Having the opportunity to sample a large variety of
locally made wine, especially after learning firsthand how each was produced
from start to finish, is an experience I won’t soon forget.
Recently, I had the chance to go behind-the-scenes of
Fawn Creek Winery, located in a maple, oak and pine grove about ten miles north
of downtown Wisconsin Dells. There, I was explained the wine making process by
their experts, as well as had the chance to enjoy many of the thirteen
different wines that they produce.
In January of 2011, siblings Dan Hanson, Pam
Genrich, Sally Haberkorn, and Susan Hanson, along with their spouses Diane
Hanson, Jim Genrich, and Dan Haberkorn, assumed the former Tourdot Winery, and have
grown the business tremendously ever since.
While admitting that there were some
growing pains from developing so fast in the beginning, things are now running
smoothly, and they hear nothing but positive remarks. “We had a five year plan,
and we’re already at the fifth year – only two years in.” said Dan Hanson,
while giving me a tour of the facility that was built by his father Sheldon
Hanson and brother-in-law/part-owner Dan Haberkorn.
Seeing the various tools of the
trade, I learned that all Fawn Creek wine is made by hand,
using world renowned grapes that come crushed and de-stemmed from Lodi,
California. In addition to this, last year they planted a three acre vineyard
on the property, which they’ll use to create their own estate wines in a couple
years when the vines produce grapes.
Hanson told me that they use the Australian Method
to produce the wine. This means it’s created in stainless steel tanks, rather
than the “old school” way which is done in barrels. The reason behind this is
that stainless steel tanks allow much more versatility, as they can be cleaned
out and used to create many different types of wine. Oak barrels on the other
hand, besides being quite expensive, must strictly be used to only produce the
same type of wine each and every time.
Being the family owned winery
currently has eleven stainless steel tanks, ranging between two hundred and two
hundred and fifty gallons each, it makes for quite a bit of time spent cleaning.
Jim Genrich, the official winemaker of the group, explained: “Ninety
percent of our wine making is the cleaning and sanitation to make sure the room
is in sterile condition – so that nothing but yeast ferments the wine.”
Genrich walked me through the complicated
wine making process, explaining to me the very specific, time sensitive steps
that are needed to turn grape juice into wine. I learned about primary fermentation,
the need to then “rack” the wine to remove sediments, then a secondary
fermentation, followed by the clearing and filtering of the wine. All of this
is done before it can go on to be bottled.
Once the wine is ready, it is then
gravity fed to the basement, where Hanson explained that it’s currently a nine
person operation to get the wine ready to be shipped and sold. There’s one
person to wash the bottles, another to move them into what is called a six
bottle “hopper,” where the bottles are filled. Then they are moved to the
corker, a devise that is worked by hand to insert corks one at a time into each
bottle. Once the bottles are corked, another person covers the bottle necks
with foil, which is then taken by another to shrink the foil in place with a
thermal sealer. Another person wipes them all down, and yet another person uses
a hand rolling machine to put the Fawn Creek labels on.
After hearing all this, I had to
ask just how many bottles are produced a year, and how long did it take to do
so. Hanson said: “When we first started it took us four hours to do nine
hundred bottles – now we do nine hundred bottles in an hour and twenty-five
minutes. It’s streamlined, now that we know what we’re doing! Our
first year, which was 2011, we bottled 28,000 bottles, and last year we did
52,000 bottles. We just went through an expansion where we doubled out tank
size, so now we have the capacity to do about 100,000 bottles a year. I believe
this year we should do about 70,000.”
Speaking of bottles, I thought it was pretty cool when
I found out that they donate a dollar from each of their
Kilbourn Red bottles sold to the Kilbourn Volunteer Fire Department. Hanson
said: “Since a lot of us don’t live in the immediate area, we tried to do
something for the community. Last year was the first year we did it, and we
gave them a check for forty-one hundred dollars. They’ll be getting another one
again this year.”
Also on tap for this year are a
handful of special events. Their two year anniversary celebration is April 13th,
the return of their season Summer Sun wine with an after-hours party is April
27th, a BBQ/Blues Fest is on June 29th, a Hawaiian luau
pig roast is August 10th, and their 3rd annual Fall Fest
blowout party is set for October 5th.
Fawn
Creek Winery is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays January through March, and seven
days a week April through December. Besides complimentary tastings, you will find
beautifully scenery, a large selection of wine for sale, as well as other wine-related
gifts. For more information visit: www.fawncreekwinery.com
