SO . . . JUST WHAT IS BLUESTEM ANYWAY?

One thing that I learned about Iowa that I did not know prior to beginning our winery business was that a hundred years ago Iowa was the sixth leading producer of grapes in the United States.  So what happened?  Several things.

First was the vast increase in the row crop production of corn and soybeans.  Second was prohibition.  Third was the usage of many new herbicides in the production of crops and Iowa's grapes just could not tolerate these chemicals.  All of these events were detrimental to the production of grapes in Iowa.

A hundred years before Iowa was a large grape producer, the plains which would become our state were blanketed with prairie grass.  Two of these grasses were known as Little Bluestem and Big Bluestem.  Big Bluestem (pictured above) grows to heights of eight or nine feet or taller.

Over a year has passed now since our little hometown was severely damaged by an EF-5 tornado with winds in excess of 250 miles per hour. The southern one-third of town was totally destroyed, the middle one-third went from severe damage on the south side to moderate damage on the north.  The northern one-third of town was virtually untouched.  Altogether over 200 homes, 25 businesses and the local high school were leveled.

The photo above is of what was left of my son's garage (and of his 2002 Ford Lightning pickup truck).  Several other vehicles were lost or severely damaged including my own 1969 Mustang Mach 1 R-Code 428 CobraJet.

Parkersburg has done a remarkable job at rebuilding thanks to a lot of midwestern grit and determination plus a bundle of insurance money and a great deal of assistance from both FEMA and the State of Iowa.

My son's home (and that of his in-laws) was totally destroyed by the tornado.  Our own home suffered substantial damage and is being repaired now (Fall 2009).

BlueStem Winery was undamaged by the tornado (it is located in the northern one-third of town) but we were closed for about 10 days after the storm (no power for the internet and the National Guard was not allowing anyone into town).  We have been up and running ever since.

Our family greatly appreciates the phone calls and e-Mails and store visits from all of our customers and friends after the storm.  We are back!  If you need beer brewing ingredients, beer brewing kits, or supplies for making wine (including both WinExpert and Cellar Craft wine kits) we are at your service!  Take advantage of our BlueSaver Shipping (see the Policies page for details) and pay only $8.95 for your entire order shipped to anywhere in the lower 48 United States.