Wollersheim Winery

Wollersheim is a popular local winery, located in Prairie du Sac. It's only a 40-minute drive from downtown Madison, depending on Hwy. 12 traffic. (Take Hwy. 12, exit on Hwy. 188, follow for a couple of miles until you see Wollersheim, which will be on your right.)

The winery is open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. year-round, and it has daily tours at 10:15, 11:15, 12:15, 1:15, 2:15, 3:15 and 4:15. Each tour is $3.50 and lasts about 45 minutes (it includes free wine tasting at the end).

We had about a dozen other people with us on the tour, mostly people in their mid-20s. After watching a 15-minute video on the history of the winery, we walked to the field and checked out a cave (from the outside) and the vines (not up close, however). Then we went to the distillery, watched another video, went downstairs to where they keep the barrels of wine for aging, then drank.

You can drink at a faster rate when there are less people in the tour with you (sometimes there are 25+). In August, they didn't have as many wines available, so we only sampled around eight or so. Apparently in February, patrons can sample a lot more (the tour guide says you would be drinking about 2/3 of a bottle, which I doubt).

It was nice to sample the varieties; it helped in the purchase process. Buying the wine here is slightly cheaper than in the liquor stores, plus if you buy six or more bottles, you get a discount.

Besides shopping and the tour, Wollersheim is a nice place to hang out and enjoy some wine. There's plenty of seating in the area, although no music or anything is played.

For more info, check out www.wollersheim.com.