Early in the 20th Century, Iowa was the sixth largest grape-producing state in the nation. That changed after Prohibition, shifts in the agricultural market, herbicide damage to the vines and the Armistice Day freeze of 1940 wiped out the industry. Between then and the end of the century, the only wines produced in Iowa were the Amana Colonies' fruit and dandelion wines, including those made from grape juice from out of state, according to Mike White, Viticulture Field Specialist with Iowa State University Extension. "Viticulture" is the cultivation of grapes, or the study or science of grape cultivation.
Since grapevines were planted in Iowa in the late 90's, the industry has seen steady growth. According to White, in 1999 there were 13 wineries and 14 growers in Iowa; by 2006, those numbers had grown to 68 and 340. "New wineries are opening in central Iowa every year," he said.
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A vineyard is a plantation of grapevines, while a winery is a facility where wine is made. Often, a vineyard and winery belong to the same commercial enterprise, as is the case with Madison County Winery based in Colo, Prairie Moon Winery in Ames and White Oak Vineyards.
According to White, winemaking has been growing nationwide and ranges from hobby winemakers to large commercial ventures. As the baby boomers have begun to retire, he said, many have invested discretionary income in vineyards and wineries.
In Iowa, he said, the average winemaker is 55 years old and professional: "They're moving from a vocation to an avocation." And as the industry grows, he said, "We're moving from a cottage industry to a larger commercial endeavor. Up to a couple of years ago, it was mostly acreage people. (Now) we're starting to see large farmers get into it."
Chris Harmeyer, co-owner of White Oak Vineyards, entered the industry after working a white-collar job. "I was in corporate America and went through a down-size, in a job I wasn't really enjoying." During that time he heard about some of the vineyards opening in the Midwest. "I went home one day and told my wife, "O.K., I'm growing grapes.'" He and his wife, Jan, and her parents, Max and Pat Brewbaker, own and operate the vineyard and winery, where banquet facilities are available for rent. The Harmeyers' children are also involved.
Keith and Sue McKinney are traditional farmers outside Colo. A few years ago, they and their son Ryan and Ryan's wife, Katy, started growing grapes. "(Doug Bakker) actually makes the wine, and Ryan has learned some of that," Keith McKinney said.
Romance and reality
Despite romantic images of vine trellises teeming with dewy grapes glistening under the early morning sun, tending to a vineyard is very labor-intensive. "People think it's easy," Harmeyer said. "If you're starting out and trying to do this on your own - honestly, you could spend every day in the summer and fall in the vineyard. And in the winter, you're pruning."
"A lot of people can't separate the romance of the grapes from the work," said Keith McKinney. "They should actually go work for somebody and see what it does involve." He smiled and added, "We have 3000 grape vines, and we see every single one of them several times a year."
"The grapes will get to a certain Brix - a certain sugar level - and once the grapes get to that level, that's the guideline for when to harvest," Harmeyer said. "We try to stagger (planting) them so they don't all ripen at once."
On the other hand, you don't have to replant grapes year after year. "They're basically like trees," Harmeyer explained. "The older the vine, the better the fruit. They'll last about 50 years. And (older plants) are more resistant to the elements." It typically takes three or four years after planting before the vines bear fruit.
Another benefit of growing a vineyard is that an acre of grapes yields more income than an acre of corn or soybeans. And, despite potentially high start-up costs, the expense associated with the crop itself is relatively low. "We probably have $20,000 in equipment" for making wine, said Stan Olson, owner of Penoach Winery in Adel, in a recent article in "Visions," the magazine for members of ISU's Alumni Association. "In the world of agriculture, that's not much. You can't buy a good used tractor for $20,000.
The business side
Often, the greatest financial investment in the wine industry is in building or renovating structures for winemaking and wine-tasting - or, as was the case for White Oak Vineyards, space for banquets, receptions and other social events.
"I tell people starting out (in the wine industry) that they should expect about half their income from (wine) sales and half from social affairs," White said.
White Oak's banquet and tasting rooms are available for events year round, and rental of the space is reaching the point where an event is scheduled more weekends than not, Harmeyer said. Wedding receptions average around 250 people, and they were able to accommodate one reception for 365.
Vineyards also offer another choice for Iowa farmers looking to diversify their crops.
Local vineyards get their harvesting done by volunteers. "We try to make it an event," Harmeyer said. "Normally, we serve wine and bagels or other food for breaks. And the kids can eat grapes while they're harvesting. The whole family can enjoy it." White Oak held a Civil War reenactment for its second harvest, he added. Some wineries have actually charged people to harvest, he said, though he doesn't know of any in Iowa that do so. Why would people pay money to clip bunches of grapes? "People enjoy getting back to nature," he explained.
Harvesting is usually done the last week of August or the first week of September. "There's no way we could do (the harvesting) by ourselves," he said.
"If someone is interested in starting a vineyard, they need to realize it takes a considerable amount of initial capital and a lot of hard work," said J. Eric Beal, who in 2006 started Rock Creek Vineyard with his father, John D. Beal, and his friend/business partner, Herk Christie, on their farm outside Maxwell, where they should see their first harvest a couple of years from now. People considering entering the business need to realize, he said, "that it will take approximately seven to ten years or more to see any positive returns on their investment."
"It takes a lot of grapes to make an income," Keith McKinney said.
Both McKinney and Beal said they obtained much of their information on vineyards from ISU Extension.
Art and science
"This industry wouldn't be here except that there are two universities - the University of Minnesota and Cornell University - that bred wine grapes specifically for the Midwest," said ISU's White. Certain hybrids of American and French grapes are able to withstand heat, cold and humidity far better than other grapes, he explained. "Grapes are sort of like tomatoes. They soak up water and split open." Therefore, he said, "high humidity makes them more vulnerable to disease."
A year ago, ISU's proposal to develop a Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute received approval from the Board of Regents, according to a September 24 press release from the university. "The institute is in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and focuses on research, teaching and outreach that support the Midwest's evolving grape and wine industry," the press release reads. The institute will be headed by Murli Dharmadhikari, a native of India who earned his doctorate in grape nutrition from Ohio State University in 1972.
Although wine-making is widely regarded as an art as well as a science, the quality of the grapes is a vital part of the process. "The biggest challenge the winemaker faces is having that perfect growing season so that the grape maturity is in balance between acidity and sweetness," said Mike Epps, winemaker at White Oak.
The new "ice cream social"?
Across the Midwest, wineries are becoming social centers in the community. "They're replacing church basements" as gathering places, White said. White Oak offers live music every Friday at 7 p.m.; this Sunday, Prairie Moon will offer its last outdoor concert of the season.
Those with banquet areas are also increasingly chosen as settings for well organized events. When the Journal took a recent Saturday afternoon trip to White Oak, tables had been set up for a wedding reception inside. Outside, the ceremony was just beginning.
The bridesmaids and groomsmen, all wearing jeans, cowboy boots, cowboy hats and black Western-style shirts, waited on horseback until the bride and groom, also on horseback, between them - the groom dressed like the attendants, the bride donning a white Western shirt, a black skirt, cowboy boots, and a white cowboy hat with a sash in back that served as a train. She held a bouquet of what looked to be red and orange wildflowers in one hand and her horse's reins in the other.
After the ceremony, conducted by a minister in a small pavilion as 70-some guests sat on bales of hay, she and her groom climbed back on their saddles and she hollered, "Ye haw!" They exited side-by-side as "Happy Trails" came over the outdoor speakers.
Returning home
One reason, said White, that more Iowa farmers are devoting a few acres to grapes is that it draws younger Iowans back to the state. "They go to the east coast and the west coast and when they move back to Iowa, they bring the wine culture with them," he explained. "Kids will come back if there's a vineyard - something beyond corn and soybeans. They will come back if there's a little culture to it." He said that some farmers might object to his characterization of this younger generation's relationship to the farm, but he knows many farmers who agree with him.
Of his son Ryan and his daughter-in-law Katy, McKinney said, "They're young farmers, and we were looking for diversification and value added, and we arrived at grapes." White knows of one farmer's son who went to school in Oregon. The family vineyard, White believes, may have helped draw him back.
"The biggest factor that makes this industry," he said, "is that it's bringing Iowan's back to Iowa."
Readers can obtain more information on Iowa vineyards and wineries from the Iowa Wine Growers Association (www.iowawinegrowers.org) and ISU viticulture (viticulture.hort.iastate.edu).
