I had very limited knowledge of Green Bay, Wisconsin before I visited. A semi-sleepy city on the Southern end of the bay of Green Bay, an arm of Lake Michigan. I was surprised to learn that it’s the main city of the Green Bay Metropolitan Area and actually one of the most populated areas in Wisconsin.
I was trying to write a list over the bars and restaurants worth visiting in the area, when I stumbled across a place called Captain’s Walk Winery. At first, I thought it might be seasonal, as the air outside wasn’t exactly grape-friendly on this cold February day. Luckily, the winery is open all-year round and on Saturday’s they even do winery tours. Little did I know, that I was in for a treat!
Captain’s Walk Winery is located in the centre of Green Bay, in an old, wooden house from 1816 and was one of the few original houses that was saved during a fire in this neighbourhood in the 1800’s. Apparently the unique so called “widow’s walk” on the roof – the tower – allowed them to pour water over the building to stop the blizzards, and that is how the winery got its name.
The house was built by a successful business man in the area who lived there with his family and 6 daughters. It has hosted many different businesses throughout the years, including The Women’s club and a law firm, before the winery took over in 2007. It is regurlarly visited by the Green Bay haunted house tours, as the third daughter Helen is said to remain as a ghost and often makes an appearance flickering lights and causing mischief.
We showed up at 1.30PM to join the winery tour. It’s only $2, no bookings are required and we were met by the lovely and very knowledgeable manager Paul who told us we would be getting a private tour this afternoon. He gave us a thorough introduction to the history of the winery and started showing us around.
The basement houses Captain’s Walk wine barrels alongside a tasting table for special events, as well as their miniature cider brewery. The wine stays in the barrels for anything from 6 months to 2 years, and they have an impressive collection to be such a small winery with a limited season. The vineyards and their slightly larger sister-winery Von Stiehl Winery are located on the East border of Wisconsin towards Pennsylvania. They use a variety of grapes, including new variations crossbred at The University of Michigan, to get grapes that can handle the cold climate as best as can be. The manager and our tour guide Paul, has his own vineyard in his garden, and also crossbreeds his own grapes, so his knowledge about this subject is huge. Ask away!
We were taken upstairs to the first floor where a group of excited women enjoyed a private wine tasting in the lovely lounge room. You can book it for as long as you want, as long as you buy two bottles of wine per hour, so it’s the perfect place to take your girlfriends! There is also a slightly smaller room called the Captain’s Quarters. You only gain access here if you are a member of the Captain’s Club – but that also gives you 10% off all wine purchases and 25% off wine purchases by the glass when visiting the winery.
It was finally time for the actual wine tasting. The winery’s hidden gem is the fact that they allow you to tailor your own wine tasting in the tasting room – with the advise of the friendly staff – and you only pay $3 for 7 wines. ($5 if you want to include Premium wines.) If you come with a friend, like I did, you can technically work your way through almost the whole selection if you wish. And there truly are some tasty wines on display! My favourites included the Chardonnay and the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon. My friend Emma fell in love with the sweet raspberry wine “Naughty Girl” and the Moscato – so there is something for every palate.
After the wine tasting we retired to the bistro to enjoy some local Wisconsin cheeses with glasses of our newly acquired favourite wines! We tried a wide variety, from the gorgeous vino rosso to an exotic spiced mango, but the cheddar-like Pastures being my favourite. The bistro also does pizzas, and is a lovely spot to enjoy a lunch or maybe even a date. Great wine and food and a glass floor overlooking the basement’s wine barrels.
We spent a total of 4 hours at the Captain”s Walk and if I was from Green Bay this would be where I’d spend every Saturday. Apparently Helen the ghost made an appearance around 2.45PM, whilst we were there – but we were so deep in conversation we missed the flickering lights…
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