The information I’ve gathered so far about the barn is
that it was build in 1920 by John Koeppe when he was somewhere in his 40’s.
John was born in Freienwalde, Germany, September 5, 1875, and came to the
US with his parents in 1881. They
settled on a farm near Lindsay, NE. On
October 13, 1896, John married Helena Weyen (pronounced wine), they moved to the
farm west of Pierce (our place) in 1915. He
and his wife Helena had eleven children, nine boys and two girls.
John passed away June 4, 1942.
Ed Swanson bought 15-1/2 acres in 1985, which included
the barn built in 1920, the house which was on the property when the Koeppe’s
moved on the farm, and some out building. The
barn was in great condition and just required some pressure washing to clean up.
Ed planted 4 acres of grapes in 1985.
Ed and Holly (Hamernik) were married in the vineyards on July 31, 1993. Remodeling on the barn began in 1994, with the winery opening
December 17, 1994. Since opening,
three more acres of grapes have been added and the winery has also received a
new addition of over 4,000 square feet including remodeling the old hayloft.
Other rooms in the winery are rented and used for
meeting, rehearsal dinners and gatherings, wedding are held in the vineyards.
The winery now produces about 6,000 gallons of wine with an eventual
capacity of 15,000.
The winery is open all year round May – Dec. Wed – Sat. 11 am – 6 pm and Sundays 1 pm – 6 pm, Jan. – April Friday – Sunday 1 pm – 5 pm. Web side is www.cuthills.com Phone is 402-329-6774.