Aeppeltreow Winery

They are not a winery in the sense that most people think of when they think winery. They are more of a cidery and their wine tasting is a tasting of their hard ciders. Very disappointing if you’re thinking you’re going to try some wines. Very disappointed and they should make it more clear to those who are new to the area, or are just passing through and though a winery would be a fun place to stop at for a bit.

Just go here — this is local homemade wine and spirits that are great! Go out of your way on a Sunday — the spirits are great and some come in 80 proof or cask strength 103 proof — the brown dog whiskey in cask strength is hands down the winner in the spirit category — the pear brandy is also a winner

Excellent start to a holiday weekend!
The orchid has the best apples, cider and wine tasting area. Very very reasonable pricing all around.
There were over forty different kinds of apples.
Pears are also superb.
A place to remember and reminisce for a long time.
Open since 2001.
Wine tastings and tours.
Best apple orchid.
A gem gem gem!

First of all, I love cider, and I was pretty excited to hear there was a winery/​cidery whatever you want to call it nearby. I was also excited about the idea of seeing them work and checking out the orchards and doing a tour, but that didn’t happen, so that’s my main reason for doing 4 stars. Tours are just so fun, and you learn a lot from them.
Anyways, you can do 5 free tastings, pay $ 5 for all the ciders and a couple dessert wines, or pay $ 10 and try everything. We went for the 5 free tastings, and that was more than enough. Usually I love dessert wines, but I was not a big fan of the brandy or the dessert wines surprisingly. The ciders/​bruts and so on were really good. I like British style cider, and I enjoyed the Sparrow chai-​flavored cider so much that I bought a bottle. And it was only $ 10! Good deal.
In any case, definitely a different experience from your typical winery, and they make some pretty good cider. I don’t believe they really sell to any stores or restaurants, so you should stop by to stock up!

Very good ciders and spirits! Tasting attendant was very knowledgable about their product!

What a fun place. A winery that specializes in hard ciders, this orchard provides a relaxing afternoon opportunity to taste ciders and have a picnic. Tastings are very cheap. Free for 5 samples; $ 5 for tasting all the ciders (16 I believe); and $ 10 for tasting all the ciders plus 4 distillery options.
We opted for the $ 10 tasting and there were just so much to try. In hindsight, I would just stick to the $ 5. The owner was very knowledgable and was great at answering our questions. Before coming here, we had bought take out so we were able to eat lunch picnic style on the lawn and even take a nap.
Most relaxing afternoon ever. This place is a bit out of the way but definitely worth a visit. Everything is created in house and 200 varieties of apples are used to create the ciders.

I really enjoyed the free tasting we had, with five offerings sampled including one spirit. The «Perry» champagne and the cognac (I believe it’s called Brightongnac) were my favorites. You could also sample all of their offerings for $ 10, which seemed like a good deal to me since there were probably 20 different bottles open.
The staff were very friendly and helpful and overall everything we tried was interesting. I like the design of the bottles, too.
The winery is located on a lovely property next to Brightonwoods Orchard, where you can pick up delicious apples and cider.

I enjoyed Aeppeltreow Winery which I would call more of a ‘cider-​y’ as they do a variety of hard ciders (in sparkling and still form) as well as a few whiskeys, etc.
Do not come here looking for fruity wine as they don’t have that and also don’t come looking for red or white grape wine as they don’t have that either. What they do have is pear cider and apple cider (hard form for both) which are quite tasty. I stayed away from the sweet ones, but there are some for those of you who enjoy sweeter tastes.
I enjoyed the pear versions of the sparkling as well as the hard cider. Americana is also a cider, but bottle in a wine bottle — this was a tad sweeter, but similar to a hard cider you might find on tap in a variety of spots across Chicago-​land and elsewhere.
The winery is small, but interesting and there’s a little board to indicate how things are made. We had a bit of a verbal explanation as well, which was nice as we got a feel that the couple who runs this spot really cares about their product.
We oddly weren’t offered the pay tastings and instead were offered the free ones (not sure why as I would have gone for the full tasting… but figured I’d be fine with just 5 tastes vs. 10). I did ask to taste one again because I was trying to decide what to buy and I will say that while I was given one, I don’t think my request was appreciated. Considering I bought 6 bottles total, I didn’t think my request was odd in any way (and totally normal at any winery I’ve ever been to when you’re contemplating a purchase).
Anyway, we had a good time, tried some interesting and delicious ciders (though the apple brandy is STRONG, so keep that in mind if you do a spirits tasting). Pricing was pretty good — though you don’t have to buy it all there if you live in Chicago as they do have some distribution as I saw it on the shelf at a liquor store this past weekend.

