more than a winery
Celebrating this Moment, Your Life, Our Wine
Deer Creek Winery exists to give people space to celebrate, relax, reconnect, and rejuvenate — four things the world needs more than ever. Over the years, it’s grown into a brand that blends wine, hospitality, and heartfelt service. Today, Deer Creek spans two scenic estates, a line of FUNTIME and Classic Collection wines, retail tasting rooms across Pennsylvania, and a strong local following built on authenticity and care.
Through changing seasons and economic shifts, the heart of Deer Creek has never wavered: offer joy through connection. Celebrate the little moments. Make people feel welcome. Do it all with a glass of something delicious in hand.
more than a winery
Celebrating this Moment, Your Life, Our Wine
Deer Creek Winery exists to give people space to celebrate, relax, reconnect, and rejuvenate — four things the world needs more than ever. Over the years, it’s grown into a brand that blends wine, hospitality, and heartfelt service. Today, Deer Creek spans two scenic estates, a line of FUNTIME and Classic Collection wines, retail tasting rooms across Pennsylvania, and a strong local following built on authenticity and care.
Through changing seasons and economic shifts, the heart of Deer Creek has never wavered: offer joy through connection. Celebrate the little moments. Make people feel welcome. Do it all with a glass of something delicious in hand.
about deer creek winery
The Creek Starts with The Brooks
Opening Deer Creek Winery was a risk. The year was 2009, and the country was in the middle of the Great Recession when the Brooks family decided to take a leap of faith. Laid off from an engineering job and armed with determination, they turned their fifth-generation farm in Shippenville, PA into something unexpected — a winery rooted in raspberries and resilience.
From the very beginning, Deer Creek wasn’t about prestige. It was about passion. The Brooks family believed that something meaningful could grow from this land — and it did.
through the years
Our Journey
1990’s
Camping on the Land
The Brooks family spent numerous summers camping and enjoying the land before starting the winery. Eventually building a rustic cabin in the location of the current Manor at Brooks Estate.
2006
Raspberries
It all started with two acres of red raspberries. This included 10 different varieties. It was important to understand what grew the best in our climate and produced the type of berries we preferred. These ended up being the inspiration for our very first wine. Denny started experimenting in the basement using five gallon carboys. The result of countless hours and trials was Deer Creek Raspberry. We’ve been making it ever since.
2009
Opening Deer Creek Winery
A risk. We were in the middle of the Great Recession, and we started out specializing in fruit wine rather than more recognizable wine varieties. But our family had owned this land for five generations—we knew that our farm already produced the finest raspberries available, and we knew that we could grow something amazing here.
Denny & Rhonda designed and built the original winery building on the property with the best road access and visibility. This original building consisted of the current kitchen and tasting room. All the wine was made and sold under one roof.
We opened our winery in September of 2009. We bottled raspberry wines and sold them to local wine lovers, restaurants, and stores. Soon we had expanded our operation to include other types of wine, and our products could be found in restaurants and stores throughout Western Pennsylvania. The first Deer Creek Winery retail outlet opened in 2010, and in 2013 we created our Olive Grove label to sell flavored olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars.
2011
Building the Warehouse
After two years, and faith filled growth, the back room could no longer contain the production needs of the company. A production warehouse was built to house the tanks, bottling line, and wine storage.
We started participating in farmer’s Markets and festivals like Wine Walks, Autumn Leaf Festival, Apple Fest, etc.
2012 – 2013
Expanding the Cabin to a House
Denny and Rhonda decided to convert the rustic cabin into a five bedroom house that could accommodate the entire family for Christmas and summer vacations.
Expanding the Warehouse
Once again, our amazing customers exceeded our ability to produce wine. To meet demand, we expanded the production warehouse to its current size, including several offices.
2014
Building Vino’s Den
We started hosting live music, art exhibits, and small events. We quickly realized that our tasting room was too small. To provide what our customers wanted, we extended the winery from the North side of the tasting room. The result was Vino’s Den.
2015
Outdoor Seating
We did a large revitalization of the outdoor seating area between the winery and the road to give customers a beautiful and relaxing area to enjoy their wine and food.
We also expanded our operation to include a location at The Mall at Robinson.
2016
Building the Inn
We decided to expand the business by building an attached eight bedroom bed and breakfast at our main Shippenville location became the only attached winery/BnB in Pennsylvania. This included the beautiful Gathering Place for hosting parties, events, and live entertainment when the weather was cold.
2017 – 2018
Expansions
McCandless (2017): We expanded our operation to include a location at McCandless Crossing.
South Hills Village (2018): We expanded our operation to include a location at South Hills Village.
2020
Building the Manor
After the overwhelming success of the eight bedroom Inn, we decided to convert our family home into five additional bedrooms for the bed and breakfast. This brought us up to 13 rooms.
2022
Buying Watson Estate
The continued success of our main Shippenville location encouraged us to purchase a second bed and breakfast. This is when the Watson Estate property joined the Deer Creek family. The property lies south of Pittsburgh, PA in the outskirts of Uniontown, PA in Fayette county.
