River Valley Winery, Old Bank Winery & Train Wreck Winery

After my big trip to the Amanas, I took a couple of months off to finish out the summer and start the fall with a bang. It was September 29th, 2012 and my husband and I decided to head west. We started the day with River Valley Orchards and Winery. As we pulled into this beautiful orchard, we stopped and looked around at the gorgeous view. Eventually we made our way into the winery and as we entered, another couple was just leaving. We had the place all to ourselves except of course, for the owners who were working on making another batch of wine. We sat at the bar and the Mrs. decided to help us. She was a very nice woman and surprisingly young. She gave us a list of their wines and explained to us what they had to offer. We ended up trying all of their wines but some of our favorites were Fall Gold, Big Leaf, Bees Yak, Red Crapp, and White Crapp. Their Fall Gold is a yellow raspberry wine. Yes, you read correctly, I said yellow raspberry wine. Neither of us had heard of yellow raspberries before but we like black and red raspberries so we tried it and it was surprisingly delicious. Their Big Leaf is a rhubarb wine and is light and had a perfect balance between tartness and sweetness. The Bees Yak is made with what else but honey. It is a sweet wine and goes exceptionally well with chocolate. The Red Crapp and White Crapp are two completely different wines but both excellent. The White Crapp is like a Moscato and has subtle tones of lemon, tea, and peaches. The Red Crapp is made with pinot noir grapes and blackberries. All of their wines were excellent and we were so thankful that they would let us try them all. The best part about this winery was that they grew all of their products used to make their wine or else bought them from their local neighbors. Swing through Humboldt, IA sometime and try their wines.
After finishing up with our first winery for the day, we tried going to Mt. Valley Vineyard and Winery in Forest City, IA but when I called them to make sure they were opened, they informed me that they no longer had their tasting room open. They said that they still make wine but you can only buy it in stores around the area. I thanked her for the information and we decided to move on to our other stops.
Our next stop would take us to Kanawha, IA to Old Bank Winery. As we pulled into this small farm town, do you think we were surprised to find that this winery was a converted old bank. We walked into this old building where we found an older woman cleaning up. She was the owner and as we entered, she greeted us and gave us a history of the old building and how her and her husband started making wine. After a short chat, we then decided to try their wines. They had several different fruit wines as well as many others. We tried their Strawberry, Raspberry, Rhubarb, Strawberry Rhubarb and many more. Some of our favorites were Banker's Holiday and Edelweiss. All of their wines were very good. We were having a nice time just chatting and sipping wine but we had another winery to get to and their winery was close to closing time. We decided to move on and head to our next stop.
Our next visit was to Train Wreck Winery in Algona, IA. As we pulled into their parking lot, they looked pretty busy. By this time in the day, we were starving and needed something other than wine to fill our stomach. They were right next to a Pizza Hut so we decided to stop there for a pizza. By the time we finished our supper, the winery had pretty much cleared out. We went into the building which was a converted train stop and there were a couple of other people just finishing up so we wandered around and examined the facility first. We discovered that this winery had been started by a professional football player who was originally from this area of Iowa. His name is Dallas Clark and he did some amazing things with this old building. The concept was unique and a great success. They had converted this old building into a modern and sleek venue while still maintaining the old charm and classic history. After the other people left, we made our way to the bar and the friendly woman served us with a few of their wines. I tried Gandy Dancer, Caboose, Kate, and Cranberry. Their Gandy Dancer is a semi-sweet white wine that was well balanced and very good. Their Caboose wine was a sweeter white wine and probably my favorite. Their Kate wine was a sweet red but high acidity. The last wine I tried was their Cranberry which was a new addition to their selection and had a nice balance of tartness. Overall, I enjoyed all of their wines and we decided to finish our day with a couple of glasses out on the patio which of course, was right next to the railroad tracks. We finished the day while the sun was going down relaxing and having nice conversation between husband and wife. The day was done but my wine tour of Iowa was far from over. We had surely enjoyed ourselves on this lovely fall afternoon.

The Amanas

As I stated in my last post, this particular weekend was a big trip for my girlfriends and I. We started our trip on July 27th, 2012 by visiting a couple of wineries in the area and we then moved on to all the wineries in the Amanas on the following day. The Amanas are known for their German heritage. It is a small area of Iowa where they utilize the culture as a tourist attraction. Not only do they have wine, the have a brewery, arts and crafts shops, and much more. But we had a big day planned so we had to get started early.
We decided to start with their most famous winery, Ackerman Winery. They have a lot of different fruit wines as well as some cranberry blends and finally a few more traditional wines. I decided to try a bunch of their fruit wines. I tried some nontraditional ones like rhubarb and mango. They were good but very acidic. The wines were okay but the small samples they give you to taste was plenty. The best part of their visit was examining their building and searching through all the items they had for sale as well as exploring their history. But we had many other places to go so we moved on after a short visit.

