Red Oak Vineyard and Winery History

Red Oak is a family owned and operated winery and vineyard run by Nicholas A. Wagener (Andy) who is also the winemaker. At any given time it is not unusual to see three generations of the Wagener family at work in the Vineyard.

Andy was born and raised in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. He developed an early interest in grapes and wines from incidents early in his youth. He developed respect for the grape vine and its hardiness from his grandfather who had nurtured and cared for a number of vines when Andy was young. One of these vines is still found near the corner of the current vineyard. His other grandfather, Captain Nicholas J. Wagener, was a sailor on the Great Lakes. When he became a captain of his first ship he was the youngest captain on the Lakes. From him Andy learned the taste appreciation of wine. Captain Nick was known, in his later years, to savor a shot of fine port after the evening meal.

After obtaining his BA degree Andy moved to the wine growing area of California where his interest in wine was rekindled and brought to a new level. It was there also that He meet his wife Gigi. They were married at the Wente Brothers Winery in Livermore, California. They next moved to Michigan where Andy earned his degree in Law and passed His Boards exam.

With the intense law studies complete Andy's interest in grapes again rekindled and he entered the UC Davis Certificate program for Winemakers. After completing this He became an apprenticed for 3 years under Clark Smith who is a master winemaker and who also was trained at UC Davis. Under Clark, Andy concentrated on learning the German style of making white wine as well and the French style of making red wine.

In 2002 Andy started his vineyard at his father's (Nicholas R. Wagener) ranch in Sturgeon Bay. He also started his Winery at its current location. His mission was to produce ultra premium wines from fresh fruits using traditional wine making processes. He worked with Clark Smith to obtain quality grapes in California and Washington so he could begin to produce wine immediately while waiting for the vineyard to mature. The tasting room was completed and opened for business in 2005.

We have entered Three wine competitions so far and have received numerous awards: 2 Gold Medals, 1 Silver medal and 6 Bronze medals. Both Gold medals were won by Captain Nick's Port