Sugar Clay Winery

Great winery. Frank and Amy do a wonderful job as hosts and son Eliah is an ambassador of great service. We just left a sangria Sunday with a Jamaican twist. As always the place was full, the food was great and the hosts friendliness make this quaint winery, hidden in Loess Hills, more than worth the three hour drive. If you have not visited this place, don’t make it your loss.

Sugar Clay might just be my favorite local winery. The location, indoors and outdoors, is a beautiful escape from the city with views of the Loess Hills and the woods of western Iowa.
Highlights:
— the wine and mead are great local varieties, with a wine to match most palates — the best I’ve tried in Iowa!
— the family is personable and welcoming, so I felt like I could sit and enjoy a bottle of wine without pressure to clear out
— $ 5 on Sundays buys a glass of tasty sangria (pictured), pays a cover for a live musician, and provides access to some pretty delicious unlimited chips and salsa. I want to make Sangria Sundays a thing in my life!
— the scenery is peaceful and serene
— their food menu, though I did not try it yet, is impressive compared to other local wineries that sell boxes of crackers and packaged cheese: build-​your-​own fresh grilled burgers on the day I visited and a few other options.
All in all, it’s a friendly escape so close to the metro. I am very eager to return!

Great little Vineyard in the hills. Get a bread, wine and cheese tray, then walk the boardwalk, sit among the pines or follow the boardwalk to the little deck overlooking the vineyard. It’s peaceful, the wines are excellent. We love going here, try to go on Sundays in the summer.