From the moment I walked in I was greeted warmly by the woman working behind the wine bar. I told…read moreher I was from out of town as my son & I are here visiting William Penn college and that I would love to be better acquainted with their wines. She explained that some grapes are grown here in Iowa and the rest is brought in from elsewhere. They have a large selection of wine and a tasting allowed me to sample 5 along with a loaf of bread, cheese and dipping oil for $16. Of course I went with it! She was able to pour 3 whites (my preference) and 2 reds and brought an amazing display of cheese, oil and bread which was beyond tasty! The cheese is from a local spot down the road called Frisian farms and it was very good! The bread was warm and delicious also. I thoroughly enjoyed the wine choices and surprisingly my fav was a red called Iowa Pizzeria & pasta too. Maybe it's due to enjoying it with the warm bread and cheese. Who knows!?! This place is truly a gem, anyone visiting should check it out!

What a great relaxing place to visit. We stopped in late afternoon and enjoyed the Iowa State Fair…read moreAward Winners Wine Flight. What a deal! 5 wines, a baguette with dipping sauce and great Gouda cheese from a near by dairy. What a great deal! They have a great variety of wines so everyone can find something to enjoy. Additionally, they have great wine related gifts at reasonable prices.

Thunder Creek Winery is truly a hidden gem! The owners are some of the kindest people you'll ever…read moremeet, they actually opened up for us on a Sunday since we were visiting from out of town (talk about going above and beyond!). I'm very picky when it comes to wine, but I walked out with 12 bottles because everything was that good. Both sangrias are absolutely amazing, and their wine selection is top-notch. If you're anywhere nearby, do yourself a favor and stop in. Between the quality of the wine and the warm hospitality, Thunder Creek Winery is a must-visit.

Stopped by for some wine and had a great time! Lots of selection and friendly staff. Sat on the…read morepatio and enjoyed the beautiful scenery!

What fun! Loved our fall themed tasting. Our mini pie and cider tasting was perfect to kick off…read moreautumn. It was so yummy and balanced.

Great Wine! Good Food! Amazing friendly service! I try to stop passing thru Iowa every chance I get.read more

A beautiful setting with nice trees for lovely days outside. Plenty of friendly faces to help while…read moreyou're there. It would be good if they had more organization to help speed the process of sampling and ordering. There are many wine choices especially if you prefer sweeter varieties. Hopefully they get more dry and less sweet varieties.

We took a weekend adventure to Pella and looked for nearby wineries while in the area. To our…read moredelight, we found Van Wijk which looked beautiful from the outside. We were excited as it was 5pm and they were open until 10 (typically on Saturday wineries are only open until 6). So, we went in, hoping to do a wine tasting and share a bottle on the patio. We were told we couldn't do a tasting since there was a wedding going on. Okay. So we tried 2-3 samples so we could order a glass we liked. The very few we tried were ok. We were at least able to pick one. Then we went to the patio. Photos of the view are attached. Beautiful view of an alley and someone's house and some cars. The best part is over our speaker we heard this couples entire wedding ceremony. We could see it through the patio doors too. Talk about uncomfortable. I'm thinking the winery should close to the public when they have a wedding ceremony going on - since we couldn't get the same service and had to listen to someone's wedding. What a strange experience. Good thing we never come through Sully, Iowa! Seemed like it could've been a cute place...if it closed for weddings.

Who would a thought??? Love this place!!! We were clueless upon walking in and the owners…read moregreeted us right away. They walked us through the tasting and gave us several options for next steps. We decided to purchase flights of various wines. The owners gave excellent recommendations and encouraged us to taste new things. Then we went to the deck to enjoy our choices. It was a beautiful atmosphere with preferred seating both inside and out . Prices are extremely reasonable and we bought some wine to go. A fabulous time!!

We had a wedding reception here last night. It was a terrible place and I wouldn't ever recommend…read moreit, especially for the price! We had to pay for two days so we could decorate it a two hours the night before. Plus they wouldn't let us bring any type of drink while we were decorating the night before. As we are decorating, the Owner is following us around looking and investigating all of it. During the wedding reception, he has his long black haired dog, walking around everyone while we have white tablecloths and decorations up. While the nieces were playing with the dog and chasing it he told them to leave the dog and not to chase it. I'm sorry, but we payed $3500 a day to celebrate and not put up with the dog or this man's action. If I could give less than one star I would. DON'T USE THIS PLACE!!

