Life is too short to drink bad wine. It’s also too short to miss unique business opportunities. Just ask Brian Gibson, who owns and operates River Valley Orchards & Winery near Humboldt, Iowa, with his wife, Nicole, and their family.
“We love living in Iowa,” said Gibson, 56, who was born in Chicago and raised in Milwaukee. “We’ve met so many great people through this business.”
River Valley Orchards & Winery offers a trifecta of value-added agriculture, thanks to the winery, distillery and events center, complete with catering and live music year-round.
It all started a few years after the Gibsons moved to Iowa in 1993 for Brian’s job. By 1997, he was running River Valley Forest Services, planting windbreak trees, seeding prairies and more.
The Gibsons, who lived in Humboldt, needed a place to keep their two horses. They purchased six acres west of Humboldt in 1998 on property that locals knew as the old Goodell place. “It was a broken-down farmstead, and we cleaned it up,” said Gibson, whose family bought an additional six acres in 1999.
The Gibsons started growing their own trees and began potting them up. People driving by on Highway 3 would stop in to ask if the trees were for sale. The Gibsons also raised some fruits, including raspberries. When Gibson read about a winemaker named Dr. Ken Groninga who ran Eagle City Winery & Vineyard in Iowa Falls, Gibson reached out to the retired veterinarian to see if he’d ever consider using raspberries to make wine.
Groninga was interested, so Gibson shipped him 50 pounds of red raspberries. As this business relationship flourished, Groninga taught Gibson the art of winemaking. “Before this, I had no knowledge of winemaking,” said Gibson, who describes Groninga as a patient, marvelous mentor. “What a better way to preserve a perishable product than in a bottle?”
Dare to be different
This new venture inspired the Gibsons to open their own winery and orchard around 2010. They built a small wine-tasting room that could hold about 40 people. They also began hosting bus tours and other groups.
Today, River Valley Orchards & Winery offers an array of options for a wide range of tastes, all served up with a bit of whimsy. The winery uses a variety of cold-hardy white grapes (Petite Amie, Frontenac Blanc, Edelweiss and more), as well as red grapes (including Valiant and St. Croix) to produce its signature wines.
“We cover about one acre with grapes,” said Gibson, who noted that the vineyards are parallel to the walking trails that he designed and installed. “People can see the grapes and orchard when they use the walking trails.”
Among River Valley Orchards & Winery’s sweet wines are White Crapp (which has a light, sweet flavor profile). Semi-sweet options include Valley Sunset (made with a blend of Concord grapes and apples for a taste similar to white Zinfandel), Heritage (a red raspberry wine), and Humboldt County Cider. “I’m a dry wine guy,” added Gibson, whose winery also produces semi-dry wines and also dry wines.
River Valley Orchards & Winery has some unexpected offerings, as well, including Bees Yak, a traditional mead made with high-quality honey from Stripling Apiaries, located 8 miles south of the winery in Clare, Iowa. Mead is made by fermenting honey, water and yeast. It’s one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in history, predating wine and beer. “Our mead has a smooth, clean flavor,” Gibson said.
Growing in new directions
Around 2013, people started inquiring about hosting weddings at the winery. The Gibsons decided this was good avenue to pursue, and over time the business evolved into an events center, as well as a winery. The Gibsons added a spacious west wing to their facility five years ago.
The expanded venue debuted on March 1, 2020. Then a few weeks later came all the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Gibson doesn’t like to dwell on those days. He’s grateful the business has been able to grow since then. Around 2021, River Valley Orchards & Winery became the second winery and distillery in Iowa.
Today, River Valley Orchards & Winery hosts weddings, reunions, holiday parties, quinceañeras, seed company events, the Humboldt County Farm Bureau’s annual meeting, and much more. “We don’t just host weekend events,” said Gibson, who noted that the great hall can hold 300 guests. “We host a lot of mid-week events, too.”
To handle all these events, the team includes the Gibsons, along with one full-time employee and six to eight part-time employees.
The venue has gained a loyal following by offering live music (from country to blues) each Sunday afternoon from 1 to 3 p.m. “It has never been a problem to find musicians,” said Gibson, who noted that the winery is open on Sundays year-round. “People love music they can sing along to.”
Eat, drink and be merry
It’s a plus that River Valley Orchards & Winery is also a licensed restaurant. Gibson and his team do all the cooking. “I grew up in restaurants and managed an Italian restaurant in college,” Gibson said. “There was a time when we were nervous cooking for 50 guests here. Now that’s no big deal.”
Guests can enjoy stone-oven pizza, appetizers like spinach-artichoke dip, burgers, seafood, pasta, pork and beef entrees and more. “This is such a rewarding business,” Gibson said. “When I can cook and socialize with our guests, it’s going to be a good day.”
Dining and Cooking