After moving onto the farm in 2004, we had to decide what we were going to grow on the 65 acre farm we just purchased.  Coming from Iowa with its dark, rich, loamy soil, it was hard to imagine that anything could grow in this hard-packed clay in Ohio.

I loved gardening, and Jay loved making wine.  Could we combine our passions and start a vineyard and winery?  We needed to learn how to grow grapes, but how hard could it be?! The field was previously planted in corn, but it grew poorly because of the standing water.   So we tiled the field to pull the water away from the site, and started preparing the vineyard for planting.  In 2005, we planted our first four rows of grapes.  The next year we completed the vineyard with a total of 37 rows of grapes.

On exploration of the property, we came across two gigantic oak trees standing side by side, deep in the woods.  These two oak trees were so impressive, that it gave us our inspiration to name our farm, “Auburn Twin Oaks.”