Whistler’s Knoll
A Vineyard with Character
http://whistlersknoll.com/ He had procured equipment from all over the world, and the winery was ready to go.
(215)
WI
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In August of 2011 Tom (aka Whistler) and his wife, Holly purchased 16 acres of land in the town of Hortonia with a business plan to become a unique vineyard and winery. A late 1800’s Dairy Barn on the property was perfect for renovating into a tasting room and winery. But out of nowhere people began calling and asking if they could hold their weddings on our beautiful property. From there we built the wedding pavilion, and ended up booked with weddings for those first few years.
It takes between 5 and 6 years for a vineyard to mature, and our grapevines were now producing a substantial crop. We started the process of applying for a winery permit with the State of WI. Whistler had been making wine in his home for over 45 years, so he was excited to finally be able to make estate wines to sell in our tasting room. He had procured winery equipment from all over the world, and the winery was ready to go.
However, in the State of WI, once you hold a winery permit, you must give up your liquor license, (can't have both) AND wineries must close at 9:00 pm. As we shared this information with potential clients, we quickly learned that IF we began making estate wines, all of our business would go away. Who would book a wedding if their guests couldn’t even have an Old Fashioned, and everyone would have to leave the property by 9:00 PM? Because of that, Whistler's dream was crushed, as we we changed our direction instead to sell our grapes to other wineries, and continue operating as an event venue.
