Our Story
Knoxville's First & Only Winery & Vineyards
Experience award-winning locally produced wines at Nearwood Winery & Vineyards. Nearwood wines are made from grapes grown at Nearwood vineyards or from other nearby growers. We select grapes for the very best quality and variety and process in our new winery facility. We offer red to white, sweet to dry selections, something for everyone's taste. Beer, pop, and bottled water also available. Contact us for more information.
Experience award-winning locally produced wines at Nearwood Winery & Vineyards. Nearwood wines are made from grapes grown at Nearwood vineyards or from other nearby growers. We select grapes for the very best quality and variety and process in our new winery facility. We offer red to white, sweet to dry selections, something for everyone's taste. Beer, pop, and bottled water also available. Contact us for more information.
What We Offer
- A variety of great wine made on the property, beer, soda pop, bottled water
- Friendly, personalized service from the owners
- Indoor/outdoor seating
- Light bistro style meals and snacks available daily
- Rock Star dinner by reservation only (contact us for details)
- Wine accessories and gifts, art by local artists, books by local authors