Traveling the wine country at home

It would be wrong to call "Wineries of Wisconsin and Minnesota" a vanity project. But Patricia Monaghan did have a bit of an ulterior motive when she took on the project.

It seems that Monaghan and her husband, Michael McDermott, had decided to turn some of their 22 acres of "bad, rocky, hilly land" near Madison, Wis., into a vineyard. "So having started with putting all our money into trellises and grape vines, we thought 'what better to do than to visit these places and talk to these people.'"

So they traversed the two states, traveling 6,000 miles ("we had to get new tires along the way") to visit 55 wineries that are profiled in the book. On their travels, they found beautiful countryside, more than a little history and a lot better wine than she had anticipated, particularly of the non-grape variety.

But mostly she found people who were warm, friendly and passionate about their work. "The outstanding memory I have was the sheer hospitality. It was like you've been invited into somebody's living room," she said. "There's none of this 'are you good enough to drink our wines?' thing you get in other wine regions."

That might explain why Monaghan's book is more about the people making the wine than the juice itself.

Q Could you have published this book five or 10 years ago?

A No, for a number of reasons. First of all, the wine industry was negligible at best. The wines tended to be the native American grapes, the concord type. There's a particular enzyme in these wines that has a foxy aspect. I've checked on the derivation of that, and one is that the wine tends to taste like fox pee, which is a pretty vivid and negative image. Now there are a lot more wineries, and a lot better wine.

This is a fabulous time for the good cheap $10 from Chile, South Africa. But it doesn't taste like your region. And there are people who are seeking out the taste of a region.

Q So are there areas around here where the wines express that "terroir" thing?

A That's still emerging. The most obvious ones are the areas around the rivers, the Wisconsin, St. Croix and the Mississippi. And they're developing some really interesting wines there. But I'm not sure we're at the point that we can say there are certain tastes associated with any regions yet.

Q What was the biggest surprise along the way?

A It probably was that you can make good wine out of, like, rhubarb. I was so biased against fruit wines, like 'Don't make me go there.' When I was at Minnestalgia [in McGregor, Minn.], where they use only locally harvested fruits, mostly wild ones, I had to give up my bias, that 'this can't be good; it's not a grape.' There's some delightful fruit wines.

But the other surprise was how there are some places that are really far out that are making wines. When we left Bemidji [Minn.] heading for Fargo, [N.D.] I was like, 'Oh right, come on, there are no vineyards up here.' And we saw these vineyards and were bowled over.

Q What are the differences between the industries in Minnesota and Wisconsin?

A The 51-percent provision in Minnesota [a winery's total output must include at least 51 percent Minnesota-grown grapes] meant there are many, many more vineyards being put in. There are more wineries in Wisconsin because there's no limit to how much you can bring in; you can produce all your wines from California grapes.

Q How much have the wines in this area improved in recent years?

A I think it's an exciting era for regional wines in America. If you're making wine in California, you're going to have to make wine for [critic Robert] Parker. But we can play. There is a playful attitude.

Q Favorite Wisconsin wine?

A I have two. The Prairie fumé from Wollersheim is such a good summer wine, a crowd-pleaser. I also love the riesling from Botham [near Barneveld, Wis.]. Peter Botham knows what to do with that grape. I buy it regularly.

Q Favorite Minnesota wine?

A I really am impressed with Voyageur from Alexis Bailly. That's the best red wine around here. [Nan Bailly] really has put together something quite startling there. I was really wowed by this. I have a feeling that people's wines sort of resemble them. And Voyageur's a lot like Nan [Bailly], a kind of classy and opinionated wine.

Q Did doing this make you more or less optimistic about having your own vineyard?

I feel very hopeful about the market for local grapes. A couple of years ago people would say, 'Oh, can you do that? Now they say, 'What did you put in?' Vineyards are popping up, and people are becoming aware that that's an option.