Brad Post
This past weekend my wife, Jill, and I spent the New Years Eve weekend in Lacrosse, WI. While there we made time to visit some friends who recently opened a winery (Elmaro Vineyard) in Trempealeau, nestled beautifully within the Mississippi River valley.
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| Elmaro Vineyard (taken from website) |
The winery, built on the family farmstead, is attractively styled for visitors and creatively designed for wine making. Planning includes use of gravity-fed systems, to gently move the grape juice and must, thoughtfully constructed cold-stabilization rooms to take advantage of naturally cool temperatures, and a top-tier mobile bottling line (useful for bottling at their winery and contracting to other local wineries - read more about it here).
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| Elmaro Wines - picture from website |
The beautifully crafted and undulating tasting room bar encourages visitors to cozy up to the bar. Our hosts were gracious and allowed us ample time to taste and enjoy each of the wines. The Elmaro Rosa, a fruity and fun blush wine containing Concord and Catawba, was wonderfully balanced and it's easy to see why it is incredibly popular. Mine and Jills favorite was the off-dry Vidal Blanc - sumptuously aromatic and deliciously pleasing on the palate!
One of the most satisfying aspects of visiting a winery is getting to know the owners, their wine making philosophy, and to get a read on the passion they have for wine making. It's truly a family operation with an immense sense of pride and professionalism going into each bottle.
Great things are happening at the winery and if you have an opportunity, or live within a few hours, you really need to visit!
I won't be surprised if you took home a few bottles of their wines after the visit! Yes, wine-making is a lot like being a parent because you have to be present in all stages of the process, from harvest to aging. Maybe that's why wineries thrive and stay active for generations.
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