Our Story

Family-Owned. Female-Led. Oklahoma Proud.

The Rusty Nail Winery is a family-run, female-led winery with deep roots. Founded by Sulphur natives, Debbie Alexander and her daughter, Melissa, the winery began as a small passion project. Debbie started making wine at home for friends and family—just for fun. But when the requests kept coming, a dream began to take shape. On September 25, 2010, The Rusty Nail Winery officially opened its doors in historic downtown Sulphur, Oklahoma.

Today, Debbie and Melissa operate the business as full-time partners, while the rest of the family continues to lend love and support behind the scenes.

What’s In A Name…

We get this question a lot—and it’s one of our favorite stories to tell.

When we moved into our original downtown Sulphur location in 2010, we discovered several bins of rusty nails tucked into the far corners of the building. That small surprise sparked a big appreciation for the history of the space.

The building, originally constructed in *1906**, once housed a hardware store and was one of the oldest commercial buildings in Sulphur—older than the state of Oklahoma itself.*

It was later added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Sulphur Commercial District.

While the actual nails didn’t make it into our wine lineup (rust and rosé don’t mix), we chose the name Rusty Nail Winery to honor that legacy—paying tribute to the grit, charm, and character of a space that stood for more than a century.

Rebuilding with Heart

In April 2024, a tornado devastated our historic building. Though we lost our physical space, we never lost our spirit. We’re committed to rebuilding—and continuing to serve our community, our customers, and our story one glass at a time.

While we construct our new home, you can visit us at our cozy temporary location:
📍 1218 West Broadway Avenue, Sulphur, OK

We’d love to welcome you in.

Learn More About Our Wines