Our vineyard began as a dream of Ted Wichmann, father of Hanna Wichmann (owner/winemaker at Wichmann Vineyard). The oldest vines at Wichmann Vineyard were planted by Ted Wichmann in 1980. This part of the vineyard is the oldest commercial vineyard in southern Illinois.

Two types of vines currently producing a crop in our vineyard are Niagara and Norton. These, and all the vines at Wichmann Vineyard are hybrids. Hybrids are the offspring of two different grape varietals.

Niagara (vitis labrusca) – a cross between Concord and Cassady Grapes. NIagara is considered an American Heirloom Variety and is currently used in our Bloom wine.

Norton (vitis aestivalis) – originally discovered in Virginia by Dr. Norton in the 1800s. Norton is thought to be a hybrid between an unknown native American grape variety and a variety brought over from Europe. In the late 1800s wines made from Norton grapes in Missouri were considered world class wines at a worldwide wine competition in Vienna.

We planted 1100 new vines in March of 2021, which will take 3-4 years to produce a crop. These are Chambourcin, Traminette, and Chardonel.

Chambourcin – a French American Hybrid with unknown parentage. Chambourcin grows especially well in the Shawnee Hills of southern Illinois and makes outstanding dry red blends as well as roses and blushes.

Traminette – is the great great granddaughter of a native German grape called Gewürztraminer and another French-American hybrid called Seyval.

Chardonel – is the cross between a French American hybrid called Seyval and a European variety: Chardonnay

Most winemakers will tell you, “Wine is made in the vines.” Understanding the journey of the grapes that ultimately become wine, is the first step to truly appreciating wine.

Each step in the life cycle of the vine is a beautiful and miraculous part of the delicious wine that ends up in your glass. There is also an extraordinary amount of hard work and woman hours required to help the vines along the way.

Each acre of vines in the vineyard produces anywhere from 8 tons of grapes (Niagara) an acre to as little as 3 tons of grapes (Norton) per acre. On average, one ton of grapes produces only 720 bottles of wine; meaning each bottle of wine is made with 600-800 individual grapes. We have just under 1,200 individual vines in our 3 acre vineyard. Every vine is tended to by hand from pruning in the early spring to harvesting in the fall, with constant management of the vigorous canopies in between.

American Viticulture Areas (AVAs) are designated wine grape-growing regions in the United States that have been shown to have terroir resulting in exceptional grapes and wine.  In Europe the equivalent is an Appellation (such as Bourdeax or Burgandy).  Wichmann Vineyard is in the Shawnee Hills AVA.  This was established through the federal government by Ted Wichmann in 2006 after two years of researching and writing the proposal.