Bel-Aire Estates Winery

October 12th, 2013, my mother and I were on our way to Saint Ansgar, IA. This was the only winery left within two hours from my house that I had left to visit. Bel-Aire Winery was just a few miles out of Saint Ansgar and just off the main road was a big sign for the winery. We pulled off onto the gravel road and it was a short drive before you came upon the next sign to turn onto the property. We pulled up the drive which was lined with apple trees. There were a couple more signs that lead back to the tasting room. Upon entering the tasting room, we were greeted by the owner. They had a nice little tasting bar, some shelving with bottles of wine and a few items for sale too. We decided to start with the tasting and the owner asked what we liked for wine. I told her I preferred semi-dry to sweet wines and I didn't mind dry wines if they didn't leave cotton balls in my mouth. She suggested four wines that they currently had to offer. I believe the first one we tried was their Bluebell which was a semi-sweet rose. It was quite good so we tried the Rosey Ass wine next. This wine was another rose but it was sweeter than the last. I believe the next one we tried was their Happy Ass which was a sweet apple wine. The last we tried was their Strawberry-Rhubarb. I think this was my favorite of theirs because of the shocking taste profile. You first get that sharp rhubarb taste at first sip and then you finish with a smooth strawberry flavor. It was awesome how it started tart and finished smooth and sweet. We were informed that they change their available wines regularly so it is best to check back on their website to see what wines they have available at the time.
After enjoying their samples and having conversation with the owner, we decided to look around and go through the items they had for sale. I ended up buying two bottles of wine, their Strawberry-Rhubarb of course, and then a bottle of their Rosey Ass. But I think my favorite buy of the day was the bead necklace that was the shape of a grape cluster. I figured that I had been to enough wineries and had drank enough wine by now that I deserved to wear and represent the fruit of the vine.
We had a great little road trip and we were glad we finally made it to Saint Ansgar to Bel-Aire Winery. Our only complaint about their winery was that the fruit flies would not leave us alone. It was annoying but our visit didn't take too long so we were only bothered for a little bit. We both thought they had a cute little acreage and had a good little winery. If you are looking for a quick stop to get some wine, this is the place to go. It is not too far from the Minnesota border and not too far from Northwood where the casino is. It was a good road trip and I am glad I got to spend the day with my mother.

Brush Creek Winery & Sunset Ridge Winery

This particular weekend was planned based on the fact that my wine stock was basically nonexistent. My friend and I decided to plan a little day trip to get away and drink some wine. I invited my husband along as the DD. It was October 5th, 2013 and we decided to head to the Dubuque area. We had planned to go to a couple of wineries south of Dubuque but one was temporary closed for remodeling. So we had to change plans but it all worked out because there was one in Dubuque, that I had mentioned in earlier posts, that did not have a tasting room when I was in the area in 2011. We started the day by stopping at a winery that I had already been to. Crimson Sunset Winery was one of our favorites so we figured, why not stop again, maybe I could convince my husband to purchase a couple of bottles. So anyway, we stopped at Crimson first and we were surprised, Lisa remembered who we where and remembered our last visit. We had a good conversation with her and sampled the whites again. I was glad that they tasted as good as I had remembered considering the last time I was there, it had been my fourth winery of the day. So we stayed for a short time and then left with a couple of bottles in tow. We had another great visit at Crimson Sunset and it remains one of my top favorites so we will definitely be returning often to their place.
Our next stop took us over to Bellevue, IA to Brush Creek Winery. At this winery, you got to sample four wines for free and then anything over four you had to pay $1 for each additional sample which was donated to the local fire department. I ended up trying five samples. I started with their Razzy Red which was one of their semi-dry wines and was a raspberry wine. I thought it was a little syrupy, tart and had a hint of acidity so it was a little too much for me. Next I tried the By the Dam Good Wine which was a semi- sweet blush. It was one of my favorites because it had a little bite with a smooth finish. Next I had their Foxy which was my favorite of all I tried at their winery. It was a light white similar to a Riesling  but it had a hint of sweetness at first sip and then a smooth finish. Next was the Girls r Meaner which I had to try just because of the name. It was quite good though and I got a light grapefruit flavor. Last one I tried was the Sweeter than Springtime which was good as well but a little to sweet for my liking and I got a stronger floral flavor. Overall it was a good winery. The owners were very nice and very helpful. They had a cute little dog running around which is always fun to give a little attention to.
Our next stop was to another winery that my husband I had already been to. We were heading to Dubuque to go to a new winery anyway so we decided to stop into Barrel Head Winery again. When we we arrived, they were pretty busy so we had to wait for a couple of people to leave before we could get samples. We got there right before closing time so we only tried a few samples and then bought a bottle of their new champagne to go.
Our last stop of the day was to Sunset Ridge Winery in Dubuque. Again, I had tried to go to their winery back in 2011. At that time, they hadn't opened their tasting room. In fact, they had just opened their winery a few months prior to this visit. So anyway, we found their new place and when we first pulled up, there was no one else there so we thought they might be closed. But we found their owner sitting in the patio area and they said they were still open so we went into the building for some samples. I believe I tried their Pinot Grigio, their Rosy Cheeks, Sweet Apple, and Sweet Steuben. I really liked their Pinot, Sweet Apple and Sweet Steuben. After having a couple of samples, a bunch of people starting coming in. We decided to try there seasonal sangria and we got a pitcher of it and sat out in their patio area.  They had a really pretty facility. The building was nice and their tasting room area was very cute. They had the patio area covered and it was a really nice setup. I got a couple of pictures of my friend and I in front of the fountain. We really liked their wines and really liked their facility. Again, we had another great day driving around and drinking wonderful wine. We made a coupe of old stops and a couple of new stops. Both new places were definitely worth the stop and I can't wait to dip into the case of wine we got between all four stops that day.

