First time I visited the Amana Colonies, since moving to Midwest and stopped in this winery around…read more11:45am on a Saturday, we walked up to the counter were barely greeted and everyone was busy stocking and checking the orders. Once they noticed we were there, we said it was our first time, so we just read the menu and did a wine tasting with cheese for $14. The lady said okay, sit wherever. We sat in the back of the tasting room, there was no-one else in the place, she brought the wine and cheese to the table and left. No explanation, no entry into their wines, nothing. First off the glasses were thick, like used for beer tasting? no ability to see the legs on the wine. But what was I thinking? I had my doubts just given the names of the wines... Ember wine? Dandelion wine? Marquette rose? I proceeded to start with the ember - a red-ish wine... not full body, lacked depth. The rose, had an after finish of water that just ran off my tongue, a good rose has a crisp refreshing taste with balanced acidity and fruit notes... this was horrible. Next up the dandelion? I'm only to assume it's supposed to be like a chard, but honestly I left it on the table. Should it be warm like a mead? Confusing. I'm from the PNW and we are known for exceptional 90+point wines and family estates, so I know wines, and whatever I drank today, was not it. On my way out, other folks entered and were at the check in and the staff was more than willing to walk them through selections of wines for tastings. Wish I had that!

Cute little store with lots of snack type cheeses and some wine. The lady who was there was very…read morehelpful and friendly. She asked us what kind of wines we liked, explained that this store specialized in grape wine, while the other one next door was fruit. She let us sample a couple of different wines and made recommendations based on the things we said we liked. She also gave a list of all their wines with descriptions to look at. I wish we would have gone here first instead of the winery next door because their was a night and day difference in experience.

White Cross Cellars is the most recent addition to multiple wineries in the Amana area. They have…read moregone away from the flavored wines and instead are establishing themselves as the place to go when you're looking for more standard wine selections. They've got a solid number of both whites and reds, as well as a delightful port that's a great ending to any evening. The red's largely have a medeival theme (Knight's red, Monk's red and Stormy Knight) that we assume has something to do with the cellar story, but whatever the reason, Knight's are cool, the wine is good, 'nuf said! Whites weres solid with our favorite being the Oktoberfest - a sweet white that's available, you guessed it, in October and until they run out! We've been very impressed with the folks that work here. They know the wine well, love to help you sample the libations and make some great food recs to go with the wines! Another fun thing that we're excited to try are the dinner's the have throughout the year. They pair wines with a local establishment and serve up a delicious evening. They've also become active with many of festivals that occur in Amana throughout the year making it always a good time to drop by. Our favorite wines have been the Monk's red - fuller red that's really smooth, the Knight's red - little dryer with a big of kick - good with steak!, Cranberry Bog was different and a good lighter wine and we really like the the Stormy knight as a way to end an evening - it's a delicious heavy port that's basically dessert in a bottle. Great spot with some really good wines! Better selection of "normal" wines that many of the other Amana shops (though you won't find any dandelion wine here) and certainly worth stopping in for. They'll treat you right and likely introduce you to a wine you didn't know you loved - now back ot the Monk's red!

If you find yourself in the Amanas don't forget to stop by and taste the real German wine. White…read morecross cellars will lead you thru their whole tasting. Dave and Mary will fill you in on their passion of all the Amana history. I can't leave the Amanas without saying hello and grabbing a mitler for me and a cranberry bog. I highly suggest you look into their wine dinners it's Such a treat. Thanks for all you do for the Amanas !

My parents went when I was a child and now I've introduced my adult children to our favorite…read morewinery! The staff are helpful and the wines are sweet and delicious. What more can I say? Visit Amana on your next trip and stock up for the holidays.

TLDR: history weirdo gives bonus star for old flavor wines and hopes they update their website…read more I'm the survivor of a late 1980s childhood transplant to Texas. Over the last few years when my parents have visited Iowa family they habitually hit the Amanas for themselves and have picked up wine for me. Ackerman is one of the now-familiar labels they have kindly brought back multiple times. At home in Tx, it's usually Pinot Grigio or Texas viognier/drier local mead by my plate or on the porch. I can do the sweets like port or moscato, and the Ackerman bottles I've gotten tend to hit closer to that spot. Not as bad as my friend S's dad's homemade fruit wine with sugar crust sealing the lid, but make no mistake. *Sweet* I usually ask my parents to find something unusual (their mango would qualify here, definitely not an endemic Iowa flavor) or local/historic like the dandelion wine I discovered probably two decades ago when I stopped at the Ox Yoke for lunch. Part of my heart belongs to throwback flavors like dandelion; not that long ago we as a nation were eating the greens in salads and the blossoms went into wines or jellies. This wine is great with friends or a book, I think the only thing I paired with it at any point was a handful of salted almonds. The only thing harder to find than dandelion in any form is rhubarb. PLAIN rhubarb, not half cut with strawberry. And my goodness, this rhubarb wine was the surprise gift because it was not as sweet as expected. Or perhaps misremembered or from another label. This rhubarb was comparatively pert and I loved it. The blueberry was lovely, an amazing deep garnet and as sweet as a moscato. Again, nice for dessert or sitting in the sunshine. Not really to pair with any sandwich or pasta but you do you--I started enjoying wine much more when I threw the pairing wheel away. The online site isn't navigable, frankly, and I hope they get someone to update it because they're missing sales. I didn't have the patience to call the listed phone number to see if I could even order for shipment (cross fingers, Tx has bent a lot of -OH rules already for the shutdown). I'll just say to Iowans who drive outside their state that 1. stashing a bottle or two for your weird foodie friends will probably prove rewarding for them, and 2. thanks very much for sharing.

We met friends for a holiday lunch. The waitress was terrific! Very attentive and very aware of…read morewhat was going on. We started off with some cheese curds, which were breaded and tasty. My husband ordered the special which was a pork chop and I had a Reuben hamburger. It was really big. The hamburger might've been a bit overdone. Friend had a chicken croissant sandwich and said it was delicious. Her hubby had a whisky burger and enjoyed it. We had a dessert pretzel and weren't able to finish it. It was just sweet enough to be a nice ending to the meal. Everyone said their beers were good. I wanted to have a Coke zero but the machine wasn't working and the owner wasn't there to fix it. I had iced tea instead and it was not good. It's bright and clean and a nice place to meet for lunch

Rebecca was our bartender and she was spectacular. Not only a joy to be around, very funny,…read morepersonable, had a heavy hat full of flair and just overall great - the recommendations for beer were plenty, lots of options and and she gave us also some recommendations on what to eat in Iowa City since we were going to head that way afterwards. Inside there was a nice bar area where we sat and was easy to view all the selections while also making friends. The outdoor patio is really cool, especially in the spring / summer - which we were there in summer. Beautiful grassy area outside and just so perfect to enjoy a cold one. Loved the options and the combo of tap and canned. The adult nap time was glorious. Thank you!

I was a bit sad to stop here for the first time in a few years and discover that the adjacent…read morewinery has closed, as has the nearby restaurant that I grew up stopping to eat at on our annual trips to visit relatives in southwestern Iowa. But the general store still carries many of the wines I'd been able to previously purchase next door, so all was not lost! In addition to several bottles of wine, I picked up some beer-soaked sausage and some cheddar cheese, and both were wonderful. The wines, as usual, were sweet and delicious. No one makes sweet fruit wines like the folks in the Amanas, and with not enough time to drive all the way up to the villages, this store offers the perfect Plan B.

What a treasure. Great info about the amanas. Love to see the history. I really appreciate the…read moreinfo and antiques

We dropped in to expand our knowledge on the Amana Colonies. The first area is a room with cook…read morebooks and small displays. To go beyond , you agree to the 20 minute Video and a museum visit. The hitch is 8.00 per person to go deeper. I just couldn't see the value for 16.00. He was very nice and explained the process to the next people arriving after us. But we decided to hold on to our cash. I would have done it for half. I was already inside. I learned more in the woolen store later from the sales ladies. They loved to tell the history.

We really liked this place. We brought our dogs and sat on the patio. My husband had an IPA and I…read morehad a Mango smoothie sour which was delicious. The staff was very friendly and helpful. It was very clean and comfortable. We got there not long after opening and it wasn't very busy.

Great beer. Great staff. Great facility. No place to park…read more Otherwise 5+. I wiil visit again but probably just to pickup beer.

We randomly came upon Plum Grove while on a bike ride and it's quite the fun little spot to stop in…read moreat. They're open from 1-5 Wed-Sun and we learned from the sign that the National Society of The Colonial Dames helps out here! Kind of a fun little 20 minute excursion where you can explore a house that was effectively a mansion in the 1840's and today is on the small side of anywhere. The grounds have plenty of reader boards w/ fun facts about what used to go on here and there was even a community garden that is apparently usable. Good place to go explore for a bit and learn a little about how things used to be!

We came and did a little tour here, it's a fun little hidden gem in the middle of Iowa City. It's a…read morecool old house, grounds and gardens that are in surprisingly good shape. The tour is free, and because not many people come it's basically a private tour every time. The tour guides are knowledgeable, friendly, and fun. Ours was very good with my daughter who was just learning how to walk and wanted to get into everything. The grounds are also quite beautiful, with an herb garden, a flower garden, and a vegetable garden, as well as huge old trees. There is plenty of space to picnic there, and it's very peaceful. I really enjoyed spending an hour here and would recommend it!