Iowa Does Wine?

In December 2007, Heidi and I set out to visit all the wineries in Iowa within two years. We'll report on our adventures in Iowa Wine here!


Yeah! It's winter in Iowa! At least our First Adventure isn't too far away: we are going shopping and wining on the Amana Wine Trail. Temps are in the mid-teens, it's windy, it's snowing off and on. We're up for it.


If you'd like an overview of what we've set ourselves up for, visit the Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board page. They've got a really nice printed booklet that lists all the wineries (and breweries), with contact info and maps to show you the way. There are also several established Wine Trails -- we hope to take advantage of some of the trail events, where we can cover more ground on a day then we can just meandering on our own.



3/08/08: The project begins to seem rather more far-fetched, at least in our allotted time frame. Friend Gerry shared an article today from a January issue of Iowa Farmer Today ("Wine Institute Sees Limitless Opportunities for Iowa Vineyards") which said that there were 67 licensed wineries in Iowa. Just a few minutes later, I was looking at an article at the Web site for the Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute (affiliated with ISU Extension), "Iowa's Grape and Wine Industry Provides Significant Economic Activity," dated February 5, which says "Iowa boasts 70 licensed wineries." Aiyee.


Here's a map of Iowa vineyards from ISU dated 2004 to give you a quick (and somewhat dated) idea of the scope of our project: