening on Memorial Day weekend in 2007, Parallel 44 has continued to grow and expand. Today, all of the wines produced by Parallel 44 are either made with grapes grown in their own vineyards, or at one of the vineyards that the winery contracts with throughout the state of Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest.
Cold weather grape growing, for sure.
The winery itself has undergone several remodels. The first major expansion of the winery occurred in 2009, which nearly doubled the size of the original. A second, smaller expansion and remodeling was completed in 2011. To capitalize on the resort trade, Steve and Maria decided in 2013 to open a second location, located in Door County forty miles due north, where tens of thousands of tourists flock each summer. (They like to promote this as a second winery, but it’s really just a tasting room and storage facility.)
The Door County tasting facility. Photo: Mike Stanford
The vineyard and winery are situated on 44° north latitude (hence the name), which is renowned for the world’s finest grape growing and winemaking regions, such as Bordeaux in France, and Tuscany in Italy. Parallel 44 shares many similarities with these regions, such as seasonal growing period, annual rainfall, and length of daylight. But, a big difference from their European counterparts is that Parallel 44 suffers through winters of subzero temperatures, adding the challenge of growing grapes on the “frozen tundra” of Wisconsin.
The estate vineyard in Kewanee. Photo: Dave Bloedum
Johnson and Milano decided to forgo the classic European varietals we are all familiar with, knowing that the vines would struggle to even survive the harsh northern Wisconsin winters, much less thrive.
So, they turned their attention to cold-climate grape varietals available for commercial planting, of which there were only a few. Most of the varietals were quite new to the world of wine and were less than 20 years old. Undetered, Steve and Maria carried on with their dream and today, 15 years later, there are approximately 7000 vines on 10 acres planted at Parallel 44.
The grape varietals they grow are known as “cool climate grapes.” This means that some of the vines can withstand temperatures as low as -36° F in winter, but as summer approaches they spring back to life!
These cool-climate varietals have the hallmark qualities of bright acidity, fruit forward aromas, and flavors that are unique to the region. Some of these varietals are Marechal Foch, Frontenac, Louise Swenson, St. Pepin, and Petite Pearl. These are the genetic cousins of such well-known varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Moscato, and Riesling.
Door 44 F2 Red Blend 2018
This is a 50/50 blend of Frontenac, yet another hybrid developed at the University of Minnesota, and Marechal Foch, a French-American hybrid created in the late 19th century. Hence, F2, or perhaps F squared. It is dark ruby-red in the glass, with aromas of red cherry and plum. This continues on the palate, which offers a slight sweetness as well as an effervescent acidity, typical of these grapes (although no actual bubbles are present). Steve Johnson noted, “While many California winemakers would feel intimidated by the high acidities that result from our cold-climate varietals, they would yearn for the structure our acidities can provide. As F2 matures, the toast of oak will add an expression of dark chocolate, a common characteristic of an aged wine made with the Frontenac grape.”
Here’s a post on another northern Wisconsin winery, but this one brings in juice from California rather than growing locally: winervana.com/?s=simon+creek
Back to blog posts: winervana.com/blog/