New Fawn Creek Winery owners seek to showcase hidden gem

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

December 8, 2025

WISCONSIN DELLS – After purchasing the business nearly a year ago, Co-owner/General Manager David Brown said he and Fawn Creek Winery’s new ownership group – consisting of himself, his wife (Erin), his sister (Janet) and her husband (Bryant) – has sought to help community members recognize the business in their backyards.

“I think the biggest challenge we face is just getting people here,” he said. “Once a customer comes out and experiences our winery, our gift shop and our tastings…, our return rate is fantastic. We have people come back all the time once they know we’re here.”

Founded by the Hanson family in 2011, Brown said Fawn Creek Winery is nestled on a roughly 40-acre property just north of Wisconsin Dells at 3619 13th Ave.

“We’re situated in a beautiful piece of property that’s just relaxing,” he said. “I see people just walking around here all the time.”

In February 2025, Brown said the families who owned the business decided to retire.

“They grew it from nothing to where it is now,” he said. “There have been many iterations of this place, but they got to the point where they all wanted to retire and did not want to continue.”

At the time, Brown said he and Erin were “looking for a change and a different opportunity” while living in the suburbs of Chicago.

After learning of Fawn Creek Winery’s impending sale, Brown said he, Erin, Janet and Bryant decided to purchase it – prompting his and Erin’s relocation to the Dells area.

“Once we found out it was for sale, we discussed it back and forth for [more than] a year before we made an offer,” he said. “My sister lives close to here, so we’re very familiar with the area and the winery.”

Now, Brown said he and his family are revamping the business – shifting to digital marketing strategies, expanding into a new location and introducing additional offerings to raise awareness about Fawn Creek Winery.

Tasting room tales

Though its previous owners left him and his family with “a great structure,” Brown said they gradually worked to put their own stamp on the winery and expand the business, beginning with a new tasting room set to open soon.

Less than a block off the Wisconsin Dells’ strip on Broadway, Brown said he and his family found a building available for purchase at 741 Superior St.

“We found out the building was for sale, we went to make an offer on it and we were outbid by a local investor,” he said.

However, after locating the building’s new owner, Brown said they “worked out a deal” in which Fawn Creek could pay an “affordable rent” with the intention of eventually purchasing the property.

“I told him my goal is to purchase the property as soon as he wants to sell it, as long as everything is reasonable, but it’s actually worked out for the best,” he said. “We haven’t had to put cash down… and then we’ll be able to purchase it at [some] point – provided the business does what we expect it to do.”

Tasting room renovations, Brown said, are well underway as they work toward an unscheduled grand opening.

“I would love to say we’ll get open yet this year, or very close to the end of the year, [but] I think I’m being a little optimistic,” he said. 

“Very happy” with the project so far, Brown said the “extremely old” building has been stripped down – exposing its original brickwork, high ceilings and “unique architecture.”

“I have the place pretty much torn apart, a sign in the window and there have been several meetings with the city, so everybody knows this is coming,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a very comfortable space, and it’s going to… offer a completely different service than anything else that’s in the Dells.”

Once open, Brown said he expects Fawn Creek Winery’s tasting room to offer a 12-course menu – featuring 10 of Fawn Creek’s home-grown varieties as well as two seasonal wines.

“Depending on how busy we are, we might have to do a reduced wine tasting [because] that can be a little time consuming,” he said. “So, if [we get] a lot of foot traffic, and we’re backed up, it’s possible that I might do a modified version of our tastings.”

Brown said the tasting room is a multi-faceted venture – both expanding the business and its awareness with a downtown, brick-and-mortar location.

“I’ve wanted to expand into a tasting room in Wisconsin Dells,” he said. “I think that would do a lot for our advertisement and raise awareness about our business.”

Using coffee to encourage connection

Brown said visitors can expect even more enjoyment on site at Fawn Creek Winery’s vineyard.

“We have a really nice music venue here, and we have live music all through the summer – Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays,” he said.

In addition, Brown said Fawn Creek Winery features a gift shop, a disc golf course and four acres of grape vines for patrons to peruse.

“I’ve also worked with Adams County and got some zoning changed so we’ll be able to start hosting weddings here next year,” he said. “We’re looking forward to that as well.”

Another incoming addition to the winery, Brown said, is Coffee at the Creek – soon to offer Fawn Creek visitors another beverage option to enjoy.

“That’s something we’re working on,” he said. “There are a lot of people who are enjoying nonalcoholic drinks, and they want coffee. [Coffee at the Creek] is just another thing [for people who] want to come in, enjoy our place, music and whatever else they want to do here, and don’t feel like they… have to drink wine.”

Brown said Coffee at the Creek’s official opening date – similar to the tasting room – is currently undetermined.

“We have a couple details to work out,” he said. “I would say [it] shouldn’t be very long, but there are a couple things I want to get a little more comfortable with before it’s a product we’re going to offer.”

The introduction of weddings and Coffee at the Creek, Brown said, aids in their overall goal in purchasing Fawn Creek.

“We’re really just trying to ramp up every opportunity to get people here and experience this beautiful place,” he said.

Brown said Fawn Creek Winery’s gift shop is another draw for potential customers.

“That is where my sister Janet comes into play,” he said. “She finds it very fun, and she’s been the person driving that, which I’m extremely grateful for, because there are things that I’m good at and things that I’m not. Setting up a gift shop is probably not on the top of my skill set, [and] she’s done a great job with that.”

Brown said though the customer loyalty program was originally introduced by the previous owners, he is now working to revamp it.

“They had this case club celebration they did [for] customer appreciation,” he said. “I want to take that and develop it into a proper wine case club for our customers who really enjoy our products – and we ship wine around the United States.”

Team culture = customer experience

Formerly a distribution facility manager for a popular restaurant chain, Brown said he decided to pursue other opportunities after his former employer was bought by an investment group.

“They were moving away from fresh [food] and going to a frozen product – so it didn’t take a lot of science [to figure out] I was going to be out of work,” he said. “I could have easily [worked] there for probably another year, but I just didn’t want to see a company that I’d worked so hard building up unravel.”

The impact on his previous work following the buyout, Brown said, drove him and his wife to seek out a change of pace in the form of Fawn Creek Winery.

“I felt like this was a good opportunity,” he said. “This business has good bones… and has enough potential in different avenues that it’s going to weather the storm, grow and be a very healthy business in a couple more years.”

Inheriting several employees from the previous owners, and onboarding some new team members himself, Brown said a priority of his is developing a positive team culture.

“One of my core beliefs is that the people you have working for you – how they talk to each other, how they talk to you and how they talk to the customers – if they’re happy and doing what they enjoy doing, it really does pass through to the customer experience,” he said.

Though wine is the “backbone” of the business, Brown said he and his fellow co-owners look forward to curating opportunities for everyone to enjoy Fawn Creek Winery.

“I like wine, [but] I’m not a wine connoisseur,” he said. “For me, when you sit at a table, you’re with a bunch of friends, or people you’ve just met, you spark that conversation and have that experience, that is what I really enjoy the most.”

For more on Fawn Creek Winery and its forthcoming additions, visit fawncreekwinery.com.