Ozark Living

October 2022

Ozark Living, Northwest Arkansas’ longest running real estate publication, is distributed the first week of each month.

Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1479918

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 29 of 39

Wiederkehr Wine Cellars an experience you'll & Weinkeller Restaurant, By Randy Rice Ozark Living Magazine A visit to the Wiederkehr Wine Cellars and Weinkeller Restaurant is not your typical winery experience. It's a passage back in time to the Old World. A journey that began back in the 19th century by an immigrant family following their dream. "I'm fourth generation Wiederkehr," began Dennis Wiederkehr, president and chairman of the board of the family company. "My great grandparents came here in 1880 from Switzerland. ey came through Ellis Island and then traveled directly to Altus, Arkansas. e land had been sold by the railroad to the Catholic Church so they, in turn, could sell it to settlers to develop. My family saw that there was an opportunity for land at a very reasonable price so they le everything and moved the family from Switzerland to here." e Wiederkehrs were wine makers, cobblers and millers. ey also had experience raising their own livestock, which they continue to this day. When the Wiederkehr clan arrived in the lush, forested area where they were putting down roots, there was much to be done. "It was a lot of work," Dennis said. "ey would get up at sunrise and clear land until dark and then burn the brush until midnight. en wake up and do it all again." e Weinkeller Restaurant, which opened in 1967, is housed in the original 1880 wine cellar. e settlers hand dug the wine cellar over 140 years ago, which is under the log cabin that sits above the restaurant. And the log cabin that sits above the restaurant is made from the original logs cleared by the family when they first came over. Dennis, now 66, spent his early years near the cabin. "e family home was built around that log cabin where the restaurant is," he said. "I always wanted to work for my grandfather's winery. But my father died when I was two years old, my mother remarried when I was in 2nd grade and I ended up growing up in Kansas and spending my summers here." remember! Hanns Wiederkehr Sparkling Wine Johannisberg Riesling 30 • OctOber 2022 • OZArK LIVING

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Ozark Living - October 2022