The Wollersheim Winery Prairie Fume’ 2013 is 100% Seyval Blanc grape sourced from contract vineyards in New York. The Wollersheim Winery is located west of Madison, Wisconsin near the Wisconsin River. It was founded in the 1840s, but after a particularly brutal winter in 1899 the vineyards froze and the property was converted to a dairy farm. In 1971, the Wollersheim family purchased the property and turned it back into a winery. The Seyval Blanc grape is a hybrid that was bred in France as a grape that was resistant to disease. Seyval Blanc is popular in the eastern US in areas that have a relatively short growing season due to the climate. The Prairie Fume’ is a semi-dry wine, they stop fermentation before it is completed leaving a little natural sugar in the wine. This is a young wine with no aging and is at its peak for a year or two, so the sooner they better. The alcohol content is a mild 10%.
The color is nearly completely clear. The nose is delicate and pretty, floral with notes of peach, pear and lime. The consistency of the Prairie Fume’ reminds me the canned peaches in light syrup. This is a slightly nectar sweet wine with guava, lime, peach, pear and pink grapefruit. The acidity is well-balanced, this is a fresh, pretty wine. The finish is subtle and lingers.
The Wollersheim Winery Prairie Fumé 2013 is a shining example that today, good wine can be produced anywhere. The Prairie Fume’ is designed to be a light, fresh White wine, something that will excel as an aperitif or go with a tasty dessert and it hits the nail on the head. Just enough acidity and sweetness to perform its duties, but not too much to interfere with sipping enjoyment. This year I have sampled Sparkling wine from north central Illinois, Bordeaux varietal Red wine from southwest Michigan and now White wine from Wisconsin and have thoroughly enjoyed them all.
