By CHRIS HARDIE

Lee Newspapers

BLAIR, Wis. -- John Patrick Gill retired in 2002 at the age of 65 when he was downsized from an executive position in the construction trade.

His retirement lasted about a week before he began pondering about his next career.

“I was home for seven or eight days, did everything a retired guy would do and drove my wife crazy,” Gill said.

Gill said he and his wife Kiyoko Fiedler wanted their rural Blair farm to generate some sort of cash. But instead of livestock or crops, they decided to start a winery.

After a year of applications to receive federal, state and local approval, Tenba Ridge Winery began serving customers in May.

“It’s been phenomenal,” Gill said. “The single biggest challenge is to keep up with the demand.”

The winery, which is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, offers samples and retail sales.

The journey from a mechanical engineer to winemaker included several other stops along the way. But his life experiences added up to one philosophy that he had Kiyoko share.

“We both agreed to raise our sense of ‘gracious living,’” Gill said. “Good wines raise a sense of gracious living. Also, we want to introduce other people to our wines to raise their sense of gracious living.”

More so than making money, the couple wants to share the beauty they have found at Tenba Ridge.

“I enjoy sitting with friends, sipping on some homemade wine,” he said.

The couple named their farm Tenba Ridge after the mound on which their house sits along Joe Coulee in eastern Trempealeau County. It was named after the Japanese term “flying horse.” The farm is home to four horses.

From an aerial view, the ridge resembles a dragon. Built following the philosophy of Feng Shui, the house was strategically placed in the belly of the dragon – a calm, peaceful and protected place.

Family heritage

Gill said his first batch of wine was during chemistry class when he was a high school sophomore, which started his experimentation. Gill said he is following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather John Francis Gill, who ran a family wine and sheep business in the Alsace-Lorraine area of Germany in the late 1800s before coming to America.

Alsace, which is now French, is the quintessential home of terroir-driven wines, the almost mystical French term for the total natural environment of a wine, comprising the soil, climate, sunlight and geology. Those who believe in the influence of terroir believe that every small plot or region can have distinctive wine characteristics.

Gill tries to emulate the methods and materials that would have been available to his great-grandfather more than 100 years ago.

Making wine in small batches of three to six gallons, Gill purchases various types of grape juice from grapes that would be available in Alsace. During the fermentation process he usually adds some apple juice, which he said gives the wine more protein and boosts the alcohol content. And alcohol, Gill said, is what “makes his wines taste good.”

The varieties

Gill offers three red wines that are the equivalent of a syrah/cabernet blend, cabernet and pinot noir. He has two whites – a Müller-Thurgau (similar to Riesling) and a gewürztraminer and he also pours a blush wine similar to white zinfandel.

Gill also makes several fruit wines like blackberry, cherry, cranberry, strawberry and plum, but still uses apple juice as a blend.

Don’t expect a California-style wine at Tenba Ridge. Gill’s wines are bold, spicy and fruity. And because of his small batch fermentation, each barrel is slightly different.

"These come from old recipes, some are a thousand years old," Gill said. "One was developed in 1200 A.D."

Gill says many visitors arrive in the tasting room – the lower level of his house – with a healthy dose of skepticism that a Wisconsin winery can make quality wines. After a few samples, they leave their doubts behind and walk out the door with several bottles or even a case.

Because of limited production, Tenba Ridge wines are available only at the winery. Bottles are $10 each.

Gill called the wines “porch wines,” designed for sitting and sipping. But he said they would also complement food, which he said would bring out the best of the wine and also the best of the food.

For Gill, serving the wine and meeting new people is a natural part of gracious living.

“We have developed a niche for producing affordable wines with exceptional taste and the wine-buying public appreciates our efforts,” Gill said. “Business has been phenomenal. Our single biggest challenge is keeping up with the demand.”

(Ken Luchterhand of Lee Newspapers contributed to this story.)

BREAKOUT

WHAT: Tenba Ridge Winery

WHERE: N27587 Joe Coulee Road, Blair, Wis. Phone (608) 525-2413 for directions.

HOURS: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May through December. Call ahead for best results

BREAKOUT II

(A bonus wine of the week from Chris and Sherry Hardie)

Tenba Ridge Le Chapeau Rouge (The Red Hat)

This bold red wine is John Gill’s great-grandfather’s version of pinot noir.

Like all Tenba Ridge wines, Le Chapeau Rouge is bursting with fruit taste but offers intrigue with hints of flowers and spice. Every swirl of the glass seems to bring out a different aroma and flavor. We enjoyed every drop and were disappointed when our Alsace adventure ended at the bottom of the bottle.

Sherry: “A spicy bouquet, like a Christmas wassail. Interesting and wonderful.”

Chris: “A blend of cherry and apple with a delightful lingering finish.”

Available only at the Tenba Ridge winery.