The Myklebust family has added a winery to the event venues on its Lake Delton farm, mixing its own ideas with those of a former Madison-area winery.
Sognefjord Winery opened in August. Its wine master, Alwyn "Fitz" Fitzgerald, is the former owner of the now-closed Fisher King Winery, which was based in Verona before shutting its doors in 2020. The new Dells-area winery has its own varieties and sells some holdovers from Fisher King.
The winery joins event venues Vennebu Hill and Koselig Garden, which have opened over the past five years on the Myklebust farm, 380 County Road. Sognefjord is open year-round and has a small store and indoor seating area, but will add outdoor seating over the next year.
Grapes for Sognefjord Winery's wines are grown in this vineyard on the Myklebust farm.
Five sisters — Kelsey Hartman, Tess Anschutz, Jessica Schulenberg and Grace and Lauren Myklebust — along with their aunt, Mia Myklebust, started the winery after purchasing Fisher King following its closure. A small vineyard is located across the parking lot from the winery.
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"It's a project that we decided to move forward with together," Hartman said. "It has been a long time coming. Things were a little bit delayed, but here we are today."
A large wine tasting room is slated for a space on the farm behind the winery, along with a small kitchen, Hartman said. The timeline for the addition is yet to be determined.
Sognefjord Winery is named after the largest fjord, a narrow body of water surrounded by steep sides and cliffs, in Norway. The family history on the Lake Delton farm began with Hartman and her four sisters' grandfather, Paal Myklebust, a Norwegian immigrant who lived on one side of Sognefjord in the Scandinavian country, and their grandmother, Ragnhild Myklebust - maiden name Helland, a Dells area native whose ancestors were from another area of Sognefjord.
Currently, Sognefjord has its own variations of the sweet St. Pepin grape wine, Pinot Gris, a semi-sweet white wine, and Cabernet Sauvignon, a dry red. The winery also has a Marquette Reserve, a grape and cherry-based wine described as "smooth and robust" on the Sognefjord website.
"With Sognefjord's roots firmly planted in its Norwegian heritage, we will be focusing on wines crafted from cold-hearty grapes, the hybrid wine grapes that have been bred to survive frigid winter temperatures such as what we find here in Wisconsin," Fitzgerald said. "Of course, we will offer wines made from vinifera -- warmer climate European grapes -- as well."
Hartman said the winery is working on its own versions of port, sangria and another blended fruit wine. Sognefjord also has six Fisher King holdovers that Fitzgerald brought in, as well as some homemade wine spritzer varieties. Like most wineries, Sognefjord will offer wines ranging from sweet to dry.
"We want to make sure that we can be a wine that palates many people," she said.
Sognefjord Winery opened on the Myklebust farm at 380 County Highway A in Lake Delton on Aug. 1, joining event venues Vennebu Hill and Koselig Garden.
Fitzgerald said Sognefjord also plans to have its its own mead, a honey-based wine, and Federweisser, a German wine, as well as an "orange" wine in which "no oranges will be killed," or a wine in which grape skins and seeds will ferment longer than in other wines.
Along with wines, visitors can enjoy dry snacks and cheese boards, which are made in conjunction with Vennebu Hill. The dry snacks are available any time, while charcuterie boards are available on weekends during the offseason and every day throughout the summer.
Sognefjord is also selling its wines to stores around the state, including three businesses in the Green Bay, as well as Viking Village in Reedsburg, Hartman said. Sognefjord will look to expand its reach during the winter months.
The winery is open seven days a week during the late spring, summer and early fall from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Current hours are 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Kelsey Hartman, who owns Sognefjord Winery with her four sisters, pours a glass of the winery's St. Pepin wine.
Koselig Garden opened as an extension of Vennebu Hill, an indoor wedding venue, in 2022. Once used as a corral for Myklebust family cattle, the outdoor seating retreat serves Norwegian food and is open from April through November.
Vennebu Hill opened four years earlier in a restored family barn. The wedding venue hold up to 350 people and has a large room on its upper level, a 4,500-square foot patio for outdoor events, and a wine cellar.
