Prairie Moon Winery

The wine isn’t 5 stars, but this is Iowa. The winery is scenic, nice bar that also serves beer from their brewery and some of the wines are ok. Check out the beer at their brewery — alluvial. It’s phenomenal.

I’m not a wine guy so usually the whole ¨this wine has subtle highlights of peach and after-​taste of cherry” is lost on me. Not Prairie Moon’s wine. Very flavorful if you ask me. But, then again, I’m not a Napa Valley snob like reviewer Dave M.

Short Version:
Neat little winery. It accomplishes what it needs to do, but it seems seating is pretty limited during special events (only about three sets of tables and chairs). Good wine and enjoyable experience, but it doesn’t seem quite like they want you to linger around too long. Once you’ve done a short tasting and purchased a bottle (if you want), I’m not entirely sure what you’d do aside from leave. Good experience for what it was, though.
Long Version:
Our group was over at Alluvial, and we thought we’d walk over to Prairie Moon and see what they had going on over there. At the time, they had a wedding and wedding reception going on in their back area, but they were still happy to serve customers in their front bar area.
Things I would have wanted to know before I went:
–They can host events and weddings here, so depending on when you come, you may not have full access to the whole building. You have access to the front which is more-​than-​enough for tasting the wine and purchasing wine, though.
–There are a couple of tables with two chairs for sitting and sipping. Insanely gorgeous lighting in this building.
–They offer up to three wines to taste for free. You can taste all of the wines for $ 5, and they’ll also give you a free Prairie Moon stemless wine glass if you choose that route. (WORTH IT. DO IT.)
–Bottles seem to run $ 10 to $ 13 per bottle.
–They accept credit cards.
–They offer little pieces of paper with their wine names to take wine notes if you want. I’m not quite cultured enough for that much, but our group had fun talking over the wines (and sometimes with the bartender as well).
–They also sell beer for the non-​wine-​drinkers among you.
–They do NOT seem to offer any sort of non-​alcoholic drinks for drivers.
–Building is air-​conditioned.
–They also offer public events such as concerts and whatnot. I imagine this place is very busy but enjoyable during those giant public events.
–No need to come back out here all the time if you love their wine. Their wine is sold at most Hy-​Vees in Iowa as well as Cyclone Liquors in Ames and other liquor stores. I see their wine around pretty often.
Our group’s thoughts:
–I don’t think they want people staying at the bar to enjoy wine tastings. It seemed odd that there weren’t any chairs to enjoy your wine tasting, but instead, you’d need to stand.
–Wines were good. They’re organized by dry, semi-​sweet, and sweet as well as white, red, and blush wines. Purchasing a bottle of wine is really simple.
–Employees were friendly. They seemed very laid-​back about wine, and they didn’t seem snobby or unfriendly at all. They were happy to answer any wine questions we had, and they loved making recommendations. They did seem pretty busy, though, but we still felt like we received good attention.
–Located in a gorgeous area, but if you’re used to Iowa rural land, it looks about like the majority of Iowa. Nice little area, though, outside of Ames and in a peaceful spot of land.
Alluvial Brewing and Prairie Moon Winery are owned by people within the same family. Both are small businesses. They are located within a very short walk’s distance across from one another (across the parking lot), and you can even see the Prairie Moon vineyard from the seating in Alluvial Brewing. Both buildings are located within a 5 minute drive outside the outskirts of Ames, but it’s probably outside of the realm of walking there, so you’ll need a driver. (I’ve seen some people bike here) Alluvial sells Prairie Moon Wine bottles by the bottle (but not by the glass), while I wasn’t able to figure out if Prairie Moon Winery sold any of Alluvial’s beer. It’s very, very easy to go to one location then make a stop in the other location, and I saw multiple groups of people do that. If you’re hoping to sit around and drink, though, I’d recommend Alluvial over Prairie Moon as Alluvial has a lot more seating.

I dig Prairie Moon Winery! It’s a few miles out of town, but worth the drive! I love that they have live music and free winery tours on Sundays in the summer!
I have been to a couple weddings and other events out here as well! The lay of the land is quite beautiful and I have enjoyed every moment out here!
I’m not a huge wine drinker but my family and friends always dig whats going on in the wine department. If you looking for a relaxing place to spend a summer sunday afternoon, bring a DD and head out to Prairie Moon!

Getting to Prairie Moon winery is not much different than most of the wineries in Iowa; rural farmland, long roads and presto! There it is. Prairie Moon seems to focus more on the event side of their business (particularly weddings) than their wine. Scenic-​wise, it is a beautiful property inside and out. They told me that they do about 2 weddings per weekend there, and I can certainly see why.
The wine is another story. Honestly, it is just not very good (even by Iowa standards; don’t be offended by that remark my fellow Iowans — the state does not offer Napa quality ANYWHERE). This winery leans toward the sweet end of the wine spectrum both on their reds and whites.
We decided to come to Prairie Moon in advance of the ISU vs. Baylor game, since the location is just north (10 mins) of campus. But, sadly, we will not likely come back, unless we are invited to a wedding of course!