Loved these wines. The staff were very friendly and clearly enjoyed their jobs. Loved discussing the history of the winery and wines with them. The wines run slightly on the sweeter side, but the dry wines were in fact dry (and yummy). Loved the atmosphere too- options for being inside and outside (on a deck overlooking vineyards). They do have light fare food options though I didn't try any of it. Love that their grapes are all estate grown. And it's the oldest winery in Iowa! read more

Summerset Winery - Oldest winery in Iowa - Wineries Near Me - Indianola, Iowa

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What a gem! Yesterday I enjoyed a great afternoon of music and sunshine on the grounds of the winery. This was my first visit, but it will not be my last. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the winery hosts an outdoor concert. The cover charge is only $5 a head and is worth every penny. I must admit I didn't partake of any wine yesterday, but maybe next time. read more

Summerset Winery - Stage for the band, with lots of room for dancing. - Wineries Near Me - Indianola, Iowa

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I attended a Holiday Open house. They had free wine tasting, hot mulled wine and free cookies plus Tony Valdez was signing fun 70's music upstairs. They have wine to purchase and cheese and crackers. You can also bring a picnic with you and purchase beer and wine here. It was a very nice afternoon with friends. Great place and friendly staff. read more

Lovely winery! Super friendly staff! Would definitely visit again! Definitely off the beaten path but the drive was absolutely stunning. If in the area would go again! They offer cheese as well. read more

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"Life is too short to drink bad wine."― Anonymous You will not have to worry about that here. Over the last few years of discovering IOWA wineries this is by one of my favorites. I like that is close enough to visit, but far enough away that if I find them on the shelf of my local grocery store I am happy to take a bottle home. This day I was on the way to Indianola from Des Moines and had already decided to make the short side trip out to the winery. It was a Thursday and was guessing that since it was still early in the evening it would not be that busy. I lucked out and was correct. I had beaten the crowd. The staff was out mowing as I drove up the long driveway. I was greeted by two sweet little pups as I exited my vehicle and walked up to the main building. I wasn't even in the the door a moment and someone was behind the counter greeting me. She was happy to tell me all about the wines and what their newest accomplishments for the state and national wines have been. I happily picked up a favorite of mine and then also tried a new one that she had me try. Since the last time I have visited the wineries they have started limiting your amount of wines you can taste for free. There is 3 free tastes and then its $1 for every taste after that. That is a little of a bummer cause I can guarantee you that I will buy more wine if I feel rosy from the samples. I always have a hard time deciding on what I need anyway but that is okay I guess I didn't really need to spend a ton of money on wine that day anyway. I got a flyer for the Sunday Music schedule and took a look around at the options they had on display before headed out for the day. I will be back. I really love the location and how quiet and pretty it is. read more

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I'm from California so I was excited to learn about (and visit!) some local wineries. We got lucky with the timing of this visit and did our tasting with the owner, Ron. You can tell he takes great pride in his product and his business at Summerset, plus he has fun doing it! He is, allegedly, the grandfather of Iowa wine. Starting out as a hobby in the 80s after living with winemakers in Italy during the Vietnam era, it's grown steadily from a hand-press corking device in the garage to a statewide wine conglomeration where newer winemakers come to his seminars to learn how/what to grow here in the Midwest. He seems to be full of anecdotes and information as well as more than willing to share it all... Ron also doesn't use a pour counter when he serves, I like this. The whites were particularly refreshing on such a warm day. I came home with a bottle of Matina Blanc even though I'm usually a "white wine is for wimps!" kinda girl... The DeChaunac is their best seller, understandably so! So several samples later, full glass in hand, I'm being shown around the place probably in a subtle, "book us for your wedding!" kind of manner. It's a cool venue: high ceilings, big windows, large dance floor, deck for the ceremony plus a back-up indoor option if the weather turns, interesting space and a lot of potential to really make it whatever you want. Book early, seems to be quite popular. And there's the option to rent out the inn (built by Ron.) You can see downtown Des Moines from Summerset. It's really not far at all. Sundays they have live music outside and there was an "Adult Easter Egg Hunt" I'm sad to have missed out on. There are a few other events that I heard mentioned that sound interesting but can only recall "Wild Women on Wine." Nonetheless, will most likely return. read more

