When Aaron and Ashley met in the fall of 2006 at an Oktoberfest party in Minneapolis, he told her the night they met of his long-time dream to start a winery. Ashley was smitten with Aaron at first site, as this wine loving man wearing lederhosen shared his passion and dreams. As the two continued to date and develop a relationship, she too bought into the dream, so they set out to pursue a wine life together. In 2008, while both were still working full-time corporate jobs in Minneapolis, they found a little slice of heaven in Waconia, with a serene lake view and a field with southern facing slopes, perfect for growing grapes. And so the adventure began planting the vineyard, building the winery, and starting and raising a family.
5 years, two kids, 4,000 grapevines, and countless projects later; the winery opened to the public in the summer of 2013, with their first commercial vintages under their outdoor pavilion bar. In 2014, they built their current winery building and have been open year round ever since. Soon after the Schrams made the leap to leave corporate America to be full-time winery business owners.
When Aaron discovered from a friend and beer enthusiast that they had a lot of equipment to brew beer, he turned to Ashley and said, “We should start a brewery too.” Considering how they met, it was meant to be. In 2014, Schram Vineyards became the first singly owned and operated winery & brewery in Minnesota. As their beer popularity grew alongside their wine, they began to run out of space to produce both, which prompted them to open a dedicated brewery and taproom in Chaska. Schram Haus Brewery opened in 2019 just 10 miles away from the vineyard. Additionally, as their desire grew to produce and showcase more Minnesota and local wines to a larger audience in the city, they opened a sister winery, AxeBridge Wine Co. in the North Loop of Minneapolis in March of 2021. A complete winery and tasting room space!
The last decade has been a whirlwind of constant activity, projects, and growth, which could not have all been done without the support of friends, family, staff, and customers.
Schram Vineyards Winery & Brewery is becoming a must-stop destination spot where guests can taste and appreciate a variety of quality and serious wines alongside distinctive craft brews, all made right on-site. The Schram family still live by the vineyard with their children and dog, Woody, so if you see them walking around in their rubber boots, say hello!