The old Niagara vines, planted in 1980 by Owl Creek Vineyard founder and Midwest wine pioneer Ted Wichmann, still produce wine in Southern Illinois’ first post Prohibition vineyard. Owl Creek’s current owner, Brad Genung,...
It’s possible that winemaker Nan Bailly’s kin enjoyed native Minnesota wine during canoe trips through the state in the 1820’s when it was still wilderness. Bailly, owner, winegrower and winemaker at Alexis Bailly Vineyard, has...
For Northeast Ohio vineyard owner Gene Sigel, it’s premonition over planning. Despite being just a few credit hours short of holding a doctorate in economics, Sigel never bothered writing a business plan for his...
In 1974, Curtis and Martha Bourgeois bought a fifteen acre property on which Stephen, the fourth and youngest son, planted the first vines. When these three acres of Chambourcin grapes produced a 5 ton...
Sitting side by side in the Weinland Park area of Columbus, Ohio’s trendy Short North, Brothers Drake Meadery and Middle West Spirits share a lot more than location. They share a goal that’s familiar to...
The recent ‘Dare to Pair: the Chefs’ Challenge” was intended to silence the skeptics of the proposed wine and culinary center to be built on the site of a former schoolhouse in the town of...
Spencer Stegnega remembers his childhood filled with animals–cows, chickens, geese, sheep, even a few horses his family boarded on their 20-acre property. ‘It was a full-fledged gentleman’s farm, but I, as the youngest of...
It’s 1972. An electrical engineer moves his family to an abandoned Wisconsin farm, planning to produce estate wines in the property’s Civil War-era winery, despite being told repeatedly that grapes won’t grow there. While...
The trend of Midwestern farmers diversifying from row crops to grapes is growing. For the Vogt family in Southern Minnesota, the motivation for starting the Four Daughters Winery, which opened December 15th, has much...
Just because a winery is new or small does not mean its business model is simple. Consider Seven Springs Winery which has been in business only three and one half years and sells...