Milton, Wisconsin
Crusin’ Rating: B
Booze Rating: C+ (still increased by the spicy options!)
This week, we are checking out a brand new location of a winery that we reviewed over 3 years ago! While the original location of Timber Hill Winery was perfectly fine, if a little small - we had to check out the new location, updates, wines, and other new updates after opening in 2023. We’ve learned a lot since our first and subsequent visits so we were excited to see how things compared and if they held up. If you recall from our original article - most of the wines were just alright, - but the review was really saved by the Jalapeno Wine that is a secret ingredient for Hannah’s Cruisin' For Booze Bloody Marys.
Now we’ve reviewed other spots that have multiple locations - sometimes they offer different beer options, and other times they can have a major scenery change, like The Door County location of One Barrel Brewing Company. This is the first time we’ve seen a previous location close and a new location open for one of our reviews, and, on top of that, in the same town, Milton, WI.
Driving up to the new location, it’s very apparent that Timber Hill has been doing quite well for itself since we were last there. A brand new white, contemporary building, complete with metal roof, a second story balcony, and plenty of windows, looks like it walked right out of a Realtor Commercial. There are plenty of vines out front to let you know you are in the right place. After parking in the large gravel parking lot, we made our way inside a set of double doors adorned with deer antlers.
Inside, we both had to admit, it was a major upgrade, all around. Slow piano music and gentle singing greeted our ears as we walked into a white space adorned with what appeared to be reclaimed wood, gentle conversation, and plenty of Christmas decor. Immediately above us, a chandelier of woven horns that would make Disney’s Gaston jealous. In front of us, a rectangular bar, and above that, a lofted second story. Servers flitted about with sandwiches and pizzas, a new addition since the old location. To our right, a huge antique candy shelf and rolling ladder serves as a display for the wines and acts as a the to go-bottle sales counter. There’s a small rack of swag and a few other goodies dotted about. Past that, there’s tables aplenty with more available upstairs and a live singer was giving renditions of popular songs in an easy-listening manner.
It should go without saying, but this new location was easily double, if not triple the space of the original. Hannah and I made our way upstairs to peek at the menu and do a bit of a review, just to check in on the wines. Really though, we were there for the space. Upstairs sat around 20 people, and outside - on a ridiculously warm 50℉ day in December, a couple of ladies sat outside enjoying some food and a bottle of wine.
We were able to watch the sun work its way lower in the sky throughout the late afternoon as we checked out the absolute massive menu - a significant expansion from the old location. We counted 47 wines current being offered as well as a couple of beers on tap for you non-wine drinkers. New additions also included Wine-cocktails (sorry no hard liquor), mimosa flights, wine spritzes, wine-cocktail flights, and a must order for Hannah - a Bloody Mary Flight that featured smoked jalapeno wine, standard jalapeno wine, and an extra spicy version. The smoked wine was a first for us, but Hannah thought it was a little heavy handed to be in her bloody, but definitely has given me some ideas to play with at home. While we each snagged a flight and it became apparent that our review grade wouldn’t actually change as we made our way through them, which is a bummer. The wines are, average, some decent some not-so-decent. Some - such as Hurricane Cocktail Wine, and teal Mermaid Glitter Muscat abomination border on the absurd. If you’re following along, 47 wines is a silly amount of offerings, and some of those are the direct reason that no one takes Wisconsin seriously as a wine destination state.
We did decide to put three here, just in case you were wondering - plus it felt wrong to write a review without actually telling you all our tasting notes! I will point out that a lot of the wines are not getting their juice or grapes from Wisconsin, which you know is a bummer to us. We weren’t able to get super close to the bottles and the menu didn’t have ABV listed, nor was it available readily on the website.
WI Wildflower - This white blend that includes elderflower had an aroma of overly sweet St. Germain Liqueur (elderflower syrup), honey, and fruit-cup cocktail. A sugary sweet offering that includes floral notes, honeysuckle and a little pineapple with light acidity was easy-enough to drink, but I’m not sure I would call it good.
WI Marquette - Hannah has searched for a Marquette and this toasted ruby offering with bold red fruit including strawberry and red candy on the nose featured notes of jammy strawberries and medium-low dryness with a definite tannic finish, though this did not have the depth either of us really hoped for. That said, Hannah said this Marquette was at least not off-putting which makes it the best one in recent memory.
St. Croix - This deep burgundy red featured aromas of smoke, red berries and concord grape with an afternote of almost tossing a red grape directly onto a grill - charred fresh grape flesh mixed with purple crush. With a leathery earthiness, cooked red currant, a plum skins detected when tasting - I thought this one came off as a little too much of that leather-earthiness to really be enjoyable.
While Hannah and I had only planned to be there an hour, the Christmas decorations, Bloody Mary Flight, and plethora of options kept us a little longer than we had planned. With a warm ambience coupled with enjoyable music, Hannah stated that if we lived closer, it would definitely be her go-to hang out spot with her friends. As it stands, if you are looking for a change in scenery from Madison and want to try a whole host of wines, including some spicy options, I think this is absolutely worth the trip, if for the Jalapeno wine alone. If you’re coming from Milwaukee or Racine, Milton is fairly small, so plan something else to go along with your trip, but I can think of worse places to catch a sunset.
Until next time, keep on crusin’, don’t stop boozin’!
To learn more about Timber Hill winery, please visit their website at: timberhillwinery.com or on Facebook: @TimberHillWinery or on Instagram: @TimberHillWine
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