Cedar Creek wines are made from both traditional grape varieties such as the Vitis Vinifera and French-American hybrids.

The Vitis Vinifera are varieties such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Johannisberg Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Syrah. These are world-known varieties that have been used in winemaking for hundreds of years. They tend to grow well in moderate climates and do not like extreme temperatures, at least not extreme cold. The Cedar Creek Chardonnay, Cabernet, Waterfall Riesling and Syrah grapes are grown under contract for us in milder climate states such as Washington, California, or New York. We work with the growers to pick and ship the grapes to us when they have the right sugar and acid parameters we are seeking.

The French-American hybrids are wine grapes that have been developed in the 1930's to resist disease and cold and have fine wine qualities. These varieties include Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc and Marechal Foch. Our vineyard site at Prairie du Sac grows the St. Pepin and Lacrosse grapes for some of our wines. This site is ideal because of its slope and Wisconsin River location, which help to minimize the weather extremes.

It takes about four years to establish a vineyard and harvest the first crop. During these four years, much time is spent forming the young vine by training the trunk and shaping the fruiting zone. The crop is established at pruning, which occurs in March and April. We remove 80% of the shoots leaving only the right amount of buds. In June, the grapevines will blossom and 90 days later, usually in early September, we can harvest the grapes.