We honestly couldn't recommend Summerset Winery more!!! It was everything we dreamed of and our wedding day was so beautiful! The coordinators were friendly, flexible, and so enjoyable to work with. The barn patio and tent were perfect for our wedding and fit all of our guests (250+) comfortably! The INN on the property was the ideal place for our friends and family to stay and added a "weekend retreat" feel to everything!! Summerset Winery worked super hard to give our wedding every extra touch to be so beautiful! Booking with them was the best wedding planning choice we made... I know we'll keep coming back to visit for many years!!! read more

came for a friends bachelorette party & they made it so fun! They were very personable & made great conversation with us the whole time. Made sure we were very comfortable & well taken care of the whole time. It's also so beautiful here which is great for a photo op!!! Cannot recommend this winery enough!!! I will definitely be back. read more

THE BEST! Not only do they have the best wine selection in the state, they have the best winery staff I have ever experienced. Everyone is very knowledgeable about what wine they're serving, the history of the wine, the process it takes to make it, etc. We did a wine tasting/tour on a Saturday and had a blast. We got to try almost every wine on their menu (probably 10 total) and no they don't measure their pours. So make sure you have a sober driver! We got to learn about how the winery came about from the owner himself. He was uncorking bottles left and right for us. I enjoyed my time so much here that I've already purchased 2 cases of wine since then (my trip was a short 3 weeks ago). I have visited other local wineries and nothing compares. This is a must-visit if you live in the area. read more

Worst place ever!! Unfriendly staff! Not at all handicap accessible. Donn't let them fool you they are not ready for a power chair! Our whole day sucked!!! read more

I would not go to this COVID-19 fest again. There were around 150 people there with less than 6 people wearing masks. The deck was so rotted that it bounces when people walk on it. I was only the UBER driver and the lady charged me $5 for bringing my passenger in. The music was so loud that I tried sitting behind the building but it was too loud. I ended up sitting in my car with my fingers stuck in my ears. After four years in Iraq and being exposed to 3200 mortars, 9 rockets, 2 VBIEDs, and 2 snipers. I can't tolerate loud obnoxious noises. I will never again go to this Corona Petri dish. I will never buy your wine either after I found it at Hy-Vee for $10. But you sell it at the farmers market for $12 and at the winery for $17. read more

I love their wines and would travel quite a distance for them, especially the Concorde Grape (Adult Grape Juice). The Winery grounds are beautiful with a friendly staff. Wine tasting is available of course along with tours and wedding bookings. Situated outside the town of Indianola and Des Moines, if your passing through or passing by take a detour, as Summerset Winery is worth the stop. read more

My wife and I stopped here for our one month wedding anniversary. We purchased a tour & wine tasting ticket and away we went. Ron (the owner) showed us around the winery and took us out to see the vineyards. He was very through and you can tell he is passionate about wine. After the tour we strolled inside for the wine tasting and we had a great conversation with the lady running the store (I wish I could remember her name) We were suppose to sample only 6 wines but we pretty much tried them all! They explained the grapes grown in the region very well and I feel more knowledgable about the midwestern grapes then I did before. Which helped us pick out a few bottles of wine to take home! Great place to visit and relax a bit. I highly reccommend giving them a visit. HINT: Reservations are reccommended. read more

We are in the area for Easter so we decided to take advantage of the adult Easter egg hunt at the winery. The Easter egg hunt itself was very cute although it was kind of disappointing because there was no maximum amount set for the number of participants. Many people opened up the eggs and took out the better prizes leaving the eggs behind. The winery itself was very nice from what we saw. They had live music playing and also provided samples of the wine. They had a very nice selection of snacks to enjoy with the wine as well and the staff were very polite up until the end when you could tell that they had been overworked for the number of people who had come out to enjoy the Easter egg hunt. Overall it was a very cute place. We picked up a couple bottle of wine to take home with us as well which tasted very good. We look forward to being in the area again to go there on a day where the staff isn't so busy and there are not so many people. read more

