Southwest Iowa’s second winery has come of age. Breezy Hills Vineyard and Winery owned and operated by Darrell and Roberta Morse will be celebrating its grand opening Thanksgiving weekend. The celebration will be held from 10 am to 5 pm on Friday and Saturday and 1 pm to 5 pm on Sunday, with free wine tasting and tours of the winery facility each day.

The vineyard and winery idea in Iowa isn’t new. Not too many years ago, Iowa boasted thousands of acres of grapes and numerous wineries, ranking the state among the top ten in the nation. Prohibition, an untimely snowstorm, the Great Depression, and the introduction of a new herbicide to control weeds were leading factors in the fall of Iowa’s stronghold in the industry. Over the past five years or so, an all out effort has been launched to resurrect Iowa’s share of the wine industry. Nearly six hundred acres of grapes have been planted and over thirty wineries have been licensed in the state.

The Morse’s idea of starting a new winery was conceived nearly three years ago when they joined the Western Iowa Grape Growers Association and began visiting area wineries in Nebraska and Minnesota. In 2002, the Morse’s planted a test vineyard containing ten different wine and table grape varieties. In 2003, the first production block of the main vineyard was planted, and for the past year, work has been underway to construct the winery, tasting room, and gift shop. In between working on the winery and his full time off farm employment, Darrell attended numerous wine schools and seminars to hone his home winemaking skills.

Bringing a vineyard into production takes four or five years. In lieu of having their own grapes to produce the Breezy Hills label wines, the Morse’s have purchased grapes and grape juice from other local vineyards and brokers. The Morse’s won’t be featuring wines produced from Californian or New York grown Cabernets, Merlots, or Chardonnay’s. This winery’s production is focused upon the cold hardy grape varieties and fruits grown here in the Midwest. The wine list will include about a half dozen grape wines and an equal number of fruit based wines.

The first thing visitors will notice when they come to the winery will be its fitting name. Perched high upon a hill, overlooking the town of Neola and traffic on Interstate 80; there’s hardly a day that there's not a breeze in the air. The panoramic view is fantastic, as visitors can virtually see miles and miles of southwest Iowa’s terraced countryside. The winery and gift shop are located amongst the farmstead buildings and a bordering orchard, and the vineyard is a short walk away.

Following the grand opening, the winery’s tasting room and gift shop will be open weekends, Saturdays 10am to 6pm and Sundays 1pm to 5 pm. The gift shop will feature a complete line of wine accessories and other hand made gift items. Group tours, a party room for small group events, and full facility rental will be offered on an appointment basis. The Morse’s hope to have the winery’s web site; www.breezyhills.com up and running in the next few weeks to keep all abreast of new additions and developments.

Take a break from your holiday shopping and attend the grand opening of Breezy Hills Vineyard and Winery. There located at 31735 Tamarack Rd (old Highway 83) about a mile and a half west of Minden.

Contact information: Darrell & Roberta Morse (712) 485-2083 31735 Tamarack Rd Minden, IA 51553