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.
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