Introducing Drift Line Beverage Co.

Drift Line Beverage Company wasn’t born in a boardroom. It didn’t come from a focus group or a corporate brainstorm. It came from a moment overlooking the expansive Upper Mississippi River Valley, a region where founder Luke Nilles’ family has lived and farmed since the mid-1850s. That deep-rooted connection to the land—paired with a modern spirit of entrepreneurship—helped shape a vision for something new: clean, easygoing beverages inspired by life in the bluff country.

Luke had spent years building things. Raised in a family business rooted in real estate, construction, and hospitality, he developed his career through hands-on craftsmanship and practical problem-solving. But after the sudden loss of his mother in 2017, he stepped into a new kind of leadership role managing the operations of four different family businesses, including Seven Hawks Vineyards in the Driftless region of Wisconsin.

What started as crisis management evolved into something more: a crash course in business strategy, people management, creative problem-solving—and eventually, a desire to build something of his own. It was during this time that Luke formed a mentorship relationship with a prominent winemaker in the natural wine space. Her unorthodox approach to winemaking—experimental, expressive, unconstrained by tradition—pushed Luke to rethink everything he knew about the craft. She helped him see that wine didn’t have to be buttoned-up. It could be bright. Casual. Creative. Even fun.

That idea stuck. And before long, it sparked a bigger question: What if wine—and all the rules around it—could loosen up a bit? What if it could go where people actually go?

Drift Line began with that question. The first product ideas were wine spritzers—clean, crisp, and easy to enjoy. But the vision quickly expanded into a full lineup of sessionable canned beverages: wine-based cocktails, hard ciders, and whatever else fit the vibe. Something that felt right in a cooler. Or a golf cart. Or next to a fire at the end of a long hike.

The road to Drift Line wasn’t exactly a straight line. Luke spent months—maybe years, depending on where you start counting—chatting with people across the local beverage scene. Brewers, winemakers, bartenders, designers, friends of friends. Each conversation helped shape what Drift Line would (and wouldn’t) be.

Eventually, those conversations led him to two incredible partnerships. First was Studio2 Design + Digital in St. Paul, a creative team that just got it. They helped bring the Drift Line brand to life in a way that felt both fresh and familiar—something that looked like it belonged in a cooler in Northern Minnesota. Then came Sociable Cider Werks in Minneapolis. Their team knew exactly how to take Luke’s product ideas and turn them into clean, crushable beverages with real flavor. It all came together around a shared love of experimentation, balance, and just making something fun.

And maybe it all makes sense; Luke’s family has been rooted in the bluff country of Winona County since the 1850s. They’ve been farming, building, and figuring things out in that region for generations. Drift Line is just the latest version of that same energy: practical, creative, and ready to share.

Drift Line isn’t trying to compete with national conglomerates. It’s not trying to impress critics or score points on wine lists. It’s here to earn a spot in your cooler. On your boat. At your campsite. At your post-round hang. Drift Line was built for the way Minnesotans and Wisconsinites actually live and unwind.

And that’s the whole point. Real beverages, made to move.

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