Today we’d like to introduce you to Jan Dehnert.
Hi Jan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
The 22-acre farmstead was purchased in 2017. The property’s history dates back to the 1800s when the Arcand family homesteaded the area for dairy production. When purchased, the property had a renovated farmhouse, two machine sheds, a 1940, 3-bay milking parlor, and an 1800 granary building. Our dream goal was to create a vineyard and make wine. My family ancestry is Greek; both my grandparents immigrated from Ios, Greece, in the late 1800s. My mother helped make wine with her dad, and before my grandfather passed away, I was learning too. The property has a south-facing hill, which is perfect for grape growing. We knew little about growing grapes or making wine, so we hired a consultant and started the labor of love. Over the next 5 years, we planted 2300 cold, hardy Minnesota grapevines: Marquette, Frontenac, Frontenac Gris, Frontenac Blanc, Prairie Star, Itasca, and LaCrescent. Our two sons, Connar and Gavin, decided to dive into the winemaking process; Connaris led the helm as winemaker, and Gavinis led the business/marketing side. The 3-bay milking parlor was restored/renovated into the wine production parlor, and the boutique winery produced its first harvest in 2021, producing 7 different wines, about 8,000 bottles. Our minds asked how to sell the wine produced on the farmstead. In 2022, we started planning and constructing a few wine tastings.
We opened the doors on February 11, 2023, with a beautiful building that tied into the old with a new urban feel. We repurposed materials: all the metal from the teardown on the machine shed and barn wood planks from other barns in the region. Our tasting bar is designed to look like one of the two silos located in the cowyard courtyard. We even incorporated an old-world cave, Pappouli’s Cave (greek for grandfather), for special VIP tastings/tours. Connar’s 2022 harvest production added 16 more wines to the portfolio. Our winemaker’s philosophy is to take our cold climate Minnesota grapes that tend to be more acidic and higher in tannins and blend them with grapes from our growers in California. His special blending skills give our handcrafted Two Silo wines a. dry, bolder body with more complexity for our guests and wine members to taste and experience. As he makes wine, we continue to grow the countryside experience for guests to enjoy, relax, and sip. “Come for the view, stay for the wine!”
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
“If it were easy, everyone would do it.” There are always struggles to overcome in life. My husband and I are 63 years old and still learning and challenging our lives every day. It has now been 6 years since purchasing the property. This was my dream goal; my husband said no to starting a vineyard and winery. He wanted to start retirement. But we worked together as a family and decided to go for it! The property was raw, rough, and overgrown, and we needed to ensure the soil was fertile to plant another crop. My husband, Keith, designated the 3 quadrants on the property to create the vineyard, with two quadrants at the front and one on the hillside. It was tough work laying out the grapevine trellis, tilling the land, and digging holes for the post-work. With support and help from devoted friends and family, we planted all 2300 vines in 4 phases over 5 years. Grapes are a true labor of love. It’s like raising children; each grapevine starts as a small stick just planted into the ground; day 1 – through cold winter pruning, spring pruning, and summer pruning, training each vine to grow and mature into its trellis structure over the next 7 years. It’s backbreaking manual labor and takes time and dedication to deal with new challenges: coping with Asian beetles every spring, gophers, woodchucks, deer eating the vines, disease, and mother nature’s weather every year. Over the years, we learned how to feed and nurture each vine to get it to its adult stage of producing a quality product for harvest. “To make great wine, you must start with a great grape!”
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Speaking strictly to my history, I was a commercial interior designer for 25 years, working for architectural firms in Wisconsin and Minnesota after graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1983. My most favorite job was when I worked for Ellerbe Becket. I was the interior designer and project manager for the restoration project of the Main Administration building and Golden Dome at the University of Notre Dame. It was a great experience working with many professionals over many years to complete a spectacular restoration project of a historic building dating back to the 1850s. I love design, art, and history. I love restoring history so that others can enjoy, experience, and learn from it.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Networking is vital. Meeting people is significant. We learn from others constantly. My best advice is when you meet someone new, find out more about them. What is their passion, their dreams? You may find a connection with them, or even better, you may be able to connect them to someone else.
Pricing:
- Two SIlo Red Wines by the bottle sell between $42 – $46
- Two Silo White Wines and Rose Wines by the bottle sell at $35.00
- Red wine by the glass $12.00/$13.00
- White Wine by the glass $10.00
- Red or White Tastings $13/3 tastings
Contact Info:
- Website: www.twosilowinery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twosilo?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twosilo
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@twosilowinery?_t=8ivDzVT7Y4o&_r=1