The next winery we visited was only a block away but tucked away behind another business. It was Sandstone Winery. This winery was pretty good but far from great. It was a little odd at first because it was very dark inside and the woman behind the bar was very rude upon our arrival. After we tasted a few, they were very similar to the last winery. We then asked for bottles to buy and then she started to be a little nicer to us. We think she thought that we were just there for the free samples and not to actually buy anything.
We then walked down a few blocks stopping in a few different shops as we passed. Next we found White Cross Winery. There was no one else waiting so we got right up to the bar and tasted what they had. They had European style wines but not like the German style that we had already tried. This wine was much lighter, not so thick and syrupy, and did not have that strong acidic finish. We tried eight of their ten wines and all were much better than the last two wineries we had just visited. The woman working there was also very sweet to us and treated us very well. If you go to the Amanas, this is the winery to visit.
The last winery we found that was right in town was Village Winery. This winery again, was just like the first two. High acidity, thick and syrupy, and lots of fruit wines. By this time in the day, I was pretty burnt out on the German style wine so I only tried a couple of different flavors. They have a large store with lots of knick knacks for sale so I rummaged through that section for awhile.
We tried looking for a couple of other wineries that I had on my lists but we couldn't find them. We started the morning expecting to find at least eight different wineries but we ended up finishing with just five. The three that we couldn't find are Vines & Wines, Grapevine Winery, and Little Amana Winery. We found all of the addresses that they had listed for these three places but when we got there, it was a different business. After exploring the central area of the Amanas, we only had one more to check on that was a little outside of town.
We almost missed it but we saw the sign and made a quick turn to Ehrle Brothers Winery. This was an old farm house where a retired man decided to make wine and sell a few items. We tried a few of his wines but by now, we were all pretty burnt out on wine and his wines were the same as all the others. By this point, we had sensed a pattern for the style of wines that the Amanas had to offer. So if you like highly acidic wines with many different fruit options, the Amanas are your place to go. My friends and I didn't fare so well after finishing our Amanas tour but it was a good experience and we were all glad we at least tried it.

Cedar Ridge Winery & Fireside Winery

This was the beginning of a very exciting weekend for my girlfriends and I. We were off for a weekend away to the Amana's. But first, we decided to start this weekend on our Friday night after work. On our way to our hotel, we made our first stop at Cedar Ridge Winery in Swisher, IA. We pulled into this amazing place and found that it was very busy. The bar was full when we first walked in so we examined their wine selection for a short time. Some room opened up and the four of us stepped up to the bar. We sampled quite a few of their wines and all of them were amazing. I would say that it is safe to say that they have one wine that has to be my favorite wine of all I've had thus far. The wine is called St. Pepin. It is a middle range white wine. The crisp light flavors and the balance of sweetness makes this an exceptional wine. This winery was also the first time I have ever tried a port wine. All I can say about that is that it is a little too much for me to handle. After we finished sampling, we decided to order a couple of things from their food menu to enjoy out on the patio. They had a local band playing that night so we figured that was why they were so busy. We sat for awhile drinking wine while we snacked on the food they served us. We had a great time and I would classify this winery as one of my top five for overall experience. The family that owns the winery we very pleasant and very helpful, the property was astounding, and the wine was exceptional. But we decided to move on because we had more to do. We took off and headed to our hotel that we would be staying at for the weekend, got checked in, grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed to the next winery.
Our next stop was to Fireside Winery in Marengo, IA. The sun was making its way to the horizon when we made it to the winery. This winery was also hosting a local band that evening so they were very busy as well. When we pulled up, they had a small tasting bar setup out front and also inside. We went to the bar out front because they weren't busy. A couple of the ladies who worked there showed us their wine list and I decided to start with a couple of their red wines. I tried the St. Croix and the Serenade. They were both quite good and packed full of fruit flavor. I then tried a couple of the blush wines. I had their Spark and their Firefly. Their Spark wine was also very good and was full of exotic melon flavors. I finished my tasting with their white wines all of which were very good. I had their Blu, Storyteller, and Glow. Their Glow wine was pretty sweet but had nice tropical fruit, peach, and apricot tones. Blu was probably my favorite wine that they make. It is also in the middle range on the sweet to dry spectrum. The four of us then decided to split two different bottles and we headed out to the patio. By this time, it was dark out and it was just starting to cool off. We found an open table, poured a couple of glasses, and examined the property. Their patio setup was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. This is still my favorite winery when it comes to their vineyard and the scenery. They had fire pits out in the yard, beautiful gazebos, and spectacular landscaping. You have to see this place. Maybe it was the big bright moon out in the sky but this place was so relaxing and I would spend every summer night there if I could. Usually they are only open till 6pm on Friday nights so you have to catch them when they have a band because they stay open later. Anyway...this was just the beginning of a great weekend and it was already starting out to be an awesome time.

