Midwest Winery Rankings 2014

Mark Ganchiff

Mark Ganchiff is the publisher of Midwest Wine Press, the leading source of news on the growing wine industry in the central United States. Mark has been a wine judge at the 2012 and 2014 INDY International Wine Competition, the 2014 Cold Climate Wine Competition, the 2013 Mid-American Wine Competition, the 2012 Illinois State Fair Wine Competition and the 2013 Michigan Wine Competition. He also enjoys speaking at wine events including the Cold Climate Wine Conference, the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association Annual Meeting, the Midwest Grape and Wine Conference and the Wisconsin Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Mark's articles about regional wine have appeared in Vineyard & Winery Management, WineMaker and several regional magazines. Mark is a Level One Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers. He lives in Louisville, but also has a residence in Chicago.

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6 Responses

  1. Bill Alter says:

    Hi Mark:

    I enjoyed the info on wineries and grape acreage in the Midwest. Somewhat surprised that you did not include AK, OK, and TN.

  2. Let’s hear a shout-out for the smallest production wineries in the Midwest, like internationally recognized Kinkead Ridge in Ohio! 🙂

    Matt Kramer, Wine Spectator:

    “The truth is that some of wine’s most thrilling acts — the ones you want to shout about from the rooftops — are small scale. They’re barely even commercial. But not to hear of them isn’t merely to miss out on a buying opportunity. Indeed, it would mean missing out on something more important yet, because simply knowing that these efforts are being made in today’s hyper-commercialized world is an inspiration.

    It’s all about finding good wines to try. Expensive wine is easy to buy. Technically good (if boring) wine is easy to buy. But really good wine is trickier. Despite the fact that there’s more really good, even great wine today than ever before, it’s paradoxically now more challenging to land on, like finding a good TV show even though you’ve got 400 channels.

  3. Great article with good information. However, under Nebraska while the wineries listed as the largest are great places that make some good wines they (17 Ranch Winery, Lewellen, Cellar 426 Winery, Ashland; Big Cottonwoods Vineyards and Winery, Tekamah; Cedar Hills Vineyards, Ravenna) are the smallest wineries in the Nebraska. The largest wineries in Nebraska are: James Arthur, Raymond; Mac’s Creek Winery & Vineyards, Lexington; Whiskey Run, Brownsville; Soaring Wings, Springfield; and Miletta Vista, St. Paul.

  4. Todd says:

    Based on Wisconsin IRS numbers found at http://www.revenue.wi.gov/ise/excise.html, the top ten wineries in Wisconsin are:
    Winery 2013 Total Liters
    1 WOLLERSHEIM WINERY, INC. Total 818,301.73
    2 C & N CORPORATION Total 419,802.15
    3 VON STIEHL WINERY LTD. Total 211,738.77
    4 FRUIT OF THE WOODS WINE CELLAR, INC. Total 160,191.00
    5 LAUTENBACH’S ORCHARD COUNTRY INC Total 100,150.95
    6 HARBOR RIDGE WINERY INC. Total 47,082.62
    7 FAWN CREEK WINERY LLC Total 45,889.38
    8 WEST PRAIRIE WINERY LLC Total 42,595.48
    9 SIMON CREEK VINEYARD LLC Total 40,753.19
    10 PARALLEL 44 VINEYARD & WINERY, INC. Total 36,408.06
    Winery 2012 Total Liters
    1 WOLLERSHEIM WINERY, INC. Total 825,903.66
    2 C & N CORPORATION Total 401,001.38
    3 VON STIEHL WINERY LTD. Total 237,574.24
    4 FRUIT OF THE WOODS WINE CELLAR, INC. Total 171,623.21
    5 LAUTENBACH’S ORCHARD COUNTRY INC Total 101,626.93
    6 PARALLEL 44 VINEYARD & WINERY, INC. Total 95,717.74
    7 SANTA FE FUTURES, INC. Total 90,827.56
    8 SPURGEON VINEYARDS & WINERY LLC Total 46,327.69
    9 SIMON CREEK VINEYARD LLC Total 40,730.98
    10 WEST PRAIRIE WINERY LLC Total 40,417.47

    • Jeremy says:

      It would be interesting to know how much of that wine comes from Wisconsin grown grapes.

      • Mark Ganchiff says:

        Using the same methodology as the 2014 Midwest Grape Production Rankings, Wisconsin is producing around 250,000 gallons per year using local grapes. (There are a fair amount of grapes sold between Minnesota and Wisconsin, so the actual local based wine production may be higher.)