Not worth the $85 per person. The first winery wasn't good at all. The second was ok. The brewery was fun, but all still not worth the $85. Have a friend be your DD and save yourselves the money! Seriously. read more

I decided to plan a private wine tour for my best friend's bachelorette party and I could not be more happy with the service and tour we received during our time in Iowa! Dennis was great from the very start! Answering all (and I had a lot) of questions and the day went off without a hitch! He was very knowledgeable about the area and all of the wineries we were visiting. Not to mention putting up with a group of 10 women...could not have asked for a better guide. If you are looking for a great time, while drinking delicious wine, you've found your spot!! Thank you again for making this a weekend to remember. read more

My girlfriends and I went on this wine tour over the July 4th weekend and for $65 bucks it is a great deal! We took the "Black Hawk Wine Tour" on a Saturday. It stops at 3 wineries - Galena Cellars Vineyard and Winery, Rocky Waters Winery, and Massbach ridge Winery. There were a lot of different wines offered at each, so there are tastes that everyone will like. I even managed to buy at least a bottle of wine from each! What is also great is that lunch is included at a little pizza place in downtown Galena at Procento's where the 3 of us shared a pizza and pop and it was ready right when we arrived! Our driver, Dennis, was great and very friendly. He picked us up (and dropped us off) right at our hotel on time. The bus is air conditioned, comfy and he provides bottled water for everyone as well. If you by any wine, he will carry it to the bus for you so you don't have and have it all organized for you when he drops you off at the hotel. He tells you background information for each of the wineries and it is clear that he is very familiar with the owners of the wineries. The time our the tour states 11-3, however we went a little over that, which was fine by us as we had enough time at each winery! We also had a full tour busy (12 people), so that made it a bit more fun meeting new people. I would highly recommend this tour company if you are in the area!! Great time and worth the money! read more

If I could give less than one star, I would. I am truly shocked and concerned about what I just experienced with this company. My friends and I (9 of us) were here for a girls weekend to have a great time in Galena. We scheduled a mystery pub crawl with this company and, wow, what a bad experience. Our tour was scheduled for 7:00pm. We got a call at approximately 6:45pm indicating the bus would arrive late. We said we were flexible and that it would not be a problem. Our driver finally arrived at 7:45pm. Even though our festivities were delayed, we all gathered and were prepared for such a fun night. When each of us got on the bus our impression was that our driver had a terribly poor attitude. As each of us greeted him, he was not friendly and was very short. As some of us further questioned, in an attempt to establish rapport, his responses contained unexpected, disturbing statements. His communication regarding the bus guidelines were very accusatory and inappropriate. In my experience, the driver will discuss rules and guidelines prior to leaving. Instead of a discussion, he was threatening. He made references to not messing up his bus and ordered my friends and I to get off his bus. He even threatened to call the sheriff on us. Wow. My friends and I are in disbelief. We have locked our doors and are concerned about retaliation from such an unstable individual who we believe to be the owner. I am so sad that this group of fun and respectful ladies were treated this way. I really have enjoyed my visit to Galena up to this event. However, this experience has cast a shadow on our weekend and I hope that others will not have a similar experience, or anything like it, EVER. read more

This is one of the best deals in the Galena area for a wine tour! For $65, the one-man winemobile picks you and your entourage up from whichever hotel you're staying at, drives you to three different wineries, and buys you a pizza lunch before driving you home. You can bring drinks and food on the bus - and there is nothing like sipping mimosas and eating artisan cheese while being chauffeured around to taste wine! I've gone two years in a row, and I plan to do this again next year! read more

Went on the wine tour on a Friday in March (myself and the bf), and had no idea what to expect. I've never been to Iowa, but I do have more than enough experience with wineries ; ) I made the reservation by phone and paid upfront; was pleasantly surprised when the driver agreed to pick us up at our hotel before even asking where it was. He picked us up on time, provided a cooler full of bottled waters, was very nice and friendly, and explained some interesting history of each winery (when they were built, who ran them, info about the types of grapes) and some information about the history and current happenings of the surrounding area. I'm sorry to say I can't recall the name of the tour we took, but we stopped at 3 wineries: Galena Cellars, Massbach, and Rocky Waters; and we made a stop for lunch at a cute pizzeria in shop-lined downtown Galena. (which by the way, wish we would have gone back to walk up and down this street to check out some shops and restaurants including a tasty looking chocolate shop) Throughout the day our driver took care of our tasting fees, organized and carried a box of the wines we bought (there was almost a full case, oops), and introduced us to all the winery employees which he definitely had friendships with. The tour was very spread out, considering most of the wineries are in off the grid locations, but the bus was comfortable and air conditioned with cushioned seats (a little bumpy, but what can you do) and our driver let us scan the radio for some tunes. He was even nice enough to drive around to different spots for photo opps, and he took several of us in front of the beautiful scenery. The tour ended up running about an hour behind because we got caught up in the tastings, but it didn't seem to matter much, we weren't rushed at all. We were dropped back off at our hotel and ready for wine-hazed nap : ) Overall, great experience. I can't compare to other tours, but we liked it. I would recommend going with more than 2 people, seems like lots of fun for a group or a ladies day out. The owner offers several different tours so you can choose which tour includes the wineries you want to go to. I believe there's even a boat cruise and maybe a pub crawl you should take advantage of. Would I go back? Sure, if I were to revisit Iowa, might bring the parents or a few friends. read more

Our driver (who I later found out is the OWNER of this company) had clearly had a bad day and was taking it out on us. Beyond unprofessional. Hostile and angry. Actually scary angry. We got off the bus before we even left our street because he was so mean and nasty. read more

Just had an amazing wine tour experience! Dennis was super friendly and went out of his way to make this an enjoyable experience! Highly recommended! Thanks for a great evening! read more

Even though we were in Illinois- this was the only tour group which answered their phones. Tour was of Illinois wineries with lunch in downtown Galena. -picked us up at hotel - knew all the winery owners which smoothed the way to good service - tour guide was informed of the area so made driving trip very informative - guide packed up our wine buys after each winery so weren't lugging bottles around - guide ensured he got feedback from all participants concerning the mode of transportation and the wineries - we weren't rushed- so tour was over the 3 hours - if you are tired of driving the winding hills probably the best way to see the wineries read more

Let me start off by saying, I am not someone who often writes reviews, especially negative ones. However, I wish to give this review as a cautionary measure to anyone looking to book a large group tour with Iowa Wine Tours. They have no problem cancelling one week before your event. My story starts in July when I first contacted Dennis about my interest in booking a Saturday in November for a Bachelorette party in Galena that I was in charge of planning. Dennis was kind, helpful, and said he could accommodate a large party with no problem. He even told me he'd written us in for the date I'd requested. I told him during that first conversation that I was likely to have 20 women for the tour. After confirming numbers a few weeks later, I tried to reach out to Dennis many times to update him. "How much should I collect from the girls who are pregnant and not tasting but still coming on the bus?". "We have someone in our party who needs a gluten free lunch option. When do we need to put our lunch order in?". "When and how can I pay you?". Dennis was evasive to say the least. I went weeks without a response to my voicemails, finally leading me to ask via email if that voice mailbox was even working or checked. I was very keen to get a contract and put money down. All of my other bachelorette activities had required it. Not Dennis and I found this suspicious. After my email, Dennis did call me, albeit a week later, and told me that he was working on getting a bus large enough to accommodate our group's size and getting a different lunch vendor. This is now mid-October, so admittedly I felt panicked. Dennis reassured me "We'll get you there. Don't worry." and promised to call me next week so we could finalize everything. Still, he didn't want any payment. Dennis never called. Two weeks go by and finally, I begin to pester again. Dennis finally calls me back Friday evening, after business hours, one week before our party, to tell me he never could manage to get a bus for us. He suggested that I go ahead and call a bus company, call the wineries, and arrange lunch myself. When I explained to Dennis I am from out of town, and with 5 business days before the party, I was unlikely to have any time to actually do this nor was there likely to be anyone else available on such short notice, he seemed audibly annoyed. He also casually mentioned that he already had another tour booked for that afternoon. Suddenly, it made sense. Dennis did not need our business and had went ahead and booked another tour knowing he would likely not be doing ours, even though I'd booked in July. Any chance of booking somewhere else was likely to be unsuccessful. Businesses were closed until Monday and I doubt that many could accommodate a party of our size last minute in November. This story has a happy ending, but only because my aunt, who lives in Galena, has friends who took pity on my situation. She was able to find a restaurant that would pick us up from our rental house, take us to lunch at their restaurant, arrange for tastings at three wineries, and drop us back home (with dinner to go!) in a few short hours all for the same price Dennis was charging me. And what do you know? The owner emailed me an itinerary/ contract within minutes! Not everyone has connections to the area, and if I didn't, this review would be worse. I truly believe Dennis is a nice guy, but his laissez faire attitude toward returning calls and emails coupled with his total incompetence regarding the handling of my booking led me to write this review. If you are booking a tour for large group, I would advise booking with a different tour company. read more

My wife and I made plans to spend Labor Day weekend in Galena. We booked our September trip in June. One of the activities that we'd planned and booked in June for our September trip was a Saturday afternoon wine tour. On Friday, September 2nd, the day before the tour, Dennis Dieters told us that our 4 hour tour of 3 local wineries was canceled. Not only was Dennis unapologetic for canceling last minute, he was rude and insulting. He told us that the B&B that we were staying at (The Goldmoore) was inconveniently located for him. Fortunately, there are several other great alternatives in Galena. Fried Green Tomatoes and several others are excellent alternatives. Or there are 3 or 4 wineries that have store fronts in the town. Whatever you decide to do, stay away from Iowa Wine Tours and Dennis Dieters! read more

I received a refund of $130 to my credit card on 3/31/11. The issue has been resolved.

Dennis, our driver was great. He gave us information about the area as well as the wines. He had a very good repoir with the wineries and they all catered to their customers well. I'd recommend this tour group to anyone. He pics you up and drops you off wherever you are staying and has lunch and water for you. He also had a pub tour that I wish I could have made it too. read more

Dennis is awesome! A great safe ride while touring the wineries and visiting the council hill saloon.

Our driver Was Dennis; could not have asked for anything more from him. He was accommodating, kind, personable and honest. He gave us some historical background on the areas and wineries. He knew his stuff! I highly recommend the tour and Dennis specifically. Thanks for taking us!!! read more