Summerset Winery is top notch in my book. Every time I have visited the Owners have made it their mission to make sure anything that I have needed was taken care of. The Inn is a fabulous place to stay, the rooms are cozy and the Owners make sure you have no worries while under their roof. If you are traveling through Iowa this Winery is a must stop! The Vidal Blanc is my favorite wine they bottle. read more

My weekend in Iowa was beyond perfect. Harvest at Summerset was a blast! There is something so rewarding about filling a bucket full of grapes and getting to stomp on them with all of your friends. The vineyard is beautiful, the staff is kind and extremely knowledgeable and the wine is delicious. We stayed at the vineyard till Sunday for "Sunday Tunes", this was a awesome treat. Bocce ball while drinking a chilled white and listening to the band was a great way to end the weekend. I was so happy to be a part of the harvest experience and can't wait to go back! read more

Wedding disappointment My fiancé and I booked the Inn at Summerset Winery for our wedding in 2014. We decided on this venue because we are regular attenders for their weekly/ Sunday wine event.We booked the Inn so our children from out of state and my parents could stay right on the grounds, and we could have our ceremony right there. While we thought we would invite 50 people originally, after we booked, it was apparent it would be more like 100 when we counted all family members. We let they managment know of changes, they were concerned, but ok with it as long as we got a port-a-potie, did not stake the tent on the front lawn, and we were ok with leaving a credit card on file for damages. We were OK with all of this, knowing that with this being a second marriage with older than average guests, we would be fine. What we did NOT anticipate was the negativity coming from owner Ron Marks. Night one, the owner is drunk and try's talking my 25 yr old daughter & daughter-in-law out of their swim suits while they are in the hot tub which is part of the property rental, they blow him off due to his drunken condition. Saturday, the day of the wedding, he is complaining that we did not purchase his wine for our event, which was not in the contract, and we said we would be attending his Sunday event with about 30 guests (which we did) and purchasing plenty of his wine, yet during the ceremony he thought our wine was good enough to hang out at the bar with his wife and drink plenty of it, AND our kitchen help serving food said he came into the house and helped himself to pulled pork we had left from our meal. Then he is walking around our reception talking about what a joke weddings are, that he see's plenty of them at the Winery and they never last....then he tells my husband, the groom on his wedding day that "this wedding stuff is just to much" and he is going to send him a bill for $200 additional as a tip.....which he didn't, but really? You need to do that on someone's wedding day? We heard from numerous attenders how negative this man was. Later Saturday night, he was drunk again, and joined attenders under the tent, was getting lewd with my daughters AGAIN, and asked to leave. We followed our contract to a T, even had someone there to help with parking, left the Inn in excellent shape, and cleaned up as promised, and they must have been satisfied because we did not receive additional charges. I just wish he would have said he did not want us there, vs caring on the way he did, we would have rather been someplace else due to his behavior, and reminding us all weekend that this was "the first and last wedding at the Inn" yet he had no problem taking our money. What makes me sad is that we will never, ever step foot at this location again, or purchase their wine, nor will the other locals that attended our wedding. They were appalled, and disgusted by his behavior. This man should not be in a service related industry if he does not enjoy what he does, or at least appreciate your business. There are plenty of fine Iowa Wineries we will be happy to visit, and give our business read more

We recently held our wedding at Summerset Winery and were so very pleased with everything-- the beautiful venue, their expansive wine collection, the wide array of options we were given and their excellent overall service. Summerset is the perfect location if you're looking for a relaxed yet sophisticated place to host an event. Their wines are excellent and their selection is amazing! 2 thumbs up to Summerset Winery!!!! Thank you Kristin, Cindy, Ron, Linda and everyone! read more

Wonderful Inn & Winery! We stayed at Summerset Inn for a wedding that was being held at the Winery. The wedding and winery facilities are lovely as are the staff. We ended up staying for Sunday Tunes- their live music concert series held every Sunday and had a wonderful time. The winery is just minutes from downtown Des Moines. We'll definitely be back for more fun at Summerset Winery! read more