Wollersheim Ruby Nouveau Release Nov. 17, 2016

Wollersheim Winery & Distillery in Prairie du Sac, Wis., releases its 2015 Ruby Nouveau wine on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. Join viticulturalist and winemaker Philippe Coquard as he first taps the Ruby Nouveau 2015 barrel for a special toast to Wisconsin flavor by enjoying this young wine with Wisconsin cheeses.

The Inn at Wawanissee Point bed and breakfast atop the Baraboo Bluffs overlooks
the Wisconsin River Valley where Wollersheim Winery is nestled, a 20-minute drive south.

Book your favorite guest room HERE or call us at 608-355-9899.

Wollersheim’s Ruby Nouveau is the first taste of the new harvest, a Wisconsin version of a Beaujolais Nouveau and a tribute to the tradition of Coquard’s birthplace in the Beaujolais region of France. Following the Beaujolais custom, Wollersheim Winery releases its Ruby Nouveau on the third Thursday in November.

• A traditional Beaujolais Nouveau is bottled and released the same fall in which the grapes were harvested, it is not barrel aged. This short fermentation makes a light, fresh and fruity wine with unique flavors such as raspberry, black cherry and banana, and a brilliant ruby-red color.

Coquard makes Ruby Nouveau from Foch grapes grown at the vineyard flanking the Wisconsin River. It’s a red French-hybrid cultivar, which he processes with the traditional method of whole-berry fermentation. He’s been making Ruby Nouveau at Wollersheim since 1984.

Wollersheim Winery is a National Historic Site along the Wisconsin River where eagles soar overhead, overlooking the south flank of the renown Baraboo Range. In its 43rd year of production, it’s one of the oldest wineries in the country. Julie Wollersheim-Coquard and her husband, Philippe Coquard, a French-raised and Wisconsin award-winning winemaker, operate the winery, now with their children, continuing Julie’s parents’ endeavor.

In 2015 Wollersheim opened a new distillery to add spirits fermented from Wisconsin-grown grapes to its offering, using the winery’s original Portuguese copper-pot still to return Wollersheim to its pre-Prohibition roots. It produces Garden Gate Gin, Dancehall Absinthe Blanche, Coquard Brandy made from estate-grown grapes and its new 1876 Press House Brandy.

• Wollersheim is open daily year-round for tours, tasting and shopping: the winery 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and the distillery 12:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. Learn more www.wollersheim.com.

Stay For Holiday Parades, Fireworks And Shopping

Read our blog article here to learn about festivities kicking off the holiday shopping season Nov. 18–19, including two evening light parades, one followed by fireworks, a wine walk in Baraboo, a concert, dinner theatre and more.

• Rise before dawn Nov. 17 to see the Leonid meteor shower at its peak. How about the Tepee guest room’s deck www.innatwawanisseepoint.com/tepee/?
• Stargaze with a s’mores kit and blanket by the fire on the prairie terrace.