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What if wine could be simple again?
No jargon. No pressure. Just good wine, made for you—and maybe even by you.
We sit down with Brett Scharnhorst, owner of Vinomondo Winery in Fort Gratiot, Michigan. From his unexpected career shift from IT project management to winemaking, Brett shares how Vinomondo is creating something truly unique: a DIY wine experience where customers can taste, bottle, and label their own creations.
Recently voted Detroit’s Best of the Best for Wine, Vinomondo is more than a winery—it’s a place where community, creativity, and really good wine come together.
Whether you’re a seasoned wine lover or someone who’s never had a drop, this conversation will leave you curious, inspired, and maybe even ready to craft your own blend.
Address:
4505 Lakeshore Road, Fort Gratiot, Michigan
Website:
Social Media:
- Facebook: Vinomondo Winery
- Instagram: @vinomondowinery
- X (formerly Twitter): @vinomondowinery
Vinomondo Winery: Michigan’s DIY Wine Experience That’s All About You
When Did Wine Get So Complicated?
Somewhere along the line, wine stopped being fun.
Labels started reading like textbooks. Bottles came with price tags that required a second mortgage. Rules popped up about meat and red, fish and white, glasses you’re supposed to swirl, and sulfites you’re supposed to fear.
And through it all, a lot of people quietly stopped drinking wine altogether. It felt like too much. Too complicated. Too rigid.
But in a quiet corner of Fort Gratiot, Michigan, just outside Port Huron, there’s a place that’s rewriting the rules. Or rather, ignoring them altogether.
Welcome to Vinomondo Winery: part DIY wine lab, part tasting room, part neighborhood gathering space.
They don’t own a vineyard. They don’t quote French appellations. They don’t make you feel like you have to know what “tannin” means to enjoy what’s in the glass.
At Vinomondo, they’re bringing wine back down to earth. And making it personal.
Meet the Man Who Traded Code for Corks
Brett Scharnhorst didn’t grow up on a vineyard. He didn’t apprentice in Napa. He didn’t fall in love with wine on a semester abroad.
He worked in IT.
A project manager with a career built on systems, timelines, and budgets, Brett spent decades managing technology. But in the background, a quieter love was developing. One that had less to do with servers and more to do with shared moments, good food, and friends laughing around a table.
“It just kind of fell into our laps,” Brett says. “My wife and I were long-time customers. And when we heard the owners were looking to retire, we knew we didn’t want this place to disappear.”
So in September 2022, Brett and Jackie Scharnhorst did something most people only dream about. They bought Vinomondo Winery and started pouring their energy into turning it into something that would both preserve the past and create something new.
What Makes Vinomondo Different?
In a word? Everything.
Vinomondo isn’t just about tasting wine. It’s about making it. And not in a “stomp the grapes with your bare feet” kind of way. This is approachable, scalable, and smart.
Here’s how it works:
- Start with a tasting. Try reds, whites, sweet, dry. Figure out what you like—without pressure.
- Pick your batch. Once you’ve fallen in love with something, you can order a custom batch—15 or 28 bottles—made just for you.
- Let it ferment. Over the next 8–10 weeks, your wine is created and aged on-site.
- Bottle it yourself. You return, label in hand, ready to cork, shrink-wrap, and celebrate.
“You’d be surprised how many people bring a Bluetooth speaker, some snacks, and turn bottling day into a party,” Brett says. “It’s social. It’s fun. And it’s something you remember.”
Wine for Real People
Vinomondo Winery sources juices and grapes from around the world—Italy, Australia, California, South Africa—and handles the fermentation in-house.
But their real differentiator is this: they build wine around your preferences. Not the other way around.
You like sweet? Great. Dry? Done. You want to chill your red wine? They’ll hand you the corkscrew and smile.
“There are no rules,” Brett says. “Drink what you like. That’s it.”
This open-door attitude has made Vinomondo a hit with:
- First-time wine drinkers who feel overwhelmed by liquor store aisles
- Couples and bridal parties looking to create custom-labeled bottles
- Businesses who want a meaningful, local gift for clients or employees
- Anyone who wants to make wine social again
Bottling Day Is a Party
The process of bottling your wine might sound industrial, but at Vinomondo, it’s an experience.
“We had a group of eight women come in to bottle their batch,” Brett recalls. “They brought music, danced, sang the same song ten times. It was a blast.”
Here’s how bottling works:
- Insert your bottle into the filling machine
- Pop it into the corker (pneumatic and automatic)
- Slide on a foil, hit it with a heat gun
- Apply your label (or one of Vinomondo’s templates)
- Repeat until you’re grinning
You don’t need wine knowledge. You just need a good playlist and a couple of friends.
The Sulfite Problem (and Why You Don’t Get Headaches Here)
Brett’s not afraid to talk about what gives wine a bad rap. That “day after” headache.
“Most of what you buy at big box stores has added sulfites,” he says. “It’s there for shelf stability. But we don’t need that. We’re not bottling for mass distribution. We’re bottling for you.”
Vinomondo uses no artificial sulfites, meaning their wine is fresh, natural, and meant to be enjoyed. Not stored in a cellar for 20 years.
“I’ve been drinking our wine for over a decade,” Brett says. “Never had a headache. Not once.”
Weddings, Rehearsals, Holidays, and More
Because you can customize the label, Vinomondo wines have become a go-to gift option for:
- Weddings (split bottles with the couple’s name)
- Retirement parties
- Company holiday gifts
- Real estate closings
- Family reunions
And yes, you can design your label right on-site.
Detroit’s Best of the Best
In 2023, Vinomondo Winery was voted Detroit’s Best of the Best for Wine.
Let that sink in.
Not a vineyard. Not a luxury estate winery. A hands-on, down-to-earth, people-first shop in Fort Gratiot beat out competitors across the state.
“We weren’t expecting it,” Brett says. “But it tells us people want this kind of experience. They want to connect.”
And that’s exactly what Vinomondo delivers: connection through wine.
Visit Vinomondo Winery
If you’re looking for something unique in Michigan, something that feels like community in a glass, Vinomondo Winery should be on your list.
You can stop in for a tasting. You can book a bottling session. You can walk out with a case of wine that you helped create.
Or you can just sit, sip, and talk with people who care more about what you like than what the “rules” say you should.
Final Pour
This isn’t just a Michigan wine story.
It’s a people story.
A couple who believed in a business enough to buy it.
A community who shows up, bottles together, and leaves laughing.
A customer experience built on taste, joy, and simplicity.
Vinomondo Winery isn’t trying to be fancy. It’s trying to be real.
And that’s what makes it extraordinary.
