What Parallel 44 does

Parallel 44 Vineyard & Winery is a family-owned winery founded in 2005 by Steve Johnson and Maria Milano in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, operating within the Wisconsin Ledge AVA. The company's core technology is cold-climate viticulture: it cultivates cold-hardy grape varietals (Marquette, Petite Pearl, Frontenac, La Crescent, Itasca, and others) engineered to withstand minus-30-degree winters, with estate-grown fruit from a 35-acre site bearing more than 7,000 vines. Parallel 44 was among the first to plant Petite Pearl in 2010 and the second winery in the world to produce wine from it, and it created Bubbler, Wisconsin's first Wisconsin-grown grape sparkling wine. The product portfolio spans nearly 25 wines across red, white, rosé, sparkling, and ice wine categories, with bottles priced between $15.99 and $34.99.

The company operates a hybrid go-to-market model combining direct-to-consumer sales at tasting room locations (now consolidating to the Door 44 Sturgeon Bay site as of April 2026), online e-commerce shipping to 38+ states, a quarterly wine club subscription (Vintner's Choice Club) with a four-shipment minimum, wholesale distribution to hundreds of Wisconsin retailers, and ancillary revenue from private event hosting and corporate gifting. Its core customer segments are wine tourists, wine enthusiasts and club members, corporate/B2B gifting clients, and wholesale/retail partners.

Parallel 44 has earned Winery of the Year at the International Cold Climate Wine Competition for four consecutive years and received 30 medals including 11 Double Gold or Gold at the 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, establishing it as the largest and most awarded producer in the Wisconsin Ledge AVA. The business is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds or institutional ownership.

Name

Parallel 44

Legal name

Parallel 44 Vineyard and Winery

Website

https://44wineries.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Parallel 44 is a family-owned Wisconsin winery producing award-winning cold-climate grape wines across a nearly 25-SKU portfolio, selling direct-to-consumer through tasting rooms, a quarterly wine club, online shipping to 38+ states, and wholesale to Wisconsin retailers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Winery / Cold-Climate Wine Production

NAICS

Wineries (312130), Grape Vineyards (111332), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (44532), Beverage Manufacturing (3121)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Wine & Sparkling Wine Wineries & Brands (CRADAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wineries & Vineyards (Tasting Rooms) (THAFALAE), Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail) (CRANABAF), Wine Tastings & Vineyard/Winery Tours (THAJAGAD)

Keywords

• Cold-climate wine production
• Estate-grown wines
• Wine club subscription
• Winery tasting experiences
• Private event hosting

Headquarters

HQ city

Kewaunee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct-to-Consumer Tasting Room Sales: Wine sales directly to consumers at two tasting room locations in Door County and Kewaunee, Wisconsin. Includes wine flights, bottles, and tours.
2. E-commerce Wine Sales: Online wine shop with shipping to 38+ states. Direct consumer purchases through website.
3. Wine Club Membership (Vintner's Choice Club): Quarterly wine shipments with minimum 4 shipments required. Members receive exclusive pricing, flat rate shipping, complimentary tastings at both locations. Auto-renewal until cancelled with $40 termination fee if cancelled early.
4. Wholesale to Retailers: Wines sold through hundreds of retailers throughout Wisconsin.
5. Private Event Hosting: Venue rental for weddings, corporate events, rehearsal dinners, family reunions, anniversary and birthday parties at picturesque winery venue.
6. Corporate Gifting Solutions: Customized wine gifts for corporate clients including volume discounts, custom labels, gift cards, branded packaging, and personalized touches.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Parallel 44 is a family-owned Wisconsin winery that grows cold-climate grape varietals (Marquette, Petite Pearl, Frontenac, La Crescent) on a 35-acre estate in the Wisconsin Ledge AVA and produces a portfolio of nearly 25 award-winning red, white, sparkling, rosé, and ice wines. The company sells its wines through two tasting rooms, an online shop shipping to 38+ states, a Vintner's Choice Club wine subscription, and wholesale distribution to hundreds of Wisconsin retailers, while also hosting private events and providing corporate gifting solutions.

Product overview

Parallel 44 Vineyard & Winery is a premier Wisconsin winery offering a diverse portfolio of award-winning wines crafted from cold-climate grape varietals grown in the Wisconsin Ledge AVA. The product line includes red wines (Marquette Reserve, Red Velvet, Petite Pearl, Winemakers Reserve, Red Door, Nouveau Rouge, Marquette, Frozen Tundra Red, Red Frosting), white wines (Ledge Blanc, White Door, Frontenac Blanc, Authentic, Itasca, Glacier Fumé, La Crescent, Frozen Tundra White, White Frosting), sparkling wines (Bubbler), and rosé wines (Lively, Petite Rosé, Bliss). The winery also offers gift box collections, gift certificates, and the Vintner's Choice Club wine membership program. With nearly 25 wines in the lineup, products are available for direct purchase at the winery, online, and at select retailers and restaurants throughout Wisconsin.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Frozen Tundra: Wine collection honoring Wisconsin heritage and resilience, includes Frozen Tundra White, Frozen Tundra Red, and related products
• Club 44 / Vintner's Choice Club
• 44 Wineries

Products and services

• Marquette Reserve Award-winning dry red wine crafted from estate-grown Marquette grapes, barrel-aged in American Oak with flavors of black cherry and vanilla butter; Best of Class at 2025 San Francisco Wine Chronicle Competition, $34.99/bottle.
• Red Velvet
• Petite Pearl Reserve Dry red wine with fresh plum, blackberry, lingering mocha notes, and excellent aging potential; 90 Points at 2024 Americana Cup, Double Gold 2019 Wisconsin Professional Wine Competition, $28.99/bottle.
• Winemakers Reserve
• Red Door
• Nouveau Rouge Light-bodied semi-sweet red with raspberry, strawberry notes, and black cherry finish; Best of Class Gold at 2022 International Cold Climate Competition.
• Marquette
• Frozen Tundra Red
• Red Frosting
• Bubbler Sparkling Wine Semi-dry sparkling wine with tropical fruit and citrus notes; first Wisconsin-grown grape sparkling wine, Best of Class at 2025 Minnesota Monthly Food & Wine Show, $23.99/bottle.
• Ledge Blanc
• White Door
• Frontenac Blanc
• Authentic
• Itasca
• Glacier Fumé
• La Crescent
• Frozen Tundra White
• White Frosting
• Lively Rosé
• Petite Rosé
• Bliss Rosé
• Wine Gift Boxes
• Gift Certificates
• Vintner's Choice Wine Club
• Private Event Hosting
• Corporate Gifting Solutions
• Wine Tastings and Tours

Quantifiable outcome

• Winery of the Year for 4 consecutive years at International Cold Climate Wine Competition
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Door Peninsula Winery: Door County, Wisconsin winery located in the same geography as Parallel 44's Door 44 location, operating tasting rooms, wine tours, and a wine club. Most direct geographic peer and shares both the Door County tourism model and the cold-climate varietal approach.
• Trout Springs Winery: Wisconsin family-owned winery producing cold-climate varietal wines with tasting room and wine club operations. Comparable as a smaller-scale Wisconsin winery focused on regional DTC sales.
• Lautenbach's Orchard Country Winery: Door County, Wisconsin winery and orchard operating tasting rooms, markets, and agritourism experiences. Directly comparable in geography (Door County) and experiential DTC model including events and tours.
• Wollersheim Winery: Wisconsin's largest and oldest family-owned winery (Prairie du Sac, WI), operating tasting rooms, a wine club, and on-site retail. Directly comparable to Parallel 44 as a Wisconsin DTC winery with a heritage brand, though focused on traditional European varietals rather than cold-climate grapes.
• Vines & Rushes Winery: Wisconsin craft winery specializing in cold-climate grape varietals, with estate-grown fruit and a tasting room model. Comparable to Parallel 44 in viticulture philosophy (cold-hardy grapes) and DTC orientation.
• Stone's Throw Winery: Wisconsin craft winery producing wines from cold-climate varietals, operating a tasting room and small-batch production model. Comparable in scale, varietal focus, and craft DTC positioning.
• St. Norbert Cellars: Wisconsin winery (De Pere, WI) producing wines from cold-climate grapes with DTC and tasting room focus. Comparable as a Wisconsin cold-climate producer in similar geographic market.

Broad incumbents

• Crimson Wine Group: Publicly traded wine company with a portfolio of estate wineries across premium U.S. regions (Napa, Sonoma, Willamette Valley). Comparable as a multi-winery portfolio operator with DTC emphasis, though at vastly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Willamette Valley Vineyards: Publicly traded Oregon DTC winery with tasting room, wine club, and direct-to-consumer distribution model. Comparable in DTC-first strategy and event/tasting-room-driven growth, though operating at a meaningfully larger scale and in a more established wine region.
• Bogle Vineyards: Family-owned California winery with broad DTC and wholesale distribution across multiple price tiers. Comparable as a multi-generational family winery brand with broad portfolio breadth and channel diversification, though at significantly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCFIten6Z3oU0CdC7zlptKOw
• Facebookfacebook.com/44Wines
• Instagraminstagram.com/44.wines
• Xx.com/parallel44

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Parallel 44