art studio, music studio, wine & spirit studio
THE WINERY
Studio Winery started with a blue ribbon won with a wild grape "ditch wine"entered in the Wisconsin State Fair in 2007.
That one blue ribbon started the dream.
Working towards that dream, we started studying at the University of Missouri, and working for Burr Oak Winery in New Lisbon, WI. We were living in the middle of the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest in LaGrange, WI. A beautiful area, but not good for growing grapes. So where to put the winery?
Nearby Lake Geneva didn't have a winery, so we started to look in that area. Along came the Great Recession of 08 which enabled us to buy the building for our future winery.
It had been a machine shop for 50 years and was a bit dirty and run down. But it was perfect in every way. It sat on an acre of land to put some grapes. It was on a main street. And it had a nice big apartment above for us to live in!
After an extensive rehab, we opened the winery doors in May of 2012.
THE DISTILLERY
Then came a little trip over Thanksgiving of 2018 to a friends place in the Ozark's of Southern Missouri. Looking for other things to do, like wineries and distilleries to visit, we came across a place called Affordable Distilling Equipment and decided to buy a little "hobby" still.
Now there is no thing as a "hobby" still. It is illegal to operate a still unless you have a federal permit from the TTB. We had looked into it in the past, and thought we weren't able to get a distillers permit. The feds don't allow a distillery in a winery, or a distillery to have an attached residence. As we live upstairs, that's 2 strikes against us.
Or so we thought.
On our long trip home, we got to talking. How come this winery can have a distillery? And that winery? So there must be a way around that one. So what about the residence?
I started googling and found ADI forums. That's where I found "a guy". This guy, Dave Dunbar, is a former TTB agent that now works as a consultant helping people navigate the paperwork.
Cheers to Dave! Without him, we would be making illegal hooch on the roof!
doug jackson c.s.w.
winemaker
distiller
keyboard player & singer
"I'm a Francophile when it comes to making wine. I prefer the French style & tradition. I choose to make wines that sing with complexity & elegance. As for booze, I have a similar philosophy. I prefer to craft a liquor in the style of that spirit's originating tradition."
Doug was raised in the supper club business where he learned an appreciation for fine wine & spirits. He started his wine career selling for a major wine wholesaler to restaurants in the Geneva Lake area.
He earned his C.S.W. degree certification by the American Society of Wine Educators. He studied enology at Missouri State & mentored with Steve Kennedy at Burr Oak Winery in New Lisbon, WI, as well
Doug has a very sensitive & nuanced palate. That, combined with knowledge of the wines and spirits of the world enables him to create wines & spirits with style and finesse.
When not working in the winery or distillery, Doug can usually be found working in his recording studio. Doug also plays some wicked keys at the winery the first Saturday of every month with his band Hobie & the Leftovers.
kathy jackson
painter
glass artist
"I'm a serious artist that doesn't feel that art should be serious. Bright reds and yellows; circles, flowers, music; bold, bright & happy. These are the things that inspire my art."
Kathy’s entire career was in home decor design creating products for companies such as Kohl’s, Walmart, the NFL, McDonalds and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Kathy designs all of both Studio WineryKathy took best of class in 2017 at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine competition for Studio's Musician Series of wine label designs. In 2014, she won a Silver Medal at the San Francisco International Wine Competition for the same series of labels.
In addition to all the paintings that adorn our tasting room, Kathy also makes all of our glass jewelry, and our fused glass items.
See and buy Kathy's artwork art here.