Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin And Sigourney Wehrs.
Hi Kevin and Sigourney, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The property that Wooden Link Vineyard sits on today was originally purchased from Earl whose family had lived on the land for generations. Earl was a lifelong bachelor carpenter, who spent his life on the property that his family raised him on. In his spare time he carved wooden chain links out of boards. He said the only way to make a board longer was to carve it into wooden links, thus the name.
Right out of college we moved to Europe to begin Kevin’s 13 year professional hockey career. During our time in Europe we lived in Norway, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Slovakia and Scotland. This left our summers open so we began living and working on the Vineyard during the summer months alongside Sigourney’s mom and step dad, Nathan Bergeland and Jillian Link in 2014. We immediately fell in love with the property and with growing grapes while our interest and passion for wine only grew exploring the beautiful wine regions of Europe.
Wooden Link Vineyard began with just two varietals and only a couple acres in 2014. When we got involved with the vineyard we quickly grew to 7 varietals planted on 12 acres of vines today. Around the year 2020 we decided that in order to make it in the industry we needed to make our own wine so the process of having a winery began. At that point Kevin began his education with University if California-Davis for winemaking, Sigourney began here education with the WSET and Nathan began work on the winery. Unfortunately during that process Nathan was diagnosed with brain cancer and passed away soon after in January 2022. That summer we took over full ownership of the vineyard and were able to get the winery ready and licensed just days before the 2023 harvest.
We are now on our second vintage as a winery and we specialize by making exclusively dry wines from grapes grown in Minnesota. We started selling our wines through a tap system at Bear Cave Brewing in Hopkins in 2024, and just recently began selling our wine in bottle at the end of 2024. We are currently in 35+ liquor stores and restaurants throughout Minnesota and are growing that number every week. We are incredibly passionate about what we are doing and we strive to help grow the Minnesota wine and grape industry by making dry fine wines that are able to compete on a global level.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was certainly not a smooth road to get to where we are today but because of that we have learned so much in such a short period of time. With the passing of Sigourney’s step father Nathan, a lot was thrown at us at one time. Instead of us just focusing on growing grapes and making wine, we had to take on all other responsibilities that go along with starting a winery. When we took over full ownership of the vineyard the winery was approximately 20% complete and we had 12 acres of vines to manage of which 8 of those acres were newly planted. The summer of 2023 and 2024 were exclusively dedicated finishing the production facility, purchasing equipment, getting licensed and managing the vineyard. It was a lot at once but we were able to get things licensed and up and running in time to make our first vintage in 2023. Every day is a challenge growing grapes and making wine but we enjoy all the challenges we encounter along the way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are a vineyard and winery located in Barret, MN about 20 miles straight west of Alexandria, MN. We have been growing grapes since 2014 and now have 12 acres of vines planted with seven different varieties. We specialize in only making dry wines only from cold hardy grapes grown in Minnesota, which we believe sets us apart. We are very proud of the quality of all of our wines and the fact that they are all well balanced dry wines made from grapes grown in Minnesota, mostly on our vineyard. All of our white and rose wines are made with less than 1% sugar while all of our red wines have zero residual sugar. We want your readers to know that all wines with our label on it will be of the highest quality, well balanced, and have little to no residual sugar. Everything we put in bottle is crafted with love, thought, and intention.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Kevin grew up loving to play sports and everything involving the outdoors. He never had much interest in Wine until he met his future wife, and business partner Sigourney. He quickly fell in love with wine during his time with Sigourney in Europe while also falling in love with being out in the vineyard working with the vines. His passion with growing grapes and wine was easily transferred into making wine.
Sigourney grew up in the Twin Cities and attended the University of Minnesota. She always had a passion for fashion and design and pursued a degree in retail merchandising. Immediately after college graduation she made the choice to move to Europe with Kevin to support his hockey career. During their time overseas, Sigourney was able to travel extensively and developed a passion for exploring the world through wine. Her experiences and gained knowledge during their time in Europe have been instrumental in shaping the brand and point of view that Wooden Link Vineyard has today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://woodenlinkvineyard.com
- Instagram: @woodenlinkvineyard
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/woodenlinkvineyard
