Oklahoma Wine with California Roots

The Winery

If we are going to make wine, we are going to make the finest wine we possibly can, was our founding philosophy when starting the Farfalla Winery. That’s why we traveled extensively, finding the best grapes available in America. We feel a special kinship with the California grapes. Their fine quality and flavor are superior to most areas in the world. Hence our relationship with a family owned vineyard in Lodi, California.

“Farfalla” means butterfly in Italian

It’s a perfect metaphor for our company, as we find our own lives being changed as we grow and expand.

The latest technology in winemaking has been incorporated into our processes. With careful selection of our grapes and a meticulous approach to our winemaking method, first-light was to some very intriguing and flavorful wines. Over the years we have refined our selection to a smaller variety of the highest quality Oklahoma wine available.

We love having our friends and family stop by and share a glass of wine with us. That is the real passion we have – seeing people having fun, transporting themselves to a kinder, more loving environment, sharing our joys and lightening our lives’ pathways. We hope our wine delights you and warms your heart and hearth. Come by our winery and enjoy our Oklahoma hospitality.

Spirited Beginnings

Yukon without a doubt has a long and rich history and a part of that includes Progress beer. The Kroutils (Ray’s maternal family) were deeply involved in Yukon’s history and invested in its future in many ways, one of which was by creating the Progress Brewery. Regardless of how much Progress we make as a city and state, it is important to remember where we come from and the roots planted to get us where we are today.

After a humble beginning in a barn less than 2 blocks from today’s Farfalla Wine and just after Prohibition was lifted, John Kroutil, along with G.F. Streich, opened up the Progress Brewery at 501 N. Douglass in Oklahoma City. The six-story brew house had a capacity of producing 100,000 barrels of Progress Beer a day at its peak. It employed 1,000 people at one time, during the Depression. The beer was a regional beer, meaning it was an Oklahoma beer for Oklahomans.

The picture to the left was taken from a meeting of regional brewers at the Progress Brewery in OKC.  The first man, with the hat, may have been the brewmaster at Progress. His name was Cliff.  The second man is Walter Hiss of Chicago, then John F. Kroutil out front middle, and Mark Dykema, Progress executive secretary/treasurer, on the far right.

The picture to the right was taken in the taproom and features John Kroutil (far right) along with Mark Dykema and Elmer Streich to Kroutil’s right. To the far left may be the first Progress brewmaster Otto Deter.

Those who tried the brew all agreed it was of excellent quality. The business was later sold to the Lone Star Brewery and the building, which is still standing, is now used as NewView Oklahoma, a facility for helping people with vision loss or blindness.

Pictures of Progress Brewery courtesy of Mary D. Streich.