Barrel Head Winery & Stone Cliff Winery

It was another one of those weekends when my husband and I were looking for something special to do. We reviewed my map with the circled areas where the wineries were located and decided to head back to the Dubuque area. It was January 28th, 2012 and we started with Barrel Head Winery. It was a little difficult to find because our GPS took us on a route that was way out of the way. Once we finally made it, we pulled in and headed into the tasting room. It took a couple of minutes before the owners wandered in but while we waited, we enjoyed the view of the vineyard. The tasting room was in the middle of construction at the time we visited. It was a work in progress but they were off to a good start. The bar they built was beautiful and had amazing detail. Once the owners came in to greet us, we sat down and let the owners walk us through their wine selection. Similar to the last winery I talked about, this winery was new and still working on getting their feet wet on forming a high quality business. They didn't have a list so we trusted the owners to let us taste the wines that they believed we would like. To our surprise, all of their wines were delicious. I can't recall the names of all of their wines but one that I do remember that will always stick out in my mind was their rhubarb wine. It was one of the most unique flavors I have ever had in a wine. We had plenty of samples and were feeling pretty good while we chatted with the owners. We had a great time and we made a connection with that couple. They even invited us to come pick grapes at harvest season. They described the three day process and it sounded like a good time. But after we had been there for long enough, we remembered that we had another place to visit so we said our goodbyes to our new friends and headed on our way with several bottles in tow. Our next stop was to one of the largest and most popular wineries in Iowa.
The fifteen minute drive took us to the port of Dubuque to Stone Cliff Winery. The building was beautiful and located right next to the Mississippi River. The building was formerly a brewery and the owners of Stone Cliff Winery turned it into their lovely tasting room while still maintaining the rich history of the large brick building. The room was buzzing and there were several people sipping on glasses and sharing bottles. They charge five dollars for a tasting but you get to keep the wine glass so it ends up being a pretty good deal. You get to have five different samples so I tried their Riesling, White Zinfandel, Red Fox, Moscato, and their Spiced Apple Wine. My husband tried a couple of other different ones so I got a small sip of their Cabernet Sauvignon and their Sweet Cherry Wine as well. They were all very good but my personal opinion is that they all lacked that special flavor that makes their wine stick out from everyone else. I would say that their wine is similar to the "big time" wineries that you can buy in any liquor or grocery store. It was funny because one of our discussions as Barrel Head was about the wineries who were trying to go "big time" and how they lack the true passion of making good wine. I wouldn't say that was the whole story for Stone Cliff Winery but it also felt like they were more concerned with making money and making their place look good rather than putting love and passion into making amazing wine. I'm no expert but I trust my palate. Their wines were good but lacked that extra punch that I have grown to expect from Iowa wine. Either way, it was a good day and we went home with lots of delicious wine.

Fox Ridge Winery & Walnut Tree Winery

I finished 2011 having visited seven wineries in Iowa. We can now move on to 2012 which was a very successful year but you will read all about it soon enough. Some friends and I decided to start the year off right. Thankfully, the winter of 2011/2012 was very mild in Iowa so we got to keep moving on the wine tour as early as January 7th, 2012. It was a typical Saturday afternoon and a car full of girls and I decided to take a drive to Traer, IA. This was where we found Fox Ridge Winery. It was a short drive down a gravel road where we came upon a typical Iowa farm with a sign at the beginning of the driveway to let us know that we had arrived. We pulled up to the building that was designated as the tasting room and headed in for some wine. We met the owner who greeted us and led us to the bar. After reviewing the wine list, we started with the Ridge Red. This was their version of a concord wine. It had that typical concord taste and was very good. The next one I sampled was their Deti Vino. This was one of my favorites. It also had that concord taste but the sweetness was balanced just right. I moved on to their Bohemian Blonde which is a semi-sweet white wine that was very light, crisp, and had nice fruity tones. I then tried the After Midnight which is also a semi-sweet white made from edelweiss grapes and was also very good. I also got to try their Riesling, You're Making Me Blush, and their Cranberry. Their You're Making Me Blush was another one of my favorites. It is a semi-sweet rose and was simply amazing. Needless to say they had many delicious wines and a gorgeous facility. Their property would be great for a party and I am sure they reserve their tasting room for any type of event. But our day wasn't done. We decided to head to another winery in Marion, IA.
As we pulled up to what we believed to be Walnut Tree Winery, we were confused and wondering why we were in the middle of this small suburb town. We had pulled up to an ordinary white house that had a huge walnut tree out front. We sat in the car for a few minutes wondering if it was safe to go in. The house looked a little sketchy and far from what we imagined a winery to look like. We hated to pass judgement but we also didn't want to set ourselves up for a trap. After a few minutes, we all agreed that we came all this way, we should at least check it out. We all walked up the path to the garage and found a small sign. We knew we were in the right place but still a little skeptical. We opened the door and were relieved to find a little old lady waiting for us. We quickly discovered that this was clearly a small operation. The woman lived alone and had been making wine her whole life for personal enjoyment and had only been selling it in the last few years. She was retired so she figured she might as well make wine for another reason other than just as a hobby. She had one piece of paper with her list of wines and the samples were served in dixie cups. Although this tasting was very informal and rather odd, we still had a great time. The woman was very friendly and had great stories to tell us. I bought a few of her wines but I can't remember the names of her wine other than the ones I bought. We were all surprised, most of her wine was actually quite good. They all tasted like nothing I have ever had. They were unique but still quite delicious. We had a great time so if you are ever in the Cedar Rapids area, give them a call and setup an appointment to taste her wine. This trip can easily be considered one of the most memorable winery visits we have ever had. If you are looking for an interesting experience, check this place out!

Engelbrecht Family Winery

This winery trip was a special day for me. I decided I wanted to take the women of my family to the winery that was closest to my hometown. It was November 19th, 2011 and my grandmother, my mother, my two sisters, and myself headed to Engelbrecht Family Winery in Fredericksburg, IA. This was an amazing place. They not only make wine, they also have a bed and breakfast. You pull into the drive to find a big blue farm house and small building with a winery sign where you get greeted by a huge but exceptionally friendly dog. The owners were very charming and of course they served us with some samples of their wine. My favorites were Heritage, White, Irish Charm, and Raspberry. The Heritage is a smooth yet subtle concord wine. The Irish Charm and the Raspberry are both very sweet and should be served as dessert wines. The White is a crisp white wine blended with three of their different grapes. This wine is very similar to a riesling wine. Their White wine is one of my all time favorite wines. We all enjoyed the wine as well as the company of the owners. The icing on the cake with our visit to Engelbrecht was the variety of truffles that they had and of course, we had to try a few. After leaving the winery, we traveled to Marquette to Eagles Landing Winery to try their wines as well. We also stopped at Old Man River Restaurant and Brewery in McGregor for lunch. We sampled a couple of their brews which were delicious and where we also had an excellent lunch. It was a great day and the best part was bonding with the most important women in my life.

Winneshiek Wildberry Winery

The next winery visit was on October 22nd, 2011. On this particular weekend, we decided to head to an area where my husband and I have spent many simple days just enjoying the beauty of nature. That meant that we would be heading to the gorgeous area of Decorah, IA. We drove into the countryside and found Winneshiek Wildberry Winery. We pulled up and it appeared to be pretty busy. We were surprised to find that the tasting room was a converted barn which displayed some amazing woodwork throughout the building. The place was very busy so we had to wait awhile before it was our turn to taste. While we were waiting, we got to listen to a very annoying man go on and on about one of the wines that they had called Horny Heifer. I think we heard the phrase "Horny Heifer" at least twenty times in ten minutes. After a short wait, the annoying man left and there was room for us to try some wine. Even though we were annoyed with hearing "Horny Heifer" a million times, we tried the wine and it was delicious. My favorite was the Blackberry Blossom wine. They had several others that were very good and a few that were okay. They only let you sample five different wines so my husband and I shared our samples. After having our fair share of samples, we decided to sit and share a bottle of wine. It was close to closing time so my husband and I sat and drank some wine and chatted with one of the older ladies who was working there. Eventually we had to pack up the several bottles of wine that we bought and headed on our way. Before we headed home, we decided to try a new brewery in town. The brewery is called Toppling Goliath Brewing Company. My husband likes to drink wine but he loves beer. We stopped and sampled a few of their brews. They were good too but we thought that their beer had very strong hops flavor which really isn't our style of beer. After sampling all they had, it was getting late so we decided to head home. It had been a long day but a lot of fun. The Decorah area has always been known for the beautiful scenery but it is nice to know that they have more to offer than just a pretty view. The wine and beer in Decorah, IA is always worth trying.