Garden Winery, Old Town Winery & Santa Maria Winery

On June 2nd, 2012, a couple of girlfriends and I decided we needed another road trip to visit some more wineries. We headed out early one Saturday morning to travel to Fort Dodge, IA. When we got to town, we had a little trouble finding the place. We let our GPS try to get us to the building but we couldn't seem to find it. We drove round and round trying to get there. We ended up heading back to the same area where the GPS originally took us. As we came down the steep hill and over the railroad tracks, there was only one small section of buildings before it became a deserted area of town. We had seen this all before only fifteen minutes earlier but we were looking more closely. There it was...right around the corner and we had almost missed it again. The sign was small but we found it this time. There was a young guy loading up a truck with some boxes. We pulled in and asked if they were still open for a tasting. He said that he was leaving soon for a wine tasting at another location. He invited us in and we got right to it. He was the owners son and he was a great help and knew a lot about their wine. He let us sample their Edelweiss, Sunset, Brianna, Morning Mist, Sweet William, Cranberry, and their newest wine, Moonlight Arbor. They were all very delicious and it was difficult for us to choose which ones to buy. My favorites were the Edelweiss, Brianna, Sweet William, and Moonlight Arbor. The Edelweiss was similar to many of I've had before but it was still very good. Their Brianna was another good sweeter white with excellent fruit tones and is similar to a Moscato. Their Sweet William is their version of a Concord wine. It was a good interpretation and not too sweet which a lot of them are. I think my favorite of all that they had to offer was the Moonlight Arbor. It is similar to Zinfandel and has a great rose color and excellent mild tones that makes it easy to drink more than you probably should. But after sampling several wines, we knew it was time to go. We each bought a couple of bottles and surprisingly enough the owner's son and we were heading to the same place. We were off to a small town that was hosting a multiple vendor wine tasting called Sip and Sample in Lakeview, IA. We said our thanks and headed on our way.
We headed to Lakeview and as we pulled into the beautiful town, we drove around awhile and found where they were having the event but it wasn't going to start for a couple more hours. We found a small place that was serving quick burgers and ice cream treats. We each order something for lunch and headed to a park right next to the big lake that the town surrounded. We had a great little picnic even though it was windier than heck. We finished our lunch and drove around the small town to kill the time. Eventually, the event started, we paid the small fee to enter, got our wine glass and sample tickets, and made our way around to each of the vendors. They weren't all wine vendors. Some were food, purses, arts and crafts, and much more. They even had a live band. We stayed there for a couple hours wandering around and collecting as many free samples as we could. We visited the Garden Winery table and they were offering their wine made into sangria. That was our favorite treat from all the vendors. We used up our tickets and decided to head out. This day was far from over so we headed to our next destination.
We arrived a short time later to Ida Grove, IA to Old Town Vineyard and Winery. We didn't have to travel too far into town before we had to take a quick right and head up a steep hill. We were heading into an area that was obviously for people with a lot of money. We found the acreage by the sign at the front of the drive. We pulled in and found their tasting room. We walked in and there were a couple of other people tasting wine and chatting. Their tasting room was beautiful. They had decorated it very beautifully and they had put a lot of money into making it look very nice. After wandering around a bit, we went up to the bar and met the owners. They were very nice and gave a quick history on how they got started. They were a retired couple and decided to spend their later years making and selling wine. We examined their wine list and were surprise to find they only had a few different flavors. They told us that most of their wines were on the dry side but we decided to try them anyway. We tried all five flavors that they had available. Most were too dry for our liking but not terrible. After sampling what they had, we decided to buy a bottle and sit out on the patio and enjoy the amazing view. We bought a bottle of their LaCrescent and sat out on the patio on this warm summer afternoon chatting about all that was currently going in our lives, past memories, and all the things we had planned for the rest of the summer. We finished the bottle and I bought another for home. Although the wines were too dry for us, they were still good and this place had an amazing facility. We had one more place to go before the day was done so we started driving once again.
We pulled into Carroll, IA and the GPS led us to our destination. This winery was another one that was in the middle of downtown. We found a parking spot on a side street and walked into Santa Maria Winery. The place was very busy and while we searched for an open table, we gazed at all the different bottles of wine they had as well as the other items they had for sale.  We found a table by the front window and sat down and waited for the waitress. Eventually a nice lady came over and asked if we were here just for wine or food as well. It had been several hours since our lunch in the park so we decided we needed both. We order some bruschetta to start us off while we looked over the wine list. She said that we could have four samples so I tried the Sweet Willey, Ringneck Red, Berazzled, and the My Blackberry. The Sweet Willey was a very sweet white and had good flavor. Next was the Ringneck Red which was similar to a Concord and quite good. The Berazzled was very good as well and not too sweet. Last was from their fruit section and My Blackberry was very very sweet but again, had that good berry flavor. After finishing our samples, we ate our supper and then scoped out the building. The main entrance is filled with tables and are obviously for serving food and wine tasting. They had a back area where you could see the wine vats. As I walked toward the back, there was a lot of commotion and I discovered that there was a wedding going on. They must also have a large back room that can be reserved for parties. After making our way around the place, we grabbed a few bottles to take with us. By this time, it was getting dark and we knew we had a long drive home. It had been a long day by the time we finally made it home, it was past midnight. We had a great time exploring these small Iowa towns and getting to sample many different wines. Even though we were exhausted by the end of the day, we had good food, even better wine, and best of all, each stop made us closer as friends.

