From corn and soybeans to award-winning wines

MARENGO — Zach Bott was trading grain on the Mississippi River in 2006 when his in-laws decided to start a winery, and Bott learned a whole new business.

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Less than 10 years later, Bott was named the Iowa Wine Growers Association Winemaker of the Year during the wine industry’s annual conference and banquet in January.

Zach was nominated by the former owner of the Wijn House in Pella, said his wife, Cassie. “We were their top-selling winery.”

Zach downplays the honor, but he thinks it means Fireside is doing something right. “We do well at a lot of different things,” said Zach. The winery produces consistent quality in a wide range of wines, from the driest to the sweetest.

The beginning

Bill and Rona Wyant had been growing corn and soybeans on their farm north of Conroy, but they wanted to try a different crop: grapes.

“They just had a dream of owning their own winery,” said their daughter, Cassie.

The Wyants took a couple of acres out of traditional crops and put in grapevines in 2006. The name Fireside is a reflection of Wyant family traditions, the warmth of family, friendships and great conversations, the winery’s website says.

“I was the first employee,” said Zach. Cassie, who was working in the insurance industry in Iowa City, joined about a year and a half later.

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“We did a fair amount of research,” said Zach. The process is pretty straightforward, he said. “It’s not rocket science.”

Zach thinks they’ve gotten better at it.

Today, the Wyants have more than 20 acres of grapes. Bill Wyant retired from farming in 2019, Cassie said. “Now he spends more time in the vineyards. It’s very labor intensive.”

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The first year, Fireside produced about 1,000 cases of wine, said Zach. Now it produces about 14,000 cases, or 168,000 bottles.

The wines

Fireside wines are served in about 150 establishments in the state, said Cassie. The winery can sell in other states but is currently only selling wholesale in Iowa.

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Despite the cold, snowy winters in Iowa, Fireside produces wine all year long. It buys the fruit — including grapes — and processes them, lets the product ferment for a week to 10 days and bottles it after a couple of months.

The red is fermented with skins and most reds ferment a year to 18 months before they’re bottled, Zach said.

Zach pulled his 2022 red wines out of the barrel in February and will bottle them in the next month or two, he said.

Right now Fireside is pruning its vines. Four to six people take up to two months to prune all 20 acres.

The winery buys rhubarb in June and dandelions in May. It uses red raspberries, black raspberries, blackberries, mangos and grapes in its wines.

In 2014 Fireside bought Ackerman Winery, in Amana. Iowa’s oldest winery, Ackerman has been producing wine since 1956, its website says.

The bestselling wine in the Ackerman line is rhubarb, said the Botts. Fireside’s bestseller is Glow, a sweet white wine.

Wine in Iowa

Zach understands that some wine aficionados will snub Iowa wines. “People didn’t respect California wine in the ‘70s,” he said. But there’s a place in the industry for Iowa wines.

“It’s different,” said Zach. “That’s actually what’s super fun about it.”

The grapes grown in Iowa aren’t the same as those grown in old wine countries. Grapes were bred in the 1990s to handle the Midwest winters, said Cassie.

“We’ve been doing this for about 20 years and our improvement has been substantial,” said Zach.

“We’re pioneers,” said Cassie.

“Zach is the creator behind one of Iowa’s bestselling wineries,” said the Iowa Wine Growers Association in a news release in January. “Year after year he is able to … grow the name of Iowa wine.”

Zach crafts a diverse range of wines for which he’s won numerous awards, said the Association. His wines are immensely popular with wine lovers, making Fireside oe of the most popular wineries in the state.

The future

Fireside has started releasing some ciders, blending fruit wines with apple cider, and the winery will host events all summer to draw customers.

“It’s an exciting business,” said Zach. “Very fun.”