Photo submitted to the Times Observer The ribbon cutting held on Friday at the Brokenstraw Valley Winery on Friday morning.

Business is booming at the Brokenstraw Valley Winery.

The winery, still in its infancy, is hosting a grand opening at its location at 100 Hillside Drive in Youngsville on Saturday and Sunday. The event is taking place at the winery’s second location, the old Skyways Youngsville Ski Lodge.

The public is invited to the event, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m Sunday. The event will include wine tasting and chainsaw carving.

The event will celebrate a business that has grown exponentially since it first entered the minds of owners Ed and Deb Schaneberger less than three years ago.

“It was probably late 2015 when it first came up,” Deb Schaneberger said. “We were both contractors at the time. We were up at a vineyard in North East, and I was telling my husband that when I retire, I want to have a vineyard of my own. I had been making wine at home for the past 20 years anyway, so it made sense.”

The Schanebergers soon found themselves in the wine business, but in a different way than Deb had imagined.

A vacant gas station located at 3 North Main Street in Youngsville was available for tax sale, and Ed purchased it. That vacant gas station soon became the first location of the Brokenstraw Valley Winery.

“Luckily, we both came from construction so the process of changing it from a gas station to a winery was more time consuming than anything,” Deb said. “We had to get the gas tanks removed, reconstruct the bathrooms, board up some windows, and do a ton of scrubbing and cleaning. We probably spent close to $100,000 to get the place ready.”

Money well spent.

Doors to the winery opened on September 15, 2017, and the public was immediately intrigued.

“We were thinking of the September opening as more of a ‘soft’ opening, but the line was out the door,” Deb said. “Business has been great. The community has been fantastic.”

Customers were immediately attracted to the unique product – local, homemade wine. The Schanebergers manufacture their own wine, which is the only wine they sell.

“Any wine we sell, we make ourselves,” Deb said. “We don’t crush grapes, so we start with local juice. Once we get the juice, we pitch the yeast and, once it’s fermented, we let it do its thing. Then, if I want to sweeten it, I add the sugar.”

The Schanebergers saw the popularity the winery gained. They also saw the old ski lodge that had been sitting empty for close to 10 years. It was a perfect match.

“We had heard that the community wanted something done with the lodge,” Deb said. “We went and looked at it and thought ‘Wow, what a perfect place’. What we wanted is a place for the community to gather and socialize, and we think that’s exactly what this place is going to be.”

The spacious lodge will now serve as the second location of the Brokenstraw Valley Winery. It’s located exactly half of a mile away from the Main Street location, and will offer a more interactive, social scene.

“The first location was limited to mostly manufacturing and tasting,” Deb said. “We can do so much more at the lodge. Our hope is the community sees it as a fun gathering and meeting place.”

The lodge location will offer wine by the glass, wine by the bottle, local beer, and snacks.

The business has grown so fast that the winery now has 10 employees after starting with only the Schanebergers themselves. There is hope that even more growth will transpire soon.

“Our long-term goal is to move everything to the lodge,” Deb said. “Ed also hopes to start distilling so we can provide local spirits soon as well.”