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Carlos Creek Winery, LLC
Minnesota’s Largest Winery Keeps on Growing
Owners:
Kim and Tamara Bredeson
Location:
Alexandria, Minn.
Financing:
$674,000 SBA 504 real estate loan
for $2,182,500 project
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Sometimes, a small business can be the fulfillment of a dream. For Kim and Tamara Bredeson, that meant securing an SBA 504 loan that would allow them to purchase what many would consider the perfect blend of business and pleasure: a winery.
The Carlos Creek Winery is located just three miles north of Alexandria, Minn. Founded in 1999, the 11,000-case-per-year concern has quickly become the largest winery in the state. With a manageable equity injection, the Bredesons were able to snatch up this Minnesota gem as part of a $2.2 million SBA 504 loan project.
Carlos Creek Winery makes many varieties of grape and other fruit wines. The property also boasts an 8,000-tree apple orchard, and most of the apples in the vineyard are used to make apple wines such as apple blueberry, apple strawberry and a new combination: apple cranberry. Carlos Creek Apple wines have won multiple awards.
The winery has allowed the Bredesons to incorporate other businesses into the venture, making the entire property a highly lucrative operation. Kim’s Riverbound Carving dovetails nicely into the rural, natural ethos of the winery, which houses eight to 10 artists who rent stalls in the horse barn to display their items for sale during the summer months. A Starbuck’s coffee shop is also owned by the winery. Perhaps the biggest draw to the location is their annual wine stomp that attracts 12,000 to 18,000 visitors each fall and brings in nearly $10,000 in parking fees along with tour and sampling income.
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