The Door County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC) announced today that Door Peninsula Winery (www.dcwine.com) is the winner of the Door County Industry of the Year award. The annual award recognizes a local construction, service or manufacturing business that has made a substantial impact on the community and enjoyed significant accomplishments during the past year. The announcement came during the DCEDC annual investors meeting at Stone Harbor Resort & Conference Center in Sturgeon Bay.
Door Peninsula Winery
The largest producer of wine in the state of Wisconsin – and Door County’s original winery -Door Peninsula Winery was established in Carlsville in 1974 in a building that once served the area as a schoolhouse. Robert and Noreen Pollman bought the struggling business in 1984. Since then, the winery has tripled its retail area and production space, added a restaurant and is now one of the largest wineries in the Midwest, producing 50,000 cases of wine annually. In 2008, approximately 225,000 visitors went through the production space and enjoyed a guided tour through the wine making process of fermentation, racking and aging.
Combining age old growing techniques with state of the art technology, the Winery produces fifty varieties of quality wines using the abundance of fruits from nearby orchards. As evidenced by a long list of awards won over the years, the Winery is recognized nationally as a leader in the production of fruit wines. Many of the grapes used in production come from the Door County vineyards planted and maintained by Winery staff. Today the Winery has twelve year round and eighteen seasonal employees.
In July 2007 Door Peninsula Winery started efforts to be more environmentally responsible in all aspects of growing, production, fulfillment and sales and is currently seeking Travel Green certification from the State of Wisconsin. The Winery provides $7,500 in scholarships annually to local educational efforts. The Winery also provides wine tasting at fundraisers and contributions to Door County civic and non-profit groups such as the March of Dimes, Sevastopol School, Door County Legislative Days, YMCA and the Wisconsin Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
“We are very happy to recognize Door Peninsula Winery as our industry of the year. They were the first in what is now a very important industry sector of our local business community and their growth speaks well for their continually expanding role in our local economy,” says DCEDC Executive Director Bill Chaudoir.
This year marks the 36th year of the Door County Industry of the Year Award, first presented by the Door County Chamber of Commerce in 1973. Last year’s award winner was N.E.W. Industries. Other recent winners of the Industry of the Year Award include Marine Travelift and ExacTech, the Washington Island Ferry Line, Baylake Bank, Bay Shipbuilding Company and Door County Memorial Hospital.
The Door County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC) is a public/private partnership dedicated to improving the economic vitality of the county and its residents. Celebrating 20 years of service to the community throughout 2009, DCEDC has been successful in helping existing businesses create and retain thousands of jobs through a myriad of programs and initiatives. Additionally, DCEDC places strong emphasis on fostering entrepreneurial instincts in county residents as well as those who vacation on the Door County Peninsula. Door County Economic Development Corporation offices are located within the small business incubator DCEDC founded in 1997 at 185 East Walnut Street in the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park.