DO NOT HAVE YOUR WEDDING HERE!!! My daughter just had her…read morewedding ceremony at Annelise Winery. She wanted an outdoor wedding & Annelise Winery was one of a few places that had a place to have the ceremony inside if the weather was bad. Before going to the winery my daughter emailed the owner & told him that she would like the ceremony there & he gave her some prices. When we got there he didn't remember the email conversation with my daughter. Then the owner proceeded to say that we couldn't have the wedding ceremony there without having the reception there also. He then had a 10 minute conversation with himself while we stood there watching. At the end of " his" conversation he decided it would be "Ok". Note: none of this was written down while we were talking. Through the year engagement they went there 2 to 3 times & each time he didn't remember them or the specifics of their contract. He badgered them each time about them having their reception there. One month before the wedding we went there because the owner hadn't contacted them about chairs, how they wanted them set up & other specific details about the ceremony. When we arrived he made the comment "it's a good thing you guys came because I wouldn't have known how to set up the chairs". He also rented out the changing rooms that we needed for the wedding party to get ready to some one else for their graduation party. Then the day of the wedding when we got there, he said that the graduation party was over & we could use the changing rooms after all. We had gone & bought a bunch of dividers & other items to use so the girls could change & had to transport them down there - all for nothing. He yelled at people for bringing water bottles in because he sold them, but he never told us that before. He never offered help but was always there to yell at us if we did something wrong. Bottom line - the owner is an a**hole, doesn't communicate & is NOT a business man!!!!

We spent a beautiful afternoon at the winery. The staff is not only helpful but very friendly. The…read morewines were delicious. The views perfect. It will be a summer repeat again and again.

Madison County Winery is located in - you guessed it - Madison County. My mom and I participated in…read morethe Madison County Fall Crawl and ventured here. There is much to do in this area and MCW is not an exception. It is worth noting this area is absolutely beautiful, especially in the fall. I really like Madison County Winery's setup - the vineyards are abundant, visible, and accessible (perfect for that Instagram moment you are dreaming of). They have a large patio area with traditional outdoor tables and limited indoor seating. OUtside, they also have an offset pergola and firepit area with their own patio furniture, which would be fun for a small group. I had the wine slush which melted really fast and was very sweet, but who am I kidding I still enjoyed! My mom had the PINK wine (semi-sweet Rose) and liked it so much that she bought a bottle to take home. Down the steps from their patio, they also have a tent with personal pan fire grilled pizza - would also recommend. What is honestly better than wine, pizza, and beautiful fall day. It was such a great Sunday afternoon, I can't wait to take friends back soon!

Loved these wines. The staff were very friendly and clearly enjoyed their jobs. Loved discussing…read morethe 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!

What a gem! Yesterday I enjoyed a great afternoon of music and sunshine on the grounds of the…read morewinery. 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.

I was able to attend a small event recently at Speckled Hen Farm encompassing Speckled Hen and a…read morecouple of businesses they closely partner with including Covered Bridges Winery. Kevin from Covered Bridges Winery was an excellent host and let us know about their business in the same way as our hosts from Speckled Hen Farm and Lone Oaks Farms did. Where they started, where they are now, and what they have coming up. He offered tasting of 8-10 different wines from sweet to dry of his different blends. I tried the St. Croix (dry red), Frontenac Gris (dry red), LaCrescent (dry white), Marquette (dry white), Petite Rose (dry rose), and Rattlesnake Red (semi-sweet red). I'm not a huge wine drinker...some over the years...and I know my taste leans to dry and not overly sweet. I enjoyed all the samples I tried; both red and white! Ask Kevin about how the name rattlesnake red came to be...! Since we were on the Speckled Hen property we didn't get the full winery experience, but Kevin had the same enthusiasm as Kris (our host from Speckled Hen Farm) and Luann (our host from Lone Oaks Farms). You can tell why they all partner together so well! Winterset is just a 30ish min drive from where I live in Clive. A trip to the Northern part of Ankeny or to the South side can take me just as long...so it's really not far away at all and it's a nice drive. If you're like me and you enjoy a little bit of a day trip to find new things... It's worth the short drive from the metro! Check out upcoming events at Covered Bridges Winery on their Facebook page and site (as well as those for Speckled hen Farm and Lone Oaks Farms on their respective pages). https://coveredbridgeswinery.com/ https://www.facebook.com/CoveredBridgesWinery

Good wine, great service and nice location…read more I stopped here with Harvest Hosts for an overnight stay. It was packed when i got there with live music and a packed house. One of the owners saw me trying to find a place to park and pointed me to the best area to park, said after the band was over people would think out and I could park anywhere i wanted on the grounds. After getting setup i came in and grabbed a bottle of red wine and a charcuterie plate. The owners and staff were wonderful, the wine was great and the music was fantastic!! I had a great time staying with them and if i lived in the area i know i wold be there often.