Wisconsin Veteran Farm Winery ready to be on the map

COURIER SENTINEL

You might drive right by and never even know it exists, but once you visit the Wisconsin Veteran Farm & Winery in Cornell, you’ll never look at wine the way you did before. Located at 921 South 8th Street, the winery doesn’t have clearly visible fields of grapes, but what’s inside the bottles comes as a pleasant and unusual surprise.

Owned and operated by retired special forces veteran Dan Osborn, the small business handcrafts specialty wines for any palette. More than that, Osborn serves up lively stories of his time in the military and of happenings on the farm.

With just a year under his belt of operating the winery, looking back, Osborn’s been on a whirlwind of a ride to get where he is today with the business.

“I don’t even know how we became a winery,” he said.

In the beginning, Osborn ran the farm part and gathered at his next door neighbor’s house to make hobby wine in his free time. When the neighbor decided he didn’t want to continue with the wine gatherings, Osborn moved the equipment to his farm.

Over time, those who gathered at Osborn’s open-door farm liked what they tasted and more requests came in for the brew. Obviously, opening a winery was the only option.

“There it was,” said Osborn.

It hasn’t been without its difficulties, as Osborn is essentially a one-man show. Even though his friends volunteer at the winery whenever they can, to not only help serve the wine, but also with cutting up of fruit, Osborn incurs the expense and the hassles associated with running the business.

Osborn had to remodel the front part of his house, where the tasting room is, as well as the basement, which is where wine is crafted and bottled. He also opened up one exterior wall, add-