Two Saints Winery & Madison County Winery

This adventure begins on a cold, rainy, fall morning. It was September 28th, 2013 and my friend and I needed a bonding day. She has a hobby that she is very passionate about, as do I, needless to say. So we figured, lets combine the two and create a fun-filled day that would appease us both. So we left from my house early that morning with the coffee thermos in tow. We knew we were heading south of Des Moines but the exact plan had yet to be decided. The overall plan though was to hit a couple of wineries and the rest of the day would involve exploring the Bridges of Madison County and looking for letterboxes. Letterboxing is my friend's hobby. If you have not heard about letterboxing, it is basically a scavenger hunt that requires you to leave your mark when you find the box and then take their mark with you. I don't want to say too much about it but if you're intrigued, visit http://www.letterboxing.org/.

So anyway, it was a couple of hour drive but once we got close, we decided to start the day with looking for a letterbox at Roseman Bridge. It was our first hunt for the day and thankfully, it was a successful find.

 

Our next stop was at Imes Bridge. Unfortunately, that letterbox was no longer there. The owner had left a comment saying he believed it to be gone but we figured we would try looking for it anyway. After about fifteen minutes of looking with no avail, we decided to move on. But to boost our spirits, it was just a short drive to the first winery of the day.

 

 

Just east of Saint Charles, IA sits Two Saints Winery. As we entered, we realized we were the only visitors. It was nice though, I prefer it to be that way just because its easier to have a conversation with the owners or the people working the bar. We glanced around and saw quite a selection of items for sale but we decided to start with the wine samples. We decided to try the sweeter side of their wine list because we felt it would best suit of taste preferences. I tried their Confessions, Rapture, Edelweiss, Frontenac Blush, St. Pepin, and Trinity. Confessions was very smooth and was a nice white that had subtle hints of a few fruits but I got the hint of white peach. I also really liked their Edelweiss because it wasn't too sweet yet very smooth and would pair well with just about anything. Their Frontenac Blush was very good. It had a slight cherry flavor, which I don't usually prefer, but it was so subtle that you barley noticed it. Plus you also got a hint of strawberry which worked quite well together. I also really enjoyed their St. Pepin. It had those more exotic fruit flavors that I have really come to enjoy. We had a great time visiting with one of their owners. We told our story for the day and gave her some insight about what letterboxing was. It was a great stop and it put us in a great mood for more wine.

Just on the west side of Saint Charles sits Madison County Winery and Twisted Vine Brewery. I believe the brewery side of this establishment is rather new but we decided to try both since we were already there. We started with wine though and we got to try five samples for free. I decided to go with their Gold, Hunter's Moon, Midnight Rain, Pink, and Strawberry Blonde. Their Gold was the driest of all that I tried there and was a bit too tart and acidic for my liking. Their Hunter's Moon was very smooth and was much more to my liking. Their Midnight Rain was quite dry too but I also picked up on the earthy smoky characters which were interesting but not what I go for either. Their Pink wine was a semi-sweet which was very good and very easy to drink. We finished up with the wine samples and then decided to try a couple of beer samples. We moved to the front window to sit and chat and sip on the brews. They had a great patio area that I bet would be awesome on a warm summer night. I had to get a couple of pictures because it was a beautiful view.

 



 

 

 

So that would end our adventure with wine for the day, but our day was far from over. We went to Holliwell Bridge next which we were able to find two different letterboxes at. We then went to Cedar Bridge and we found one letter box there. We had a good time at Cedar Bridge because it is the only covered bridge that you are able to driver over.

 

 

 

The next bridge we visited was Hogback Bridge, the one I wrote about when I visited Covered Bridges Winery with my husband in 2011. Again, we were not able to find the letterbox, but we did find the heart that my husband and I drew our names in on the inside of the bridge. I was happy to see it was still pretty visible but it had faded a little.

 







The last bridge would take us into the town of Winterset. Cutler-Donahoe Bridge was in the middle of a city park. There was obviously homecoming events going on in town because there were a ton of teenagers in the park taking pictures. Of course, we were not able to locate the letterbox on the bridge but we had a couple more to try. We ended up only finding one more letterbox in a cemetery just on the edge of town. In total, we attempted to find twelve different letterboxes and were only able to find five.

 

So by the time we finished our adventure, you can assume we were pretty beat. And starved if I might add. So we drove to Des Moines, got some food in our belly and then made our way towards home. All in all it was a great day and a very successful one at that. We got to see all the Bridges of Madison County, we found a bunch of letterboxes, and my favorite part, we got to try lots of great wine.

 





Wide River Winery- Le Claire

On this particular day, I was traveling for work. It was June 5th, 2013 and I was in Moline, IL for the day. I was on my way home and I remembered that there was a winery in Le Claire, IA that had recently opened. So I took a small detour and took the exit for Le Claire. The winery was easy to find, it was right on the main drag. I felt a little odd going in there by myself but I figured, what the heck. So I parked out front and crossed the street. There were a few other people there so I just found a spot up at the bar and waited for the server. She gave me their wine list and we exchange small talk for a little while. She was very nice and told me about their original location in Clinton, IA. I told her I was in the area for work and I figured I should stop and take advantage of being in the area. I tried five of their wines, all of which were very good. My favorites were Ms. D'Meanor White and Blushing Testimony. The Ms. D'Meanor White was dry and not too dry. I've come to the realization that those have become my favorite. The Blushing Testimony was a blush wine but it had that taste of a concord. I considered it a semi-sweet and I thought it was really good. I sat there for a little while and sipped on my samples. I didn't want to drink too much too quickly since I still had a 2 hour drive home. Their building was quite beautiful and it appeared that they had put a lot of work into making it look nice. I purchased a couple of bottles, thanked them for their hospitality and went on my way.

I wasn't quite done with Le Claire yet though. I had one more stop and it was just up the road. I had seen it on my way to the winery and I couldn't pass up on stopping. I don't know how much the rest of the world knows about the TV show American Pickers but their main office and where they originated from, as far as I know, is in Le Claire, IA. If you don't know what the show is about, I will give you a quick blurp. These two guys, Mike and Frank, travel around the country buying peoples junk to fix up and resell. The show has been on for several seasons now and like I've said in earlier posts, Iowa isn't known for too much so we are kind of proud of these two guys. It is a reality show, but I think they represent our state well. They are no Honey Boo Boo, and I thank God for that! Anyway, they have their little shop that doesn't take too long to walk around but the cool part was that they display some stuff shown on the show. Most of it was for sale but they also had a bunch of labeled items for sale too. I ended up buying a couple of magnets and car stickers for my father and my husband. They both love the show.
So my uneventful day of work ended with a great little adventure. If you are ever the Quad Cities area, stop in to both places and that will surely be the treasure of the day.

 

 

Daly Creek Winery, Deja Vine Winery, Tabor Home Winery & Crimson Sunset Winery

As the title of this post illustrates, the girls and I had a big weekend. It was May 4th, 2013 and three friends and I were off to eastern Iowa. I had designed our trip to try and get to as many wineries as possible. I had a list of all the wineries in a sixty mile radius but we started our adventure with Daly Creek Winery in Anamosa, IA. We arrived just shortly after noon and started with tasting some of their dry wines. They have a good dry red wine called Penitentiary Red. They named that one because of the state prison in town. We then moved on to the dry whites which were good as well. Next was the semi-sweets and then the sweets. Some of my favorites were Gothic White and Moonbeam Blush. I ended up buying the the Gothic White and the Penitentiary Red not only because they were very good wines but they also had really cool labels. So after tasting several of their wines, we figured we better get a quick bite to eat before we moved on to the next. It was perfectly planned of course, we had lunch at the first winery, they are a bistro as well. They had an extensive menu and our waitress was very helpful and gave us some great tips of what to try. After enjoying a great meal and some good wine, it was time to move on.
Our next stop was to Deja Vine Winery in Martelle, IA. We pulled up to a small downtown area and found the little shop. We were the only ones there, other than the owner, so we got to take our time and enjoy what we were trying. Again we started with the dry wines and worked our way down to the sweeter wines. My favorites were their semi-sweet Radiance, their semi-dry Midwest Blush, and their sweet Chatouille Pink. We got to try as many samples as we wanted and the owner was a very nice man. He gave us an explanation of how they came up with the name and how they got started. It was a great little winery that had some great wines.
As a little side note, we kept seeing signs that said Grant Wood Highway. With our first winery having a wine titled Gothic White and the label had a picture of Grant Wood's American Gothic image on it, we thought we might be close to the actual house from that piece of art. We were driving through this little town, that I can't remember the name of, and we saw this old white house that looked similar to the house from the painting, so we stopped. We didn't see any signs telling us if it was the right house so we ran up and I took a quick picture of my friends on the porch. After the picture, we found the info about the house. Unfortunately, we were at the wrong house, in fact, we weren't even close to the original house. We thought it made for a funny story though.

Our third stop for the day was to Tabor Home Winery in Baldwin, IA. This winery was a little tough to get to, at least by the way we took to get there. It was out in the country and the roads were very curvy and we ran into a lot of dead ends and T- intersections. We eventually found it and made our way up to the neat little building they had designated as their tasting room. There was a cute little area with art work and wine themed knick knacks. We all had to go to the bathroom before we started tasting again so we took our turn and made our way around the shop while we waited for each other. After we took our short break, it was back to the grind. We had a very nice young gal who helped us with our samples. I tried one of their dryer reds, all of their whites, both of their semi-sweets and a few of their sweet wines. I had quite a few favorites. First Bloom, Catawba Rose, Electric Raspberry, and Heritage Red. By the time we finished our samples, it was obvious that we had been drinking wine all day. It was still early though so we wanted to get to one more winery before heading to the hotel.
Our last winery for the day was to Crimson Sunset Winery in Cascade, IA. We were on the highway, almost to the destination, according to the GPS, and all the sudden, there it was. Well not the building itself but the sign and the driveway. It comes up quick so make sure your driver is paying attention. After pulling into the drive, you go down the curvy and secluded road and eventually come up to the house. You can tell they are working on remodeling but what they have completed, looked really good so far. As we walked up to the door, we were greeted by a lovely young woman. She took us over to the tasting bar and asked what brought us there on that day. We gave her our story and then she shared their story. She gave us their wine list and she explained what they had to offer. They charge for their samples but you can sample one wine or three or all of their reds or all of their whites or everything they have to offer. We all decided to try all the whites. We started off with their driest and it was like an explosion in my mouth. By this point in the day, I had had a lot of wine but I was stunned when I tasted their first wine. It was so amazing! We then moved down their list and all the rest were just as amazing as the first. We all discussed the quality and how amazing we thought their wine was. Their wine list states that their grapes are certified organic and that they do not add water or cane sugar to their wines. The love and care they put into their vineyard shines through when you taste their wines. I do have to mention that their wine is quite a bit more expensive than other wineries I've been to but it is totally worth it. I only purchased one bottle but I knew I would be back so one bottle, to save for a special occasion, was all I needed. They had gotten busy by the time we finished and we were all getting tired and ready for another meal so we headed on our way. We didn't get to talk with Kevin but we had a lot of conversation with Lisa. She is a very lovely woman and made our visit to Crimson Sunset winery all the better, if that was even possible.
Our day had been full of good wine, fun adventures, and great memories. We made our long drive to the hotel and finished the night with some food at a local brewery. It had been a long day and we were all exhausted so we didn't get to enjoy their brews but their food was good. We made our way back to the hotel and called it a day.
Overall, it was a great little trip. We got to see many new places, had tons of laughs, and best of all, we made more memories.

Van Wijk Winery & Tassel Ridge Winery

My first winery adventure for 2013 started on March 9th. By this time in the year, the snow had melted enough that we felt safe driving a few hours away to the small town of Sully, IA. A couple of friends and I decided to head out on this Saturday afternoon to drink some wine and maybe some beer too. Our first stop took us to Van Wijk Winery. I was glad to see that this winery had re-opened because at one point in 2012, I had looked up this winery on the internet and found that they had closed to do some remodeling. On the day we had arrived, their facility was a whole new place. Check out their website for before and after pictures. The building is so unique that I got a picture of the outside of their building. When we entered their tasting room, we found a beautifully renovated room. We noticed that there were a still few small details that were being finished but we were still surprised at what they had done so far. From what we were told, the building was a former church and since they had taken it over, it had changed to be far from a church. One of my friends had made a funny comment about their tasting cups. They used these little clear ounce cups that were similar to what some churches had begun to use for communion. She asked if they were keeping with the church theme with their tasting cups, which we thought was funny. Anyway, they had broken their wines up into two categories, Old World and New World. They gave us a brief description of the difference between the two and my friends decided to try just one of the Old World selections but I was feeling a little more brave and tried a few. They did not have any sheets with their wine list available so I am having a hard time remembering all the names of the ones I tried. I know that their Always and Forever wine must have been one of my favorites or I wouldn't have bought a bottle. I remember it having nice tart fruit flavors and it was dry but smooth and easy to drink. We tried most of their semi-sweet to sweet New World selections and all were very good. Again I am having a hard time with the names of what we all tried but I liked most all of them and another one of my favorites was their Sweet Melody. They allowed us to sample as much as we wanted and we were grateful for their service. On the day we visited, they were going to host their first wedding in their facility since they had re-opened. We didn't want to get in the way of the people that were about to start coming in so we decided to head on to our next destination.

Our next stop on this rainy March day would take us to Tassel Ridge Winery in Leighton, IA. This winery was on a much bigger property, had a much bigger facility, and had obviously been in production for a lot longer than the first winery we had visited. When we entered this facility, they were just finishing up with one of their events were they we showing people how to pair food with different wines. It was still quite busy in there and the bar was pretty full. We decided to start by walking around and examining their facility. When you first entered their main entrance, you come in on the upper level and you can view the lower level where they make wine. In the back half of their building, there are these big open glass windows to highlight their expansive wine creation area. I remember these large silver vats used to store their wine. We were surprised at how big their facility was. We finally made it up to the bar and we reviewed their wine timeline. They have quite a large selection of different wines. They display their wine list on a sweetness scale that looks like a timeline of wine. I decided to try all of their dry whites, a few of their sweet whites, most of their rose's, and a couple of their reds. They had so many to choose from, it was hard to make a decision about what to try. The staff was very helpful in asking for descriptions of what we liked that helped us to make a decision. After finishing with our samples, we decided to grab a bottle to take home and keep on chugging along.

Our last stop of the day would take us to a brewery. What better way to even out the palate than switching from wine to beer. Good beer that is, not that watered down crap too many people in this country choose to drink. We moved along to Knoxville, IA to Peace Tree Brewing Co. We decided to get their flight of beer to try all they had to offer and although there were a few I liked better than others, it was a nice way to finish the day. I like beer, but I think I prefer to go to wineries because there is usually a wider array of options that are better suited to my liking. But overall, it was another great day making good use of a rainy spring afternoon.