Shops : Fish Creek

Orchard Country Winery & Market
9197 Hwy 42
(1/2 mi. s of Fish Creek)
Fish Creek
866-946-3263
920-868-3479

A winery with guided tours? Daily wine tastings? A farm market?  A place to pick your own cherries and apples?  Want to pick up a fresh baked pie or cherry products to take home?  Yes – it is all here at Orchard Country!  Surrounded by acres of cherry and apple trees, you will find the big red barn where the winery and antique shop resides, a spacious market and even the Door County Trolley (where you can take a narrated Door County tour).

Turn right off the highway to find a convenient parking spot and get ready to enjoy a genuine Door County tradition of cherry and apple growing that the Lautenbach family has been doing since the 1950’s. This is a fun stop where you can find some truly unique offerings.

The Market

Our first stop, the “market,” is the building nearest the highway.  As you enter be prepared to find shelves filled with hundreds of delicious food products.  Jars of bright red cherries made into jams, pie fillings, sauces, dressings and even cherry salsa (a perfect combination of cherries and jalapeno peppers).  Fresh pressed ciders (natural juice-not the fermented kind) available in four flavors:  tart and sweet cherry, apple, and a combination of cherries and apples.  (If you are a not a cherry fan, don’t worry, they have plenty of other fruit products and gifts to choose from).   Don’t forget to check out the free tastes of their popular favorites at the sample table! 

If fresh produce is your thing, come during the season for home-grown varieties such as: sweet Bing and tart Montmorency cherries, the new Honey Crisp apple or traditional Cortland and Macintosh.  Juicy strawberries, red raspberries, blueberries, peaches and sweet corn can be found throughout the season as well.

Pick What You Like Best

If picking your own right off the tree is what you like, they have that too!  Visit mid-July through mid-August for cherries and mid-September through mid-October for apples.  Containers are provided for picking and transport-all you have to do is pick!

After filling your buckets, head over to the “Cherry Pit Spitting Pit” where you can beat the record for the longest spit.  Go ahead-give it a try!

Also, there are claims made that tart cherries are good for your health.  We are not medical people, but we are merely passing on what we have been told!  Free flyers, available in the market, claim that as little as two tablespoons of tart cherry concentrate or a handful of fresh cherries a day can make a huge difference.

The Wines

Well, let’s head over to the hand crafted tasting bar, where a knowledgeable server will offer you up to six complimentary tastes from a list of over thirty wines.  Please note that the myth that all fruit wines are sweet does not apply here.  Orchard Country produces a huge variety of wines ranging from dry to sweet using both traditional grapes and other fruits grown on the property.

Sure, they have a Merlot and Riesling, but their latest creations are two estate wines made from red grapes grown right here in the vineyard.  Named after owner Bob Lautenbach’s first granddaughter and grandson, “Audrey Grace” and “Nathan John,” these wines prove that Door County can grow grapes, and in the end produce fine grape wine. 

If you really want to find a cherry wine this is the place - the winery has 14 offerings.  The Cherry Chardonnay is light and refreshing with a fruity finish and appealing pink color.  Winter Wine is a spiced cherry that you serve warm (cozy on a cold night).  Black Cherry is a popular wine made with the sweet full flavored Bing cherries and Golden Cherry is yellow in color just like the sweet cherry it comes from. “Si,” even a Cherry Sangria! 

“Honey Crisp” (yes sweet and juicy just like the apple), “Swedish Lingonberry, and even a Door County Romance (a white zinfandel splashed with cherries) are just a few we tried.  They even produce a family of “lyte” wines with only 6.5% alcohol (average wines contain 10-12%).  They seem to be the only winery around doing this.  These fruity and refreshing wines are perfect for the first time wine drinker or as a dessert wine for the experienced wine lover.  The Red Raspberry Lyte, which was the best selling wine at the Wisconsin State Fair’s Wine Garden this year, is a delight for raspberry lovers! 

Well, whether you like dry or sweet, fruity and refreshing, the wine bar is fully stocked and awaiting your arrival!  

The Big Red Barn

Back at the end of the driveway, is the big red barn where the wines are carefully crafted all year long.  Seasonal guided tours take you through the production area explain the fruit press and a free wine glass is given out at the end of the tour.  Very informative and well worth the minimal fee of $ 3.00 per person!  Always check with their website for latest offerings and prices.

New to the barn this year is Windmill Antiques and Resale.  Located in the front part of the historic 100 year old dairy barn, you may certainly find a unique treasure in this cozy shop.

Whether picking fresh cherries under the warm summer sun or enjoying a cozy horse-drawn sleigh ride through snowy fields, Orchard Country is the place for you on your next visit to Door County.  For a unique visit any time of year, this place can make you feel like life really is a bowl of cherries - at least for a little while! 

Open year round, do stop in.  Visit their website for more information or shop online and have your favorites shipped right to your door!  And please, tell them that DoorCountyNavigator.com sent you!

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