After immigrating to the United States in 1880, he opened a vineyard and winery in the Arkansas River Valley.
He continued to make wine during Prohibition in the United States, having been granted special permission by the Catholic Church.
[2] They lived with Father Ziswyler, a Swiss Roman Catholic priest, until purchasing land in the Boston Mountains near the Arkansas Valley and building a cabin there.
[6] Trained as a shoemaker and leatherworker in Switzerland, he also made a living making and repairing shoes.
[6] He designed a winery in the Swiss Alpine style on St. Mary's Mountain near Altus, overlooking the Arkansas River.