Chankaska Creek Ranch & Winery

Kasota, MN | Commercial

ISG has worked Chankaska Creek Ranch + Winery main facility, later working with the winery’s tasting room expansion and new event center.

Seeking to turn 15 acres of historic Minnesota farmland crossed by the Shanaska Creek into a destination winery and event venue rivaling Napa Valley, the owners desired a connected site and top-notch facilities allowing patrons opportunities to have a drink, take a walk, or host an event.

ISG was keenly involved in the master planning, design, and engineering of this 15-acre ranch and winery. The two-story, 7,500-square-foot building features a tasting and retail room, kitchen with a mosaic wood fired pizza oven, wine presses, fermentation tanks, “clean” room and lab facility, and underground barrel storage area. In the second phase of the project, ISG oversaw the expansion of the tasting room and the addition of a brand new 9,400-square-foot event center, which opened in the spring of 2018 and can accommodate up to 350 guests, entertainment, and additional tasting rooms for wine and whiskey.

ISG was initially charged with the master planning, design, and engineering of the site and tasting room, and later, due to popularity and demand, the expansion of the tasting room and addition of the new event center. Using strategic site design, ISG not only connected each of the six event venues at the ranch with trails and bridges, but also secluded them, so that multiple events can occur separately and simultaneously. For the tasting room building, and the new event center, ISG amplified the venue’s experience and rooted location in Southern Minnesota by choosing a local limestone base, cedar siding, and metal and asphalt roofing, which generates an upscale ranch feel. Rooted in nature, the winery also contains a large roof deck, and terraces on the side of the facility.