Wolf & Fox Winery: A Wisconsin homestead experience

A homestead on its sixth generation of family ownership is celebrating one year since its current owners – husband and wife, Kerri Futch and Jon Woelfel – opened its on-site winery and vineyard – Wolf & Fox Winery.

“The homestead was settled in 1855, and it’s been in my husband’s family for six generations,” Futch said. “So, when we decided to start the process of purchasing the land and creating the vineyard and winery, there was no way we were changing the name.”

However, Futch said that she and Jon wanted their “business to have a separate identity” from the Woelfel Homestead – which, she added, is much more than just a beautiful property.

“We partner with other farmers who are leasing out the land,” she said. “So, there are multiple enterprises that… we’re partnering with.”

During their first year on the homestead in 2021, Futch said she and Jon planted the vineyard, as well as “900 native trees,”  worked with Prairie Folk Farm “to plant pasture grass,” started looking for a beekeeper and got their “free range hens that provide eggs [as well as] keep pests down in the vineyard” – because it “was always a part of our vision to diversify the land use.”

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