St. Julian Winery & Distillery, Michigan’s largest and longest-operating winery, continues to invest heavily in its facilities. Recently, the winery completed another major phase of renovations. In total, these updates represent more than $10 million in capital improvements over a six-year period.
The main cellar renovations are now complete. These floor-to-ceiling upgrades include a new roof with added skylights, expanded flooring, and a large catwalk. In addition, St. Julian made significant investments in processing, filtration, and oxygen management systems. These improvements include a new glycol chilling system, a centrifuge, and crossflow filters. The renovation also added updated storage capacity for more than 1 million gallons of wine. The winery now uses state-of-the-art stainless steel jacketed tanks throughout the cellar.
“At St. Julian, we approach each harvest with the goal of making wines that can compete on a world stage,” says Nancie Oxley, Vice President of Winemaking. “Investments in winemaking equipment are game changing for us during our busiest time of year. As a result, these upgrades increase efficiency throughout the winemaking process.” She adds, “We are excited that these improvements allow us to continue innovating in an increasingly competitive wine market.”
Looking ahead, St. Julian plans several additional infrastructure projects. These plans include new flooring, bottling line improvements, distillation expansion, and additional small barrel storage. Together, these updates will further support premium wine development. “Our mission focuses on combining scale with quality,” says Apollo Braganini II, President of St. Julian Winery & Distillery. “Because of that commitment, we will continue investing now and in the future.”
Founded in 1921, family-owned St. Julian Winery & Distillery stands as Michigan’s longest-operating winery. At its downtown Paw Paw location, the winery produces award-winning wines, sparkling juices, spirits, and cider. In addition, St. Julian operates tasting rooms in Dundee, Frankenmuth, Paw Paw, Troy, Rockford, and Union Pier, Mich.
