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| - I was pleasantly surprised by this place. I hadn't heard much about it, and the location was a bit weird. But the bartenders were extremely friendly and helpful, and I really enjoyed the wines.
I went with some friends on a Saturday evening, and we all did a tasting--6 different 1 ounce pours for $10. They also sell their wines by the glass and by the bottle, although if you want to order a bottle and drink it there, they do charge an additional fee. Apparently, they do have happy hour on the weeknights that they're open, which I'll have to check out at some point.
The wines Cambridge offers are made from grapes in California since the grapes they have planted in Wisconsin are not yet mature enough for harvesting, and the style of the wine was definitely more reminiscent of California than the Midwest. In touring other Wisconsin wineries, I've had the experience that "semi-dry" wines tend to be "semi-sweet" and most of the wines labeled "semi-sweet" will taste like cough syrup to me. This is especially true with whites, although I've found even some Wisconsin reds suffer from this. And while I didn't try a lot of the whites at Cambridge, the ones I did taste were very well crafted and didn't have that too-sweet, overpowering sugar sensation. The reds had a good variety of lighter to more full-bodied, and they had a variety of different complementary notes. All of the wines I tasted were very well balanced in terms of different flavors, body, and acidity.
The bartenders were also very knowledgeable about their wines and wine in general. My one hold-up is that their wines were a little pricey. I typically don't spend more than $20 on a bottle of wine, and most of their bottles are in the $30 range. They also only sell their wine at this location--they don't offer it anywhere else yet. But it's definitely worth checking out, and maybe splurging on a bottle once or twice. The atmosphere is pretty cool, and it's beautifully decorated--certainly a create place to grab a glass of wine with friends after work or before dinner.
I would recommend the Albarino and the Cabernet Sauvignon in particular.
I debated between a 4 star or 5 star rating for a while, but my only 'con' is really the price; if the rating was more discrete, I would give it a very solid 4.8/5. Hence the 5 stars.
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