Mineral Point Receives Wisconsin Economic Development Grant for New Winery

Tuesday, March 16th, 2021 -- 2:00 PM

The City of Mineral Point is receiving a $250,000 state grant to help redevelop a former garden center building and outdoor space in the city’s central business district.

The Community Development Investment Grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation will support plans to turn the neglected property into a wine production site and accompanying event space.

The City of Mineral Point is partnering with American Wine Project for the development. American Wine Project was founded in 2018 by Erin Rasmussen in partnership with her parents, David and Mary Rasmussen of Madison.

The project purchased the two-acre site in 2019. The grant will be used to cover building renovations, refrigeration installation, landscaping, site preparation and outdoor event space construction.  The 6,000-square-foot building will be redeveloped into a wine production facility.

Plans include refurbishing building space for tanks, barrels and bottling equipment; installing appropriate HVAC and temperature control, plumbing and electrical; and adding drive-in doors, paved outdoor space for grape delivery and concrete flooring with drain systems.

AWP also plans to create a tasting room space that will include a bar, seating areas, a kitchen and retail sales displays, as well as construction of a covered porch and patio structure that will be used for outdoor event space.

AWP plans to create part-time and full-time job opportunities, as well as seasonal positions.  Locating the winery in the central business district of Mineral Point has the potential to support other city retail and hospitality businesses and increase tourist traffic.

Erin Rasmussen moved to Napa Valley in 2008 to pursue a winemaking career, and in 2017 returned to the Midwest to explore and focus on newer varieties of cold-climate hybrid grapes. AWP sources grapes locally and from vineyards in the region.

Its wines have received positive national press, with mentions in “Wine Enthusiast magazine and the June 2020 issue of Wine and Spirits magazine.  WEDC’s CDI Grant Program supports community development and redevelopment efforts, primarily in downtown areas.

The matching grants are awarded based on the ability of applicants to demonstrate the economic impact of the proposed project, including public and private partnership development, financial need and use of sustainable downtown development practices.

From the program’s inception in 2013 through Sept. 30, 2020, WEDC awarded nearly $26.7 million in CDI Grants to 87 communities for projects expected to generate more than $446 million in capital investments statewide.

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