The Tales to Tell…
There is a story behind nearly everything here at the winery; the property itself, the stone wall entrance, the landscaping, the tasting bar, the tables (inside and out), the list goes on. While enjoying the pictures above, read some of the stories below.
The land was purchased in 1996 along with a small house. At that time, corn fields ran along the driveway and surrounded the little yard. Over the years we built an addition onto the house and added some out-buildings. The yard slowly expanded to encompass nearly 6 acres of maintained space, with prairie flowers, vineyard, ponds, flower gardens and vegetable gardens.
Stone Walls
The stone used on the entrance walls, the retaining walls, the outside wall of the winery and the bar, were purchased from a condemned barn outside of Elgin, MN. Wanda apprenticed under a local mason to learn the trade, and with a lot of help from others, set the stones in place. If you look closely, many stones have been rubbed smooth from the animals they once contained, and some feature fossils from the time of their formation.
Tables and Bar-top
The tables in the tasting room were built by Stillwater high school students using wood Eric harvested from the property. The tall tables and the base of the short tables are made of red oak, while the short table tops and the bar top were made from butternut.
Picnic Tables and Benches
Plainview-Elgin-Millville high school students built the picnic tables and benches.
Prairie and Vineyard
Our 2 acre prairie has been a pleasurable distraction. It is home to 5 different grasses, mixed with 34 different flowers making it a dynamic array of colors throughout the season. One needs to walk slowly on the mowed trails to notice the variety of plants. Our 2.5 acre vineyard has over 20 different varieties of grapes, making a fall tour of the vineyard a must for a smorgasbord of flavors.
Tasting Room
There are many unique features you may notice in the tasting room. The names of all the wine varieties we have sold are painted on the walls, old barn boards salvaged from a local resident have been used for trim, a framed sketch of the entrance walls used for our logo hangs on the wall, and the back-room metal door has been painted to look like an old weathered wooden door.
Bulletin Board
Read wine trivia off the bulletin board while sipping your wine.