2023
Rebranded Estates
Deer Creek Winery rebranded its two lodging destinations to reflect a deeper connection to place, legacy, and guest experience. The original Inn and Manor in Shippenville — built on five generations of Brooks family farmland — was unified under the name Brooks Estate. At the same time, the newer acquired Uniontown property, formerly known as Watson’s Choice, was renamed Watson Estate.
Year of Awards
- Our Shippenville Red was named the Official wine of the Autumn Leaf Festival
- Best in Fayette (Winery and B&B)
- Best in North Allegheny (TribLive) Uniontown Business Choice Award 2023
2024
Mill Creek Mall
We expanded our operation to include a location at Mill Creek Mall.
Best of the Best:
- Watson Estate & DCW
- Brooks Estate & DCW
- Jefferson Democrat Best of the Best
- McCandless Tasting Room: TribLIVE’s Best of the Best Awards for the BEST LOCAL WINERY in the NORTH Region!
through the years
Our Journey
1990’s
Camping on the Land
The Brooks family spent numerous summers camping and enjoying the land before starting the winery. Eventually building a rustic cabin in the location of the current Manor at Brooks Estate.
2006
Raspberries
It all started with two acres of red raspberries. This included 10 different varieties. It was important to understand what grew the best in our climate and produced the type of berries we preferred. These ended up being the inspiration for our very first wine. Denny started experimenting in the basement using five gallon carboys. The result of countless hours and trials was Deer Creek Raspberry. We’ve been making it ever since.
2009
Opening Deer Creek Winery
A risk. We were in the middle of the Great Recession, and we started out specializing in fruit wine rather than more recognizable wine varieties. But our family had owned this land for five generations—we knew that our farm already produced the finest raspberries available, and we knew that we could grow something amazing here.
Denny & Rhonda designed and built the original winery building on the property with the best road access and visibility. This original building consisted of the current kitchen and tasting room. All the wine was made and sold under one roof.
We opened our winery in September of 2009. We bottled raspberry wines and sold them to local wine lovers, restaurants, and stores. Soon we had expanded our operation to include other types of wine, and our products could be found in restaurants and stores throughout Western Pennsylvania. The first Deer Creek Winery retail outlet opened in 2010, and in 2013 we created our Olive Grove label to sell flavored olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars.
2011
Building the Warehouse
After two years, and faith filled growth, the back room could no longer contain the production needs of the company. A production warehouse was built to house the tanks, bottling line, and wine storage.
We started participating in farmer’s Markets and festivals like Wine Walks, Autumn Leaf Festival, Apple Fest, etc.
2012 – 2013
Expanding the Cabin to a House
Denny and Rhonda decided to convert the rustic cabin into a five bedroom house that could accommodate the entire family for Christmas and summer vacations.
Expanding the Warehouse
Once again, our amazing customers exceeded our ability to produce wine. To meet demand, we expanded the production warehouse to its current size, including several offices.
2014
Building Vino’s Den
We started hosting live music, art exhibits, and small events. We quickly realized that our tasting room was too small. To provide what our customers wanted, we extended the winery from the North side of the tasting room. The result was Vino’s Den.
2015
Outdoor Seating
We did a large revitalization of the outdoor seating area between the winery and the road to give customers a beautiful and relaxing area to enjoy their wine and food.
We also expanded our operation to include a location at The Mall at Robinson.
2016
Building the Inn
We decided to expand the business by building an attached eight bedroom bed and breakfast at our main Shippenville location became the only attached winery/BnB in Pennsylvania. This included the beautiful Gathering Place for hosting parties, events, and live entertainment when the weather was cold.
2017 – 2018
Expansions
McCandless (2017): We expanded our operation to include a location at McCandless Crossing.
South Hills Village (2018): We expanded our operation to include a location at South Hills Village.
2020
Building the Manor
After the overwhelming success of the eight bedroom Inn, we decided to convert our family home into five additional bedrooms for the bed and breakfast. This brought us up to 13 rooms.
2022
Buying Watson Estate
The continued success of our main Shippenville location encouraged us to purchase a second bed and breakfast. This is when the Watson Estate property joined the Deer Creek family. The property lies south of Pittsburgh, PA in the outskirts of Uniontown, PA in Fayette county.
2023
Rebranded Estates
Deer Creek Winery rebranded its two lodging destinations to reflect a deeper connection to place, legacy, and guest experience. The original Inn and Manor in Shippenville — built on five generations of Brooks family farmland — was unified under the name Brooks Estate. At the same time, the newer acquired Uniontown property, formerly known as Watson’s Choice, was renamed Watson Estate.
Year of Awards
- Our Shippenville Red was named the Official wine of the Autumn Leaf Festival
- Best in Fayette (Winery and B&B)
- Best in North Allegheny (TribLive) Uniontown Business Choice Award 2023
2024
Mill Creek Mall
We expanded our operation to include a location at Mill Creek Mall.
Best of the Best:
- Watson Estate & DCW
- Brooks Estate & DCW
- Jefferson Democrat Best of the Best
- McCandless Tasting Room: TribLIVE’s Best of the Best Awards for the BEST LOCAL WINERY in the NORTH Region!