Our Story

What People are Saying about Winemaker’s Island
March 3, 2016
What People are Saying about Winemaker’s Island
March 3, 2016
After years of conservation and property enhancement, Winemaker's Island was opened to limited waterfowl hunting. Located on the famed Oregon Trail in Western Nebraska, Winemaker's Island is one of the premier duck hunting spots in Nebraska. The heart of the ranch is an 800 acre island in the center of the North Platte River. With more than 18 ponds, numerous waterways, and miles of river frontage, this is a waterfowler's wonderland.

Hunting and habitat enhancement hand-in-hand

Our Story

Tom Henning and his son, Captain Grant Henning, residents of Louisiana—The Sportsman's Paradise state—found Winemaker’s Island for sale in 2016 by Sam Sebastiani, California Winemaker and famed waterfowl and wildlife conservationist. Sam had already received the Private Conservationist of the Year award from the EPA for wetland restoration project in Sonoma Valley, California. Looking for another project, Sam found the North Platte River in Nebraska. Impressed with the waterfowl numbers, and after a protracted search, in 1992 Sam purchased an 800-acre island with an additional surrounding 1,500 acres. This 2,300 acre ranch looks like a land of lakes and waterways. Eighteen ponds have been built, connected by undulating streams of warm water. The ultimate effect has been the creation of a veritable duck and goose magnet.

On their first visit, Tom and Grant Henning fell in love with Winemaker’s Island. Although the two of them are accustomed to hunting waterfowl in the marshes and rice fields of Southwest Louisiana, the new landscape and hunting the North Platte River and the variety of ponds and slough created at Winemaker’s Island offered a refreshing change of pace. Ethical hunting and habitat enhancement work hand-in-hand on this 2,300 acre paradise.