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[lsanderson]

Iowa Finds Itself Deep in Heart of Wine Country
By SUSAN SAULNY

ADEL, Iowa — Stan Olson used to grow corn and soybeans on hundreds of acres here on the Raccoon River west of Des Moines, but no more. These days, Mr. Olson’s empty grain silo is useful only as a rustic image to promote his new vineyard and tasting room.

Mr. Olson’s Penoach Winery is a tiny operation in a red barn behind his family’s farmhouse, next to a small grape nursery. It does not have much of a customer base yet or any vintages that go beyond last year, but Mr. Olson is thrilled nonetheless.

“I will make as much selling grape plants off of two acres this year as I did many years on 1,000 acres of corn and raising 3,000 head of hogs,” said Mr. Olson, who makes much of his money selling cuttings to other aspiring vintners.

“This year was a very good year,” he said.

When wineries began popping up around the region in the 1970s — the first rebound of a local industry killed by Prohibition — many people thought it was a fad that would go the way of herbal diets and frozen yogurt stands. More

For a Young Industry, Hints of Possibility
By ERIC ASIMOV

Michigan, Missouri and Iowa don’t quite have the ring of Napa and Sonoma. They will probably never connote the golden good life that California has marketed. But that doesn’t mean they can’t make wines that are not only decent, but also enjoyable and distinctive. More

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[avt-tor.livejournal.com]

The spirits of my French Icarian ancestors will sleep more easily now. ;)