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On Thursday, November 19th we will be releasing the first wines from the wonderful 2020 vintage including Ruby Nouveau, Wisconsin’s version of Beaujolais Nouveau.

Every year on the third Thursday of November, per tradition, the world collectively celebrates Nouveau Day. In France the wine is released under French law at 12:01 AM and the festivities are accompanied by fireworks, music, and grand celebrations.

Our Winemaker, Philippe Coquard was born and raised in the Beaujolais region of France and the colorful tradition is woven deeply into his multi-generational winemaking family. Philippe is the 13th generation of his family to pursue winemaking and his daughter, Céline, is our Enologist and will be the 14th generation to continue the craft. With those profound roots and background, the family has brought the tradition of Nouveau Day to Wisconsin with the annual release of Ruby Nouveau on the very same day each and every year.

“I have been around Beaujolais Nouveau for my entire life and I remember very vividly little celebrations in the small villages of France,” Philippe Coquard said. “Every town would host a Beaujolais festival and people would go from winery to winery toasting to the new vintage. My family would always do the tapping of a barrel with cheese and sausage and those warm memories are the inspiration for our Ruby Nouveau celebration here in Wisconsin.”

Beajoulais Nouveau is made from Gamay grapes grown in the Beaujolais region of France and is produced by using a whole berry fermentation method where the grapes are not crushed. The process results in a wine that tastes fresh, fruity, and has very low levels of tannins. Our Ruby Nouveau is made using those precise methods, only instead using Maréchal Foch grapes from our Wisconsin hillsides.

Every year the release provides us with the first taste of the new vintage and is truly a moment our family and team wait all year long to experience. It’s the first result of a year’s worth of hard work in the vineyard, in the lab, and in the cellars.

The circumstances of 2020 have caused our typical in-person celebration to be put on a hold for a year; however we are excited to host the annual Ruby Nouveau Barrel Tapping on Facebook Live at the traditional time of 11 am on Thursday, November 19th. If you would like to join us, please visit our Facebook Events Page for all the details and to set your personal reminder.

This is a photo from our Ruby Nouveau Day from 2019. We will miss our beloved celebration, but hope you all can join us on Facebook Live on November 19th! See our Facebook Events page for details.

We will also be releasing three other popular Wollersheim wines on the very same day! Eagle White 2020, Prairie Blush 2020, and Domaine Reserve 2019 will all be released as well on November 19th.

Domaine Reserve is Wollersheim’s flagship red wine and is a single-field wine made from the oldest vines in our vineyard. Traditional fermentation and a year inside Oak barrels bring notes of spice, mulberry and blackberry flavors.

“Domaine Reserve is such a special wine. When you drink it, you are truly drinking a unique wine,” Philippe said. “There’s no other wine that is made like it in the world. The combination of 48 year old vines, Maréchal Foch grapes, the steepest slope in the vineyard, and the Wisconsin terrior cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world.”

Eagle White is an estate-grown white made from St. Pepin and LaCrosse grapes, with natural residual sweetness and characteristics of pear and lemon. It is a favorite amongst our regulars and in competitions having earned 95 points, a Best of Class designation, and a Double Gold medal at the 2020 International Eastern Wine Competition in Santa Rosa, California.

Eagle White is one of the few wines we make that can only be found at the winery, along with our Prairie Blush.

Prairie Blush, the final wine to be released on November 19th, is a bright and fruity, semi-dry blush with a taste reminiscent of grapefruit and tart cherry and is the recipient of numerous national awards for best blush.

But if wine isn’t your thing or if you have a Whiskey lover standing by, we have something for them too! Wollersheim Distillery will be releasing their first single barrels of Wisconsin Bourbon and Round Top Rye Whiskey. The quantities of these will be very limited, but a small amount of each offering will also make their way to various retailers throughout the state of Wisconsin.

“After a busy year of new batches and spirits, I’m quite possibly most excited about our Single Barrel whiskeys,” Distiller Tom Lenerz said. “Philippe and I have painstakingly tasted dozens of barrels to select our favorite whiskeys to be released this year. These Single Barrel Bourbon and Rye Whiskeys will all be 4 years old or older, and bottled at the proof they come from the barrel at.”

For more information on upcoming releases or visiting Wollersheim, please check us out on Facebook, Instagram, or visit our website at wollersheim.com.

Cheers!