Parallel 44 Wins Big At the 2026 San Francisco Wine Competition

For the second year in a row, Parallel 44 and Door 44 Wineries received recognition for its wines in the largest wine competition in North American wines, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Our wineries garnered a total of 30 medals with 11 of them being Double Gold or Gold medals.

The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition features 5500 wines from nearly 1000 wineries across America. “Only four other wineries of the nearly 1000 wineries received more medals than us. That means a lot to us because we are competing with the most established wine regions and brands from across this country. Who would have thought that a little winery on the Frozen Tundra could garner as many medals as highly esteemed brands such as J. Lohr and Boggle,” said Steve Johnson. He noted, “This is like the Super Bowl for wineries. I like to think of us the way that many in the sports world think of the Packers. Green Bay is the smallest metro market in the sporting world, but it is best known for its storied 13 World Championships.”

The Double Gold wines were Frontenac Blanc, Glacier Fume’, Itasca, Marquette Reserve, and Red Frosting. 

Receiving Gold medals were Bubbler, Petite Pearl, Red Door, Red Velvet, Petite Rose’ and White Frosting.

This competition is evaluated by 60 professional judges who range from sommeliers, wine writers, wine makers, wine buyers to chefs. “It takes a huge commitment and time to impress these people. But what I love about it is that we got their attention when I bet many of them never heard of these grape varieties or that we even grow wine here in Wisconsin. We are so proud to be able to put Wisconsin on the map for quality wine. We take a little extra pride in that everything we do is Wisconsin from ‘ground to glass.’” explained Johnson.

About Parallel 44 and Door 44 Wineries

Parallel 44 Vineyard & Winery in Kewaunee, Wis. was started in 2005 by husband and wife team Steve Johnson and Maria Milano, pioneers in Wisconsin wine making.  Steve grew up in Green Bay, ergo a die-hard Packer fan, where his father experimented early on with growing grapes in Wisconsin.  Maria came to the winemaking tradition honestly too, as her Italian-born father made wine for family celebrations.  The winery is on the same latitude as the storied wine regions of Bordeaux, France and Tuscany, Italy – thus the name Parallel 44. It’s located in the American Viticultural Area (AVA) known as the Wisconsin Ledge Appellation for the Niagara Escarpment ledge that dominates the landscape in the region. The winery’s 35-acre estate includes more than 7,000 vines.

The winery’s cold-hardy grape vines can withstand minus 30-degree temperatures in the winter and still rebound beautifully in the summer.  There are nearly 25 wines in the line-up now; they’re available for purchase at the winery, online at www.Parallel44.com, and at select retailers and restaurants throughout Wisconsin. 

In summer of 2013, the owners opened their second winery, Door 44 Winery, just north of Sturgeon Bay, the gateway to the Door County peninsula and interestingly, also located on the 44^th latitude.  Just as with Parallel 44, Door 44 specializes in wines made from grapes grown in Wisconsin.  The address for Door 44 is now 5464 County Road P, Sturgeon Bay.  Door 44 wines are available at the winery and at select retailers.  

Happy Thanksgiving and Cheers!
– Steve & Maria