Heart of Iowa Wine Trail Tropical Wine Festival

Forget the cold and make your way to the Des Moines Botanical center at 909 Robert D. Ray Drive in Des Moines on Friday evening, February 6 from 6-9 p.m. for an evening of wine tasting featuring the wines of all fifteen Heart of Iowa Wineries. Hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Wear your favorite tropical shirt and get in a “tropical mood!”

All wines offered for tasting will also be on available for purchase that evening. Tickets for the event are $25 per person and may be purchased at any Heart of Iowa Wine Trail winery:

 Dale Valley Vineyard and Winery, 3097 285th Street, Stuart
515/523.2199, www.dalevalleyvineyard.com
 Eagle City Winery, 28356 160th Street, Iowa Falls
641/648-3669, www.eaglecitywinery.com
 The Grape Escape Vineyard and Winery, 1185 40th Place, Pleasantville 515/848-3094, www.grapeescapeiowa.com
 Jasper Winery, 2400 George Flagg Parkway, Des Moines
641-792-7022 www.jaspwerwinery.com
 John Ernest Vineyard & Winery, 3291 N. Avenue, Tama
866-533-4544, www.johnernestvineyard.com
 La Vida Loca Winery, 7852 Jesup Street, Indianola
515/962-2236, www.lavidalocawinery.com
 Penoach Vineyard, Winery, Nursery, 26759 N Avenue, Adel
515/993-4374, www.penoach.com
 Prairie Moon Winery and Vineyards, 3801 West 190th Street, Ames
515/232-2747, www.prairiemoonwinery.com
 Rosey Acres Winery, 2477 South East 82nd Street, Runnels
515/265-3432, www.roseyacreswinery.com
 Snus Hill Winery, 2183 320th Street, Madrid
515/795-3535, www.snushillwine.com
 Southern Hills Winery, 1400 West Clay Street, Osceola
641/342-2808, www.shwinery.com
 Summerset Winery, 15101 Fairfax Street, Indianola
515/961-3545. www.summersetwine.com
 Tassel Ridge Winery, 1681 220th Street, Leighton
641/672-WINE, www.tasselridge.com
 Two Saints Winery, St. Charles
641/396-2102, ww.twosaintswinery.com
 White Oak Vineyards, 15065 NE White Oak Drive, Cambridge
515/367-7777, www.whiteoakvineyards.com

See you there!
Cheers!
Barbara Rasko
Publisher
Make Mine Wine
www.makeminewinemagazine.com

Give the Gift of Iowa Wine

Looking for a unique gift that will be appreciated and enjoyed and doesn’t spend months out-of-site and unused in the back of a closet?

A great gift is Iowa wine. And the folks at www.buyiowawines.com have made it easy to select the wine.

From the website, you can select an Iowa Wine Sampler packages — sweet or dry. Each contains a bottle of red and a bottle of white.

Matt Wiskus at Muddy Creek Wine Company in Coralville, Iowa helps a lot of folks select Iowa wines for themselves and for gifts, and he knows what people like. When you shop on-line, you are benefiting from his ability to select fine Iowa wines.

I like the site because it is easy to use — the Iowa Wine Sampler packages are clearly marked on the home page — or you can select wines you are already familiar with or want to try when you assemble a mis and match case from various Iowa wineries.

I also like the site because they feature wines from the magazine’s Tasting Time with Make Mine Wine selection.

By the way, if you are buying for a martini-drinker, you can order the Clearheart Vodka from the site too. The Clearheart Vodka, Rum and Gin and other spirits on the site too. They are a great and unique gift from Iowa’s first legal still since prohibition!

I believe strongly in the “buy local” practice that is so important to our neighbors and our state, so please consider the Iowa wines as gifts and for entertaining this holiday season.

Now I’m headed home to wrap a few more presents, listen to some Christmas music and enjoy a glass of Jasper Winery’s Seyval Blanc.

Cheers!

Barbara Rasko

Make Mine Wine magazine

www.makeminewinemagazine.com

Learn More from Experts at The Wine Stage at The Celebrity Food & Wine Expo

A nice lineup of experts has been announced for The Wine Stage at The Celebrity Food and Wine Expo later this month in Hy-Vee Hall at the Iowa Events Center in Downtown Des Moines. The dates are November 21^st – November 23^rd.

 

Chardonnay Ladder Seminar presented by Gary Ramona, Domaine Napa Wine Company: Friday and Sunday

The Science of Food presented by Kristen Robbins, Kemin Industries: Friday

Whiskey presented by Brown Forman, Whiskey Professor: Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Wine & Cheese Pairings presented by Tim Nash, Fine Wine Specialist for The Wine Merchants: Friday

Trinchero Fine Wines by Kelly Fabor: Friday

Tabor Home Wines presented by Tabor Home Vineyards & Winery: Friday

Jasper Wines presented by Jean Groben, owner Jasper Winery: Saturday

Jasper Wines presented by Mason Groben, winemaker, Jasper Winery: Saturday

Chardonnay Blending presented by Tim Nash, Fine Wine Specialist for The Wine Merchants: Saturday

Fairtrade Wines Introduction to Iowa, Chris Woods, Prestige Wine Group: Sunday

Comparative Red Wine Tasting, Brennan McGrath, Certified Specialist of Wine, Johnson Brothers: Sunday

 

You can learn more about the Celebrity Chefs and local experts– see my blog from last week – or log on to www.cfwexpo.com.

 

I will be holding a drawing for four people who read this blog to receive 2 tickets each. Just send an email by Monday, November 17^th to makeminewine@mchsi.com, subject: Tickets. I’ll inform the winners by Wednesday, November 18^th.

 

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door and each ticket gets you in for an entire day of activities: the gourmet stage, meet and greet zone, the book store and plenty of shopping! You can have a reserved seat at 1 celebrity chef demonstration – take the ticket to the box office and let them know which one you want to attend. You can go to other performances based on availability of seating. If you are 21 years of age or older, you can enter the sampling zone, for an additional $12.

 

Send me an email by Monday the 17^th – I’ll draw three – if I haven’t contacted you by Thursday, November 19^th, you can buy advanced tickets online at cfwexpo.com.

 

Cheers!

Barbara Rasko

Publisher

MakeMineWinemagazine.com