Member Vineyards and Wineries
This is a partial list of some of the grape growers Southern Hills Winery buys grapes to make wine.
Chalk Ridge Vineyard
Where some of Iowa's finest wines begin
2829 Chalk Ridge Road
Ft. Madison, Iowa 52627
319/372-4315 or 319/372-9904
319/371-6991 or 319/470-4727 (cell)
Owned by: Ray Pilkington and John Lake
chalkridgvineyard@yahoo.com
Member of Iowa Wine Growers
Ray Pilkington and John Lake, co-owners of Chalk Ridge Vineyard at Ft. Madison stand in front of St. Vincent grapes trained to a Vertical Shoot Positioned (VSP) system. Click the Chalk Ridge Winery hyperlink above to view their vineyard, and note the excellent shoot positioning and fruit exposure. Ray and John are both original members of the our winery cooperative. They currently have approximately 6 acres of wine grapes consisting of Concord, Niagara, Catawba, St. Vincent, Chambourcin, Seyval and a few Rougeon. They planted 600 vines of Vignoles in 2006.
Crooked Post Vineyard
New Virginia, Iowa
Owned by: Rob & Jean Meinders
Established: April 2002
Located on the rolling hills of southwest Warren County, the vineyard gets its name and rustic character from the native hedge posts that support the trellis. The owners planted five different varieties of grapes for a total of 3,250 vines on the five-acre vineyard; 650 vines for each variety (Marechel Foch, a black grape with small berries that produce a fruity, light red table wine; Espirit, a white wine grape with a mildly fruity flavor; Frontenac, an extremely hardy black grape variety that produces a full bodied red wine; St Croix, another extremely hardy black grape that makes an excellent red wine; Edelweiss, another excellent hardy white grape, that makes a nice crisp white wine. The owners invite you to stop and take a short time to meander through the vineyard. For more information, call 641-449-9935 during evenings.
Black Creek Vineyards
Pella, Iowa
Owned by Larry and Vi Engbers
This is our east vineyard with the Edelweisse in the foreground and the LaCrosse at the far-side. We started in 2001 and ended the planting in 2003. We also have four varieties of seedless grapes which we sell at farmers market. We are also known as Larry's Berries and Vi's Vines.
Website
Summerset Vineyard & Winery
Indianola, Iowa
Owned by: Ron & Linda Mark
Located in the rolling hills south of Des Moines, Iowa, the Summerset Winery is an inviting place to relax and enjoy the fruits of the harvest and the natural beauty of the Summerset Winery.
Website
Fun Facts
A ton of grapes equals 720 bottles of wine, or 60 cases. One vine annually produces between four and six bottles of wine, or 20 and 30 glasses. Each bottle of wine contains about 2.8 pounds of grapes; each 5-ounce glass of wine a little over half a pound.