Lake Geneva’s Geneva Lake Distilling + Winery originally opened as Studio Winery before adding a distillery along with its art and music studio space. In late 2024, they began transitioning their name to Geneva Lake Distilling + Winery… they’re an active music recording studio too, more on that in a moment.
They’re located in “the fashionable Upper East Side” of Lake Geneva in a building along Interchange North (the former Highway 120) on the way between the U.S. 12 freeway and downtown Lake Geneva boa Broad Street. There are boat dealers on one side and the city’s local radio station, WLKG/Lake 96.1, on the other. The winery and distillery offers a wide variety of wines and spirits, all produced onsite. Their facility is billed as an “art studio, music studio, wine & spirit studio”, encompassing art and creativity as well as craft beverages.
The owners, Doug and Kathy Jackson, blend art with their beverage crafting throughout the Tasting Room, the outdoor patio, and the other rooms (this place is pretty big). Doug is the main winemaker and distiller, as well as a keyboard player; Kathy is a painter and glass artist. You’ll find plenty of adorning artwork throughout.
Wines include a nice variety of sparking, white, red, rose, sweet, and dessert wines. All can be sampled in a flight served on a colorful artist palette as you sip and enjoy all the art on the walls in the tasting room. Our last visit included:
- Pink, a dry tart cherry sparkling wine
- Heart, a dry rose
- Amadeus, a semi-dry white wine
- Dry white wines including Mode Blanc and Estate Frontenac Blanc
- Hendrix, a semi-dry red. We suspect Jimi played a role
Dry red wines including Cabernet Franc, Marquette Reserve (using Marquette grapes, a Wisconsin- and Minnesota-grown grape that was cultivated originally by researchers at the University of Minnesota), St. Croix Reserve, Foch Reserve, and Petite Pearl.
Sweet Wines and Dessert Wines include Coltrane, a sweet white; Axl, a semi sweet rose; Ringo, a sweet red, Zappa, a sweet white dessert wine; and Joplin, a sweet Ruby Port.
Studio Winery also concocts a vermouth they call Bjork, both a dry and sweet version.
For spirits, the distillery side of Geneva Lake Distilling + Winery crafts a 90-proof Vodka, a 100 proof Moonshine, a 90 proof Rum, and 90-proof Genever (made in the style of Dutch Gin), Brandy, Whiskey, and Bourbon .
You probably already guessed they craft cocktails with them, of course, and they suggest their signature Old Fashioned but of course they’ll craft up whatever you want! Many have named related to artists and songs, including:
- The Goldfinger, GLD Genever, Lemon Sage Syrup, Grapefruit Juice… shaken, not stirred
- Rum Charo, described as “GLD Rum, a Cuchi-Cuchi of Cinnamon Bun Syrup, Cream, and a shake of Nutmeg”
- Berry White, which is their Moonshine, a “deep, rich, soulful Blackberry Sage”, and Lemon Juice
And those are just a few examples.
For flights, you can enjoy four samples of wines or spirits – mix ‘n match – for $15, or for free when you purchase $30 worth of wine or spirits. Their wines generally run $8-12 per glass, or $21-$50 per bottle. Spirits are generally $30 per bottle; the Bourbon at last check was $40. Snacks are available, and they’ll offer palette-cleansing oyster crackers so you can sample each beverage with a clean set of taste buds.
Geneva Lake Distilling + Winery… + Music Recording!
What do you find at Geneva Lake that you don’t find in most – if any – wineries and distilleries in Wisconsin? A working music recording studio. Seriously. You can rent that studio and use anything from guitars and amps to keyboards and MIDI mixers. Plenty of drum kits, recorders, processing equipment including compressors, expanders, equalizers, gates, and serious variety of high-fidelity microphones are available for use. They have a menu of fees that can include the recording sessions, mixing, mastering, and even additional studio musicians. And yes, much of the equipment has been used for albums you’ve heard of, including the Spin Doctors’ 1993 hit Pocketful of Kryptonite.
You’ll find Geneva Lake Distilling + Winery (and music studio) on Sheridan Springs Road on the north side of Lake Geneva. The building’s back side faces Interchange North, the main road leading to U.S. 12. It eventually curves south as Williams Street to reach Lake Geneva’s downtown. The road was originally Highway 120, although now 120 follows U.S. 12 around the side of town (we hate bypasses sometimes!) You can reach it easily from U.S. 12 via the Highway 120 exit but heading west towards town; it’s also an easy reach from Highway 50 either via a short hop on U.S. 12 to the Highway 120 exit or by heading north from downtown via Broad Street, which turns into Williams and then Sheridan Springs. Just follow it, we promise it will take you there!
Geneva Lake Distilling + Winery Address:
401 E. Sheridan Springs Road
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
(262) 348-9100
Website
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