Wichita's First Urban Winery
Founded in 2016 by Jennifer McDonald, Jenny Dawn Cellars has grown from the dream of an at-home winemaker into Wichita’s first urban winery.
In 2017, Jenny Dawn Cellars established a working partnership with a wine facilitator in Napa, California. In 2019, Jenny Dawn Cellars opened a winery and tasting room in the heart of downtown Wichita located at Union Station. Jennifer now crafts and bottles her wines on-site, with grapes and juice sourced from the finest growers in California and Kansas.
As of 2022, Jenny Dawn Cellars has 14 handcrafted wines.
Union Station Chardonnay, Black Locomotive Crimson Cabernet, Red Caboose Dry Rosé, 2019 Rosé Wine (Watermelon), 2018 Chardonnay, 2017 Pinot Noir, 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2017 Sweet Red Wine (Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah Blend), Wichita Passion (Blackberry Wine), Wichita Moments (Apple Wine), Semi-Sweet Red, Semi-Sweet Rosé, and Semi-Sweet White.
Jenny Dawn Cellars winery and tasting room at Union Station offers charcuterie and small bites, venue rentals, private wine tastings, wine locker memberships, and Winuecation – a monthly educational class.
Jenny Dawn Cellars Wine Collections
Wineucation: The Cookbook
Food is celebrated everywhere, regardless of ethnicity, culture, or religion; every human gracing this planet adores food one way or another. After feasting on dishes filled with beef, cheese, and all that savory goodness, you just can’t pass up the opportunity for a plate of dessert. That is magical in itself, but nothing beats food paired with the right wine. This cookbook accumulates 27 recipes ranging from beef dishes to vegan enchiladas, to celebrate the art of food. It includes dishes completely different from each other, yet powerful enough to bring families together. The best part of it all is that these dishes taste extravagant when paired with the correct Jenny Dawn Cellar wine! This book is packed with not only food but knowledge regarding what wine pairing complements which dish.
The Owner
Jennifer McDonald
Founder, Managing Partner and Head Winemaker
Jennifer McDonald is a successful entrepreneur, human resources and recruiting professional who has spent the last 15 years developing and leading strategic initiatives for some of Wichita’s largest employers. She has leveraged her business acumen and leadership skills from the corporate world into the wine industry. She has spent the past six years turning her passion for wine and her love of the unique ability wine has to bring people together into an urban winery vision for expanding both depth and diversity into downtown Wichita.
Jennifer has a Master’s Degree in Agribusiness from Kansas State University. Jennifer has developed and produced research data on consumer wine preferences. She is an award winning winemaker. Her wines have received Best in Class, Gold, Silver and Bronze medals from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, Texas International Wine Competition, New World International Wine Competition and Kansas Grape Growers and Winemakers Association.
She has received the Innovations in Business Award presented by Young Professionals of Wichita and was also recognized as one of Wichita’s top 40 people in business under age 40 by the Wichita Business Journal. She is a part of the Pipeline Fellowship and also completed Wichita State University and e2e’s collaborative start-up accelerator program, Launch Prep. She manages an urban orchard and teaches a monthly wine class called Wineucation. She manages the winery strategy and vision.