Okay so, we drove up especially to do the tasting and take the tour. I think it was an hour and a half of a drive and we got there and uhhh the tour. Well, as I understood it and maybe I failed to grasp it-there’s always that possibility, they sort of gestured that we could walk around the space. For this experience they hang up a sign that says: Tour?
Huh.
The tasting. We had the Mom and she was nice and then the other woman with the bitters showed up and *sigh* nothing was tasting-​90 minutes out of my life-​nice. Know what I’m sayin’?
We bought a 2 dollar spaghetti squash at the stand next door but the whole thing’s kind of left a… oh don’t make me say it… bad taste.

Up in Burlington coming back from Lester’s Bison Farm and found the Aeppeltreow Winery. It was a nice fall day so my wife and I stopped in. Wife tried the wines and the bitters, Good. The distilled spirits were good. My wife got a bottle of spirits. A nice place to stop by while in the area. The warm apple cider was very good.

While on a recent trek to Brightonwoods with my mom, we stopped in at the winery next door. Take a tour and try some of their fantastic wines and ciders. I found it to be a fun and informative trip, and you can sneak a tour in while the kids play in the gigantic treehouse.

Went on a whim on a Saturday afternoon when we wanted to get out of MIlwaukee and really enjoyed it. We had hoped to walk the grounds a little, but they’d sprayed chemicals that morning — the only disappointment and obviously it couldn’t be helped.
Waited about 10 minutes for a group in front of us to finish tasting — the tasting bar is small, so don’t expect to walk right in and know that large groups should probably make separate arrangements with Aeppeltreow.
Did the full $ 10 tasting and were happy with it. Loved the variety of stuff and the sample sizes were perfect. People there at the same time acted like they were worried about getting drunk, but that really wasn’t going to happen with the sample sizes offered.
There were two people doing tasting and I couldn’t help wishing we’d gotten the other person as I watched her add bitters to some of the spirits and make «cocktails» for her groups, while our person kind of just marched right through. It’s awesome to have the family that owns the place and does all the work doing the sampling — lots of little bits of information and personal stories — but when they don’t follow the same «script» so to speak, you can’t help but feel like you got less.
It was somewhat busy and there wasn’t a lot of organization to people entering. That meant while we were waiting for a spot another couple walked in and walked right up to the bar and kind of usurped us. This happened to another group later. It’s not the Winery’s fault that folks are rude, and maybe it’s not actually as frequent a problem as it seemed while we were there, but some sort of number system might be in order?
The only other suggestion I’d have is for some chairs in the waiting area. A group of bicyclists came in while we were there and they ended up sprawled all over the floor while they waited.
Overall it was a quick little jaunt out of Milwaukee and a nice way to spend an hour or two.

This shouldn’t be called a winery as their specialty is ciders!!! It is really a «cidery.» Please keep that in mind when visiting, but don’t let it deter you. The tasting is excellent! We paid $ 10 to taste the complete line of ciders, wines, and spirits, and I highly recommend doing the same. The owner/​cider maker is truly knowledgeable about and proud of his products. I really enjoyed the pear cider or «perry» and Bunting berry cider.

Visiting the winery is a fun «aside» to a trip to Brightonwoods orchard.
The people minding the tasting bar are friendly and helpful without being overbearing or pushy for you to buy something.
It is true that they mostly have apple and pear wines, but don’t let this cause you to hesitate in the least.
Spirits fans are encouraged to try the Brown Dog Sorghum Whiskey– interesting!
Keep an open mind and a glass in your hand for best results!

This was a fun little mini-​trip from Lake Geneva (it took about 25 minutes to get there). It was a rainy, dreary day, so we thought a bit of hard cider and spirits tasting would brighten up the day. It sure did.
The tasting room is the front part of the winery where all their products are made. It looks like a big barn from the outside and kind of like a warehouse on the inside. There’s a bar area where the tastings happen around the bar itself. The counter is pretty big, and I would estimate about 12 people can taste at once. They sell some cheeses, chocolate, bitters, and some other wine/​alochol related products in this area, but we didn’t purchase any.
Here’s the deal. You can try 5 different kinds of the cider for free. Or, you can try everything they have (with the exception of some of the really hard stuff) for $ 5. I paid up my $ 5 and got to tasting.
My favorites:
Perry — A pear champagne and like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. There were none on the shelves when we sent to purchase it, and we were told it was because it had just been bottled that day. Luckily, we were able to buy one and take it home.
Brown Dog — Their whiskey made from sorghum. Amazing.
Poirissimo — A super heavy, not at all subtle pear dessert wine. It was quite strong on its own, but it was recommended to be mixed with vodka to make an out of this world pear martini. We didn’t buy any, and I’m kicking myself now.
Bunting Berry Cider — A super sweet and fruit cider made with strawberries and raspberries. My husband thought it was a little too sweet and preferred the more muted Red Poll Cranberry Cider, but I loved it and we ended up with a 4 pack of it.
I was bummed that we went too early in the season for their apple cider and wine. It’s not available until late August. Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to head back!
The owners, a husband-​wife team, Charles and Malissa, are super nice. They are very knowledgeable in their field and were able to explain their processes and even answer a bunch of questions for us. You can tell that making ciders and spirits is their passion because it really shows.
Their products aren’t distributed a ton, but you can find their stuff in Chicago. The Pelican uses several of their products, and for those of you in the Lakeview/​Roscoe Village area, we were told that West Lakeview Liquors on Addison will soon be carrying their products as well.
One final note, we had a little kid who was about 4 there during our tasting. From other reviews, I assume that there are things for the kids to do when the orchard is open. However, if you are coming just to taste, I would leave the kids at home. The kid was bored and he was a bit annoying to the rest of the group.

Quaint, rural location, beautiful apple orchards, friendly staff, nice tasting bar and decent fruit wine.
This winery is 3^rd favorite of the 4 wineries I visited.
The wine was enjoyable but since it is an APPLE winery it is not really real wine, if you know what I mean.
The woman serving us was very knowledgeable and funny. The tasting bar was very nice with awesome cheese to sample (should have bought some!). They have a variety of fun apple and fruit wines, fruit ciders and apple brandy’s. All fun to try but nothing too amazing.
A lot of their apple wines were sort of flavorless like sparkling water. We did get home with a tasty Apple Champagne and a Berry Cider we are saving up. We also took home a Pear Wine rather than an Apple Wine, the Pear had more flavor and we thoroughly enjoyed it with a friend back home. The Apple Brandy’s were okay, fun to try but not worth buying. I think their ciders were maybe a bit more interesting than their wines and I look forward to opening the Berry cider we have saved up on a cold night this winter.
All in all for the first winery we hit up this place was very cute. I would stop here again since it is on the way to Devalan where our favorite winery Staller Estate is. Do not expect much in the way of good wine, but grab a nice cider or unique fruit wine while you are there and enjoy the scenery.

A fun diversion if you’re in the Burlington area. We were in town for a friends wedding and stopped by the tasting room. $ 200 later we were on our way to FedEx to mail home our bounty. I was seduced by the tart, sweet, unusual flavors and the friendly, homespun hospitality.