It was in late 2003 that the seed was sown for the business which eventually became BlueStem Winery.

 

Our intention originally was to put together a small Iowa winery and nothing but a winery. In actuality the winery became the last part of our business to come together as we purchased our building in late 2003 and spent several months remodeling and planning for our opening.

 

The time between purchase and opening day on June 2, 2004 saw the business transform from being just a winery to making a decision to also sell winemaking supplies, equipment and ingredients which we were very familiar with and to also sell homebrewing ingredients, supplies and equipment which we were not familiar with!

 

Extra space in the street level portion of our building was used for an art gallery (since closed) and for several rooms filled with gourmet foods, antiques, wine accessories, Amish quilts, Iowa soy products, a book nook and other gift items plus our wine sales and tasting room.

 

The sales of wine making ingredients and homebrewing supplies started slowly.  We were disappointed with how little good it did to advertise in local papers and on the radio with almost zero return coming in from numerous attempts to advertise in newspapers and on the radio for our home brewing equipment and winemaking ingredients.  The things that worked best for us that first year were brochures in local motels and signs placed at the major highway intersections near our business and . . . word of mouth!  There is no substitute for a satisfied customer!  Store traffic has grown as the word has spread around northeast Iowa about our business.

 

Rather than start with the winery work we chose to start building a new website to also advertise our business.  The decision to build a website to market our winemaking equipment, beer brewing supplies and WinExpert wine ingredient kits was a good one but unfortunately we chose a web development company out of Clear Lake, Iowa and we learned fairly quickly that who you choose to work with on web development is critical.  Although a contract was signed for the web company to make website changes regarding our brewing ingredients inventory and wine making supplies, it was a constant battle to make sure they completed things given them to do.  E-mails, telephone calls, and constant follow-up were all required and still the work was left undone or poorly done.

 

After a year of poor customer service and hassles we contacted Impact Marketing from Waterloo, Iowa and started building a second website with a company that has turned out to be a stellar business resource for BlueStem Winery!  Kudos to Andy Mullinex at Impact for helping put together a website which is easier to use, easier to maintain and far less stress (on me!).

 

We currently have TWO wines of our own on the shelves (or should I say wine racks?). Our Once in a Blue Moon is a Riesling dessert wine which has been hugely successful since hitting the shelves in May of 2007.  Our second wine (a red dessert wine called Red Crescent) went out for sale in late March 2008.

 

Our third wine is a Chilean Montepulciano which is bottled and will available on approximately May 1, 2008.  This wine will be called Dark Side.

 

Our other wine releases (most will be available in mid-year or slightly later in 2008) and all of which are as yet unnamed will be a Gewurztraminer, a Riesling, a Gruner Veltliner, a Zweigelt and another dessert wine (a Gewurztraminer).

 

As part of our wine making supplies business we started with a very substantial line of WinExpert wine ingredient kits.  In 2007 we added a less complete line of Cellar Craft ingredient kits but plan to expand this line with our next delivery of Cellar Craft kits in early 2008.

 

Our beer brewing ingredients kits were originally the Brewer's Best kits supplied by our wholesaler.  Because of inventory control problems we stopped purchasing these and instead cloned all of these kits with our own line called BlueStem's Best kits to which we have also added a half dozen kits of our own design.

In addition to winemaking and home brewing supplies, and the fine Iowa wines, BlueStem also features wine accessories, gourmet foods, antiques, Amish quilts and Iowa soy products including clean burning soy candles and soy hand lotion bars made right here in Parkersburg.

Through the website BlueStem has marketed winemaking and beer brewing supplies worldwide with clients from Greece, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Israel and Mexico to date and with many clients from Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, Nebraska, New Mexico, New Jersey, North Dakota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, West Virginia, Washington, Puerto Rico and of course, Iowa.

The biggest problem the business faces right now is a lack of space! The basement of the building was intended to house the winery but is now loaded with homebrew ingredients, brewing equipment, winemaking ingredients, Cellar Craft wine ingredient kits, and WinExpert kits. Although the winery is what we call a "boutique" winery it still requires at least some space! Eventually we will be forced to build a small warehouse to house the increasing demands of the wine and beer brewing supplies and equipment business.

We offer individual attention to your needs including prompt responses to your questions and concerns. If someone answers the phone it is going to be either Bonnie or Vern. The store is open from Wednesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Central Time) and on Sunday from Noon until 4:00 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays usually find Vern at the store catching up (except during the summer when we may be trout fishing in Northeast Iowa).