Scared of the sommelier? Don’t be afraid to raise that glass – Iowa’s wine pros prove there’s plenty to drink to right here in the area.

Here’s a confession: I’m a little bit afraid of wine. Not wine exactly – pour me a glass and I’ll gladly say a toast – but of all that cork-sniffing, glass-swirling mystique.

With the holidays upon us, though, is there a complete lack of hope for a non-expert like myself when choosing a bottle to bring to a party or serve with dinner on New Year’s Eve? Or, being in the middle of the Midwest, can we just take the easy way out and say we’re simply not meant to be Wine People? No and no, say the movers and shakers in the Corridor’s wine scene. But don’t worry — whether your tastes run toward a sweet Iowa local or a spicy South American red, you’ll find something you can raise your glass to right here in town.

JEFF QUINT
Cedar Ridge Winery & Distillery, Swisher
“Wine isn’t meant to be the focal point of your event – it’s just supposed to be a nice complement,” says Jeff Quint, who, along with his wife Laurie, owns Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery in Swisher. “Don’t over think it.”

“At this time of year, more people come in wanting to know not so much what they need for themselves, but what they might want for their guests,” Quint explains.

If you’re a newcomer to Iowa wine, or wine in general, Quint suggests starting with semisweet whites — an Iowa strength, he says – and working up to drier whites and reds, once you find what you enjoy.

And don’t be afraid of reds, he says. No matter what Hugh Grant said, red wine isn’t just about cheap merlot.

“It’s where a lot of seasoned wine drinkers end up, and I think it takes time to acquire a palate for both the dryness and the tannins possessed by red wine,” Quint says. “But once you get used to a good dry red with a piece of red meat – that’s a combination that people don’t get tired of very quickly.”

Lest it seem like there’s too much to learn, Quint points out that he’s always discovering more about wine himself. “There are people who come in and can blow me away with their knowledge of other parts of the world — how wines are made in Europe or South America or Australia — so that’s an opportunity for me to learn as well,” he says.
That same sort of highly localized knowledge is both a challenge and an asset for Iowa growers. Quint explains that while Iowa wines may not yet be at the top of everyone’s list, this also presents an opportunity to get people interested in a growing facet of the state’s annual harvest — a subject near to his heart since both Quint and his wife are Iowa natives.

“We have to go through an educational process,” Quint says. “Today, if I introduce you to our LaCrosse wine, I have to explain what it is. Five years from now, people will come in and they’ll want to taste my LaCrosse and see how it compares to someone else’s.”

LINDA SIMMONS
Fireside Winery, Marengo
For the proprietors of Marengo’s Fireside Winery, learning about wine was a mutual interest that became a family business.

Since swapping some of the family farm’s corn and beans for grapes, owners William and Rona Wyant’s wines have won a fistful of awards — as well as a reputation that’s won spots on area store shelves and locals’ events calendars. During the warmer months, Fireside offers wine paired with refreshments and entertainment on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. It’s an offering, Simmons says, that brings younger vinophiles out in full force – so much so that it’s a good idea to show up early.

“The most important thing to learn about wine comes from trying it,” says Linda Simmons, cousin to the Wyants.

So where’s the best place to start on the Fireside wine list? Simmons’ own favorites span the spectrum – Coco, a dry cabernet, and Night Cap, a new dessert wine with echoes of port. In addition, this year will be the first that Fireside has produced wine from grapes grown at its own vineyard, creating a new batch of truly Iowa wines.
That commitment to Iowa craftsmanship is critical to the winery’s business model, Simmons says.

“The concept of everything being local is handled to the utmost,” she says. In addition to Fireside being a family business, the winery solicited local harvesters this autumn in a benefit for area non-profits. Besides boosting the community, Simmons says, it’s a novel way to approach Iowa farming in increasingly homogenized times.

“A lot of farms are corn and beans and more corporate, where this adds a personal touch and a lifestyle of sustainability,” Simmons says. “It’s a great way to have another family tradition born out of agriculture.”

WALTER PECILE
AND TROY HAND
Patagonia Wine & Imports, Cedar Rapids
For Walter Pecile, a family history in agriculture also translated into an Iowa success story – though the former and the latter were separated by a few years and a few thousand miles.

Pecile, grew up in Argentina helping out at the family winery and landed in Iowa via business. He now carries on his vintner’s lineage by formulating, importing and distributing Argentine wines.

Since opening Patagonia’s Cedar Rapids distribution center last September, Pecile and his business partner Troy Hand have expanded from a few brands in a small warehouse to nearly 30 labels and almost 60,000 bottles — dispelling the stereotype that big, bold reds are too tough to handle. Iowa City’s Devotay and Cedar Rapids’ Zins have Patagonia wines on the menu, and Daniel Arthur’s in Cedar Rapids offers their Baudron line as the house choice.

Despite hailing from South America, Patagonia’s wines have a local touch. All are controlled to some extent by Pecile, who puts his own twist on the company’s lineup.

“In the end, I’m the one who decides how the taste is going to be coming out of the bottle,” he says. “One standard we have with the bodegas we partner with is that we have a say in the production.”

Patagonia’s product can be tailored to local taste — case in point being their new Ülmen Malbec Dulce, which was created to satisfy local demand for a sweeter red.

Also new for the winter is Nahuel Bubbles, a sparkling Torrontes that’s a festive alternative to the usual holiday Champagne, down to the traditional cage-and-cork closure.

No matter whether your tastes run toward red or white, dry or sweet, Hand and Pecile emphasize that the thing to remember when experimenting with wine is that it’s just that — a chance to experiment.

And ‘good’ doesn’t necessarily translate to ‘expensive.’

“Start with something simple – anywhere between $8.50 and $14 is fine,” Hand says.

And once you’ve scoured the shelves, carried the bottle home and uncorked it? There’s no need to be excessively formal, Pecile says, but it’s important to give the wine the chance it needs to shine. In the end, most of wine’s ground rules are pretty intuitive.

“Drink from a proper glass,” Pecile says, laughing. “If you put the best wine on the planet in a plastic mug, it’ll feel warm. If you go to a lab, all the things that they’re using are glass — there’s a reason for that!”
— JESSICA