Travel across Iowa and you will have the delight of finding wineries in almost every area of the state. The agricultural move toward non traditional products brought the move to the wineries back into the forefront of the minds of people with the land and willingness to create the vineyards you will see.



It is not a new industry for Iowa. In the early 20th century Iowa was the sixth largest producer of grapes in the country. The demise of the industry was attributed to Prohibition, when the growing of corn and soybeans took over. The industry was also damaged by the drift of herbicides and the Armistice Day blizzard of 1940.

The industry re-birth has seen more than 600 acres of land planted to grapes with more being converted to grapes every year. State records of 2007 show that there were sales of approximately 256 thousand gallons of wine sold and that they anticipated a gross of $22 million for 2008.

There are approximately 20 varieties of grapes that have adapted to the Iowa climate, including native Catawba, the French-American hybrid Marechal-Fock, La Crosse and St. Croix. Other well suited varieties are Delaware, Norton/Cynthiana, Leon Millot, Seyval Balc and Vignoles.

Family run wineries are the most common in the state of Iowa. They have faced the challenge of finding the right grape to produce the best wines that will please even the most discriminating wine lover.

There are historic wineries and new ones. There are those that have wine tasting every day and those that have it on certain days but one thing remains the same, those that dedicate themselves to growing the grapes to produce Iowa wines have become believers in the ability to make wine lovers happy with the selections available in this state.

There are a number of "wine trails" in Iowa that will give you the exposure to the different types of wines available and a great tour of the state. For instance the Western Iowa Wine Trail will take you from Elk Horn to Thurman and back to Crescent. All offer free tasting and the time to sit back and enjoy the beautiful countryside.

Take the upper Mississippi Valley region wine trail which includes Lisbon, Baldwin, Anamosa, Bankston, Marquette, Decorah and West Branch and you will have a chance to experience not only unique tasting rooms but see some of the most beautiful country in the state with some of the nicest people.

The Heart of Iowa Wine Trail covers approximately the central one third of the state from north to south. Some of these wineries are located in Stuart, Iowa Falls, Pleasantville, Des Moines, Tama, Indianola, Adel, Ames, Runnels, Madrid, Osceola, Leighton, St. Charles, and Cambridge. Here you will see the winemakers creating fabulous wines where the tasting rooms are welcoming and the staff at each glad you came to see them.