Spurgeon Vineyards- a bounty from the Driftless
“You want a story or two,” said Glen Spurgeon with a smile. He continued, “I was 17 years old, going to college in the fall. Read a book on commercial winemaking and decided this is what I want to do. We set up to get ‘er done. I got a master's degree; this was in Missouri at Columbia. I came to Wisconsin to teach at Fox Valley Technical College, and I married the girl that grew up with that silo over there,” he said pointing across the small valley.”
Now that was the short version of how Spurgeon Vineyards and Winery came to be. I’ll back up a bit and fill in a few blanks.
Glen and Mary Spurgeon, owners of Spurgeon Vineyards and Winery, located just outside of Highland, Wisconsin, have worked hard over the last 4 decades to create what they hope will become a legacy.
The vineyard occupies land once owned by Mary’s parents, Clarence and Anastasia Womack, who had purchased the land in the mid- ‘50s to complement their existing farm.
An 80-acre plot once a homestead, Mary’s parents grew corn and raised pastured beef cows. In 1977 when her parents decided to retire, they sold the land to her and Glen. The Spurgeons wasted no time planting. That year they planted corn on the hilltops as well as a half row of grapes. In 1978 and 1979, they planted an additional 5 acres of vines respectively, with subsequent 5-acre plantings in 1979 and 1981.
Their vines produced a small crop after 3 years, prompting them to build and equip their original winery in 1980 and a harvest from the 1978 planting was in the autumn of 1981. After producing wine and aging it for several months, the Spurgeons bottled their first vintage.
On May 1, 1982, Glen and Mary opened their business to the public for a taste of their first commercial wines. Over the past almost 40 years, the Spurgeons have grown their stock to over 20 wines that include dry, sweet, and semi-sweet.
Five of the vineyards’ wines received medals at the Wisconsin State Fair Wine competition in 2018. Their Wisconsin Cranberry took double gold medals and Best of Division, while their Sweet Cherry took Silver and Ruby Lady, Harvest Red, & Grand Raspberry all received Bronze medals.
The Spurgeons noted that one of their more popular wines is the Ruby Lady. A sweet red table wine, and according to the vineyards website, Ruby Lady is “A red grape wine made only from concord grapes. Made in a lighter style which allows berry tones to come through.”
Mary shared a neat story about their Ruby Lady wine, one that she stressed was not included on the vineyard’s website. “This is our most popular wine. Now, the story behind this…, Glenn says, ‘I'm coming out with a wine that's a little bit different’. We had a Concord wine all along. He changed his winemaking methods slightly, and he said, ‘We’re not going to call it Concord, because there is a perception that Concord is no good’. He says ‘we're going to call it something else’. So, I'm driving into town, and here's where the Divine Father comes in. I'm driving into town, and the entire concept slaps me in the face. We're going to call it Ruby Lady. This is going on the label. When I got into town, I had an envelope beside me, and wrote the name down on the envelope and quickly drew a figure. Now, anybody who knows me, knows that I do not draw,” she said laughing.
Mary tried duplicating what she drew several times, but admits she was unsuccessful. “I couldn't even trace it down and have it come up right. I took it to a graphic artist who was able to lift it off the envelope and work with it. And that's my artwork, on 1000’s and 1000’s, and 1000’s of Ruby Red bottles. Who would have thought right? That a non-artist has that much exposure, but nobody knows, nobody knows who the artist was. Until now that is,” she said smiling.
Spurgeon Vineyards will officially celebrate 40 years of business in May of 2022, and Glen and Mary have hinted on retiring (at least with the large portion of hands-on work). That is where Terity Welsh, the vineyards current assistant winemaker will come in. Glen and Mary feel confident that Welsh will do a great job on maintaining status quo. “She's a good fit, she is a very hard worker and that's what you need,” said Mary. Glen agreed saying, “Exactly. Because it can be brutal if you're not dedicated to it. We've had people come in that are thinking of starting a vineyard and then starting a winery. They think they can start when they're in their 50’s and 60’s after retiring. I tell them, ‘I don’t think you want to throw around 35-pound cases of wine for a living.’ They would find out you're basically stuck doing what you're doing, you can't go anywhere, can't hire help because you're not making any money yet.”
“It takes a long time to make money in the wine industry. You're making a product that has to last at least a year. In the meantime, you're starting your second batch of product. So, you've got double the expenses, and you haven't even finished getting your income from the first batch,” Mary added.
Glen said, “There’s an old saying in the wine business, if you want to make a small fortune in the wine business, start with a large one.”
With the change in climate bringing colder winters, the past few years has seen the vineyards lose their vines, leading Spurgeon Vineyards and Winery to purchase their grapes from various growers in Wisconsin. But this has not changed the hard work and crafting that Spurgeon Vineyards puts into producing quality wines.
Shipping primarily to the lower 48 states, Glen and Mary stressed they could not run the business without their dedicated and loyal crew. With Terity poised to become their master wine maker, Jerry helps keep everything running smooth, while Lori and Liz help Glen in the tasting room. Mary, well, as she puts, she cooks the books.
Mary said that they are not making a huge fortune, but admits that wasn't their goal. “It's just, well, we wanted to make a living, and that's happening. Glenn wants to get his name (Spurgeon) out there and that's happening.” The couple said it’s been quite an adventure.
I asked Glen if the house right next to the store is where he and Mary lived. He replied, “Yes.” I said, “That’s being pretty committed. You must get tired walking to work”. A quick comeback ensued, “Well, I do now,” he said chuckling.
Visit Spurgeon Vineyards on Facebook, or their website spurgeonvineyards.com.
The Spurgeon Vineyard and Winery store offers visitors their full stock of wines, and a large inventory of local products that include cheeses, gourmet foods, wine accessories, and gifts.