BlueStem Winery & TownsEnd Winery

My next winery visit would be a few months after the last trip. My goal has always been at least one winery per month but sometimes, we get busy and the time just seems to slip by. It was April 14th, 2012 and my girlfriend and I headed out on this rainy spring afternoon to the winery that is closest to my home. That first stop took us to BlueStem Winery in Parkersburg, IA. This winery is smack dab in the middle of downtown. They don't grow their own grapes so there is no need to have their winery out in the country. They buy their grapes and fruits from dealers to make their wine. They make their wine in the basement of the old building. The owner gave us a tour of the process but not before we had some samples first. He allowed us to sample many different flavors. We tried Once in a Blue Moon which was very sweet. It is made from many different fruits which is also the case of most of their wines. Some others we tried were Feelin' Groovy, Tongue Twister, Crystal Moon, Starry Night, and Dancing in the Moon Light. Their Feelin' Groovy wine was packed full of flavor. It is low on the sweetness spectrum but it still had strong fruit flavors that give you that sweet edge. After the sampling was over, that was when we were shown how the wine is made. We finished our visit with a friendly chat with the owner while discussing which wines to buy. After wrapping up our chat and buying a couple different bottles, we let him know we were off to our next stop and we thanked him for his hospitality.
Our next stop was only a half hour drive west to Hansell, IA to TownsEnd Winery. We pulled into the drive and found a cute building designated as their tasting room next to rows of grape vines. We walked into the tasting room and were greeted by a very pleasant woman. We chatted for a few minutes discussing where we were from while we looked at their wine selection. Unfortunately for us, they are a busy winery so they were out of a few flavors that we were hoping to try. We did get to try several different wines though. We sampled their Frontenac, Mulberry, Cranberry, Black Raspberry, Harvest White, and their Concord. Their Frontenac is a semi-dry wine with cherry and plum favors. It was smooth and quite good but a little too dry for me. Their Mulberry wine was very good. It is made from the berries of local mulberry trees and it had a subtle berry taste that was semi-sweet. The Cranberry was very good but similar to many others that I have had. The Black Raspberry was awesome and probably my favorite of the day. It is super sweet and should be consumed in small doses with a few bites of chocolate. You take a whiff and then a sip of the wine, then a bite of chocolate, then another drink of the wine. The chocolate helps bring out the rich berry flavor. We also tried the Harvest White which is an apple wine with good flavor but it was a semi-dry as well. The last one we sampled was their Concord which is usually quite sweet but they described their process for making it. They don't add extra sugar which is usually what other wineries do to make it sweeter. They just let their grapes add the natural sugars. That makes the final product semi-dry but with excellent flavor. As we finished our samples, we picked out a few more bottles to take with us on our way and found a couple of other items in their clearance section to please our satisfaction for the deal of the day. As we wrapped up, another group was arriving so we paid for our items, said our goodbyes and headed for home. Once again we had an excellent day and we didn't even have to travel too far from home. It was a great day to waste what would have been a boring rainy afternoon.