IOWA’S WINERIES & BREWERIES
IOWA’S WINERIES & BREWERIES
If you are a wine aficionado, you probably have a good idea of where Iowa’s wineries are. My wife and I have traveled throughout central Iowa and the northeast part of the state, visiting and sampling some of the best wines Iowa has to offer.
IOWA’S WINERIES
In 2000, Iowa only had approximately 30 acres of grapes in production. Fast-forward to 2025, and Iowa boasts around 100 licensed wineries and nearly 300 vineyards covering 1,300 acres across the state. Iowa wineries are locally owned and operated by Iowa families who are good neighbors and contribute to their communities.
THE CELLAR WINERY
The winery was first started in the settlement of White Oak, where the venue captured the serenity of the White Oak Valley in Northern Polk County. “This is where we learned our craft and had a great time,” said The Cellar Winery owner John Barber. “What we found out pretty quickly is making wine hard, and you mess things up pretty quickly. The difficulty of the wine business is ensuring you can sell it all.”
In 2022, the decision was made to close the winery at White Oak, but with the encouragement of friends and family, looked for other venues to continue their wine-making endeavors. “We made quite a few calls, checking on available opportunities, and finally made the decision to purchase Snus Hill. The venue was only fifteen miles from our original location and supported by a lot of crossover customers; the decision was pretty easy,” added Barber. “We came over here on April 29 of 2023, with our first event being a wedding that had been booked.”
The winery hosts weddings and has some great music events that have grown in popularity. The Central Iowa Blues Festival is held at the winery, as is the Middle of Nowhere festival, which will be held on July 12, 2025. Both festivals attract over a thousand people in attendance.
Many of Iowa’s wineries face the challenge of growing cold-climate grapes and turning them into wine. Lane Moorlach is the winemaker for The Cellar Winery and has learned how to work with locally grown grapes in Iowa and produce a great wine experience that is expressive of the place where they are grown.
“There have been quite a few wineries that have closed in recent years; however, the next generation of winemakers are coming into the mix, which is a good thing,” added Barber. “That’s the evolution of this business. When we started in 1997, most people didn’t know how to deal with the cold climate of grapes, which made it a little more difficult to make wine in this environment.” For more information on the winery and what it offers, visit https://thecellarwinery.com.
IOWA’S BREWERIES
Craft beers have risen in popularity here in Iowa and throughout the United States. Travel anywhere in the country, and you’re bound to find one that fits your tastes. The first brewery in Iowa was in 1850 by Mathias Frahm. A rich history of brew masters, lager makers, and hard cider brewers has left their marks on the Iowa landscape for decades. A resurgence of local craft beers has led to a rapid growth of microbreweries and brewpubs throughout Iowa, with approximately 150 brewery locations producing approximately 144,000 barrels of craft beer.
Like the wineries throughout Iowa, you can travel anywhere within two hours or so from Des Moines and find a wide variety of breweries. Depending on your tastes, it may be worth a quick search online to see what the offerings are and whether or not they’ll have something you’d enjoy drinking. A great place to start would be https://usbreweryguide.com/iowa-breweries. It has an interactive map that provides location and information. Some of the breweries listed are no longer in business, but for the most part, you’ll find what you’re looking for.
A few local brews I’ve sampled and lean to when available are Exile Brewery in Des Moines and Firetrucker Brewery in Ankeny. As mentioned before, many of the wineries and breweries give back to the communities in which they reside. Exile Brewery involves itself with several organizations within the Des Moines area. It gives back by donating proceeds and helping fund projects like Casting for Recovery – Iowa. CFR provides healing outdoor retreats for women with breast cancer at no cost to the participants. Through the Pink Ruthie Project, Theyve been able to raise over $17,000. Look for the pink Ruthie packaging in October!
FIRETRUCKER BREWERY
The brewery opened on July 4, 2014, and was built within an old Ankeny fire station, hence the the name. “We actually have patrons who come in here who remember when this place was an active fire station.” Said Hudson Vermillion, Firetrucker Taproom Manager. A lot of our beer names are related to the fire station. We have a lot of artwork throughout the brewery, on our cans and tap handles, that honors the fire station.”
Tuesdays are first responder days, and every first responder visiting the brewery on Tuesdays will get $1.00 off their selection. Patrons can support the first responders by purchasing a first responder coin for $10.00, which they can also enjoy a discount on their beverage of choice, and 100% of the proceeds go back to the fire department in Ankeny.
“Iowans and folks from the Midwest generally enjoy drinking beer,” added Vermillion. “The brewery is at the head end of the High Trestle Trail, and many cyclists begin their ride here. At the end of the ride, they come in and enjoy one of our many offerings here at Firetrucker.” For more detailed information on Firetrucker, visit https://www.firetrucker.com/ and pay them a visit.
Iowa’s wineries and breweries are part of the state’s landscape. Each is unique in its own way, and while the goal is to produce an Iowa product that we all can be proud of, it’s also great to see how each gives back in creative ways. For a list of some of the wineries and breweries, you can visit https://iowawinegrowers.org/ and https://www.iowabeer.org/brewerymemberdirectory#!directory..
Always be responsible when visiting and enjoying Iowa’s wineries and breweries. Support local businesses when you can, and if there’s a cause close to your heart. Support the organizations and causes that they do as well. Cheers!
By Ben Leal
July 2025
