Tastings & Tours in Chippewa Falls/Eau Claire
The Chippewa Falls area has an abundance of wineries, many located near the Inn on Lake Wissota. While most tasting rooms are open from May-October, their wines are wonderful all year long!
Wineries
The River Bend Vineyard & Winery offers tours, complimentary wine tasting during season, and a beautiful outdoor patio. Here, you can taste well-balanced wines unique to our region and climate. Since 2009, River Bend Vineyard & Winery has focused on three things: award-winning wines, local grapes, and quality service. Throughout the season, the winery will also have Food Truck Saturdays, featuring a variety of cuisines for you to enjoy!
Dixon’s Autumn Harvest Winery is another local favorite. Since opening in July of 2004 as the first winery in the Chippewa Valley, they now produce multiple different wines and a hard cider distributed statewide. Their wines are light, crisp, and full of fruit juices, as well as dry reds and whites. The apple wines are fermented using apples grown right in their orchard. Everything from start to finish is done by hand – which is, produced, bottled, corked, and labeled at their own facility.
O’Neil Creek Winery has been producing Wisconsin’s Best Specialty and Fruit Wines since 2009. Unlike other wineries in the state, owner Joe Wynimko doesn’t have a vineyard – he has an orchard. The O’Neil Creek Winery offers 18 Fruit and Specialty Wines ranging from semi-sweet to a hint of sweetness, to their sweet, flavored specialty wines.
Breweries
And, of course, no trip to Chippewa Falls would be complete without a stop at Leinenkugel’s! With a history spanning almost 155 years, this family brewery has stayed true to Jacob Leinenkugel’s vision for combining the German brewing traditions of his homeland with the innovative spirit of his new home in Wisconsin. Today you’ll find that spirit alive and well inside their wide range of German-inspired beers. From shandy to IPAs, to Weiss beers, to Bocks, they’ve got a beer for every reason and season. Schedule your tour, and don’t forget to stop in at the Leinie Lodge!
Distilleries
The Chippewa River Distillery was founded in March of 2015. They offer a variety of Vodkas, (from Trumie’s Original to Bacon!), Gin, Rum, flavored Whiskeys, Schnapp’s, and Old Chippewa Craft Whiskeys. They strive daily to produce the best locally hand-crafted products and stand by their mantra.
“AVERAGE IS NOT ENOUGH.
WE ARE HERE TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS.”
