Ackerman Winery is proud to have the distinct honor of being the oldest operating winery in the state of Iowa. It all started in the basement of the South Amana home of Harry and Louisa Ackerman in 1956. They produced one hundred gallons each of Concord Grape and Rhubarb. In 1974, their son Les Ackerman, along with his wife Linda, took over operations and carried on the wine-making tradition for over 40 years – producing 15,000+ gallons of wine annually and expanding the wine list from two to over twenty different styles of wine. In 2001, the Ackerman’s moved their Winery from near their home in South Amana to main Amana.
In 2015, Les and Linda Ackerman retired and passed down their long history of wine making to another local family, the Wyants. Bill and Rona Wyant, of Marengo, IA (just a few miles outside of Amana) have a long history of farming however they are no stranger to the wine business. In 2007, they opened Fireside Winery (Marengo, IA) and have been successfully operating it since with their daughter, Cassie and son-in-law, Zach Bott. Together, they are proud to continue the tradition of making high quality fruit wines in the Amana Colonies as the Ackerman family did for nearly 60 years.
Ackerman wines are entered yearly into international wine competitions from California to New York and are regularly award top honors for their fruit wines. You can see their 850+ awards proudly displayed in the hallway at Ackerman Winery.
Open daily – we invite you in for a complimentary tasting. We are pleased to offer some of the most exotic varieties around such as Dandelion, Mango, Mead and Rhubarb. Crowd favorites include Red Raspberry, Blackberry and Lovers.