The state with the capital Madison is located in the northeast of the USA and covers 169,639 km². It became the 30th state to join the Union in 1848. Almost half of the inhabitants are descended from German immigrants. There are large forest areas (46% of the total area) and about 15,000 lakes. The wood of the oak trees is used for the production of American oak barrels. Wisconsin borders Lake Superior (one of the five Great Lakes) and Michigan to the north, Lake Michigan (also Great Lake) to the east, Illinois to the south and Iowa and Minnesota to the west.
In 1841, Agoston Haraszthy (1812-1869), a Hungarian immigrant from Austria-Hungary, founded what is now Sauk City. He was engaged in the cultivation of hops and grapevines before he later went to California, where he set decisive viticultural impulses. The well-known American vine breeder Elmer Swenson (1913-2004) created numerous new varieties on his farm near Osceola with the aim of early-maturing and frost-hardy varieties.
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Egon Mark
Diplom-Sommelier, Weinakademiker und Weinberater, Volders (Österreich)