About Us

About Us

Rocky Waters Vineyard/Winery, Inc.

Jared & Phyllis Spahn purchased 112 acres of land in Hanover, Illinois in 1994 and started a vine nursery with 3,600 grape cuttings in 1997. Roughly 95% of the cuttings took off and grew beautifully. The nursery was protected by an electric fencer, which was erected to keep deer and cattle away from the new vines. One weekend in late summer they tested the output of the electric fencer and found that it was barely putting out any voltage. A decision was made to take the fencer down to Peoria where it was purchased and get it repaired and re-install it the following weekend. Well, that’s all it took! The cows no longer heard the clicking of the fencer and instinctively knew there was no threat from the wires, so in they went right through the wires and between eating and trampling made a total wreck of the nursery. Out of the original 3600 cuttings only 300 continued to grow in 1998.

One might say they had a “Rocky start,” but that is not how the name was chosen. They held a name the vineyard contest among their grandchildren with a monetary reward for the winner. The name was actually a well thought out conclusion by one of their grandsons. He noted that all the creeks and streams on the land were fairly fast running and all of them had rocky bottoms. He and all other grandchildren enjoyed following the streams and they found an area where a small waterfall had been formed and the water was falling over rocks and on to rocks. Many of the creeks, streams, and springs on the land resulted in being able to build and sustain a nice small lake that has provided untold hours of fun.

Now that you know how Rocky Waters got it’s name, let us introduce the owners:

Jared Spahn is a native of Dubuque, Iowa and is a 1961 graduate of Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa. He lived in the Peoria, Illinois area for more than 30 years. In the late 1970s, Mr. Spahn was one of the first instructors in the Midwest for the UNIX computer operating system. His career as a computer-systems consultant supported the start of the vineyard and winery. With a major in Biology and minor in Chemistry the raising of vines and making of wine make came fairly naturally.

Phyllis White-Spahn is a native of Worthington, Iowa. Although raising grapes and taking care of a vineyard was not initially on her agenda, she has become a major driving force in the care and production in the vineyard.

The Spahn's wine education has some of its roots in the Napa Valley - as well as in Wisconsin. When his job took him to California for six months, they spent weekends and off-time studying wine production in the Napa region. The layout of Rocky Waters resembles strongly what you would see in the Napa Valley area.

Rocky Waters first sold grapes to Galena Cellars Winery in 2001 and 2002. In 2003 and 2004 they sold grapes to the Wollersheim Winery of Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. Philippe Cochard, the winemaker at the Wollersheim Winery took them out into the vineyard and showed them how to plant the root stock. He was and still is a very helpful mentor and friend. Today, they are making their own wine from 25 acres that are planted and producing red varietals such as red Marechal Foch, Leon Millot, and St. Croix along with white varietals of Lacrosse and St. Pepin. From these it is possible to make numerous different tasting wines.