Three Branches
Vineyard
Growing hardy, sustainable grapes for professional and hobbyist winemakers throughout the rich landscape of the beautiful Wisconsin River Valley.
Cultivating Excellence in Every Vine.
Below are a some new variaties now available
Sabrevois
Selected for its ability to sustain through long Wisconsin winters, With a low sugar content paired with a pleasant fruitiness allows this variety to be complimentary either on its own or blended for a great resulting hybrid wine.
Itasca
A climate-resilient variety bred for flavor and sustainability. Itasca thrives in our loamy clay soils, yielding superior notes for all winemakers.
Prairie Star
Prairie Star is a cold-hardy wine grape known for its golden berries and rich, full-bodied character. It produces aromatic white wines with notes of ripe pear, honey, and tropical fruit, balanced by fresh acidity. This variety is well-suited to cooler climates and is prized by winemakers for its reliable yields and complex flavor profile.
Rooted in Soil
Our journey began in the loamy clay soils of the Wisconsin River Valley. After ten years of sustainable alfalfa farming, we transitioned this nutrient-dense land to cultivate grapes designed for the Wisconsin winter, ensuring peak flavor for every winemaker.
The Heart of Three Branches
In 2007, the Hartung’s traveled to Italy to do what all good tourists do, they enjoyed a few bottles of fine wine and toured the countryside in Florence. During their travels they made note of the beautiful vineyards and began to think that someday, when life slows down enough to collect our thoughts, we could do something like that. In 2008, after their visit to Italy, they began reading articles and attending field days. They enjoyed few wine tastings and began the thought process of growing grapes. Over the next two years they decided on six varieties that had a good following and field history in Wisconsin. A plan was devised to plant a one-acre plot to determine exactly what would be needed if they decided to move forward. So, in 2010 the first vines went into the ground and Three Branches Vineyard was born.
Randy Hartung has farmed over the past 35 years within his involvement with Hartung Brothers Inc, a family farm based in Arena WI. Over those years he has raised a large number of crops all over the nation. Randy managed the retail fertilizer operations of the company, making recommendations to other area farmers and earning a Certified Crop Advisor certificate along the way. For a short time, Randy was involved in crop production and canning. Then Randy was called back to the fertilizer division of Hartung Brothers to manage the Wholesale Fertilizer Division which involved the building of two liquid fertilizer terminals, staffing and day to day operations. Once the business was up and running at full capacity the division was sold in 2009 and retirement was calling in 2013. But like any farmer,,,, Does retirement really happen?
Rosemarie Hartung was a licensed cosmetologist and mother of 3 During her time in the salon she had heard plenty of stories about how people were just going to “chuck it all and start a vineyard” which has always stuck in her head. Little did she know that after her retirement in 2010 that is exactly what she would do!
In 2010, the couple decided to incorporate their plan and include their two sons (and their wife’s) along with their daughter into Three Branches Vineyard LLC. The plan now had a name and a cheap labor source. After years and years of growth and addition of acer after acer, Three Branches Vineyard now has a total of 14 acers with 11 varieties of wine making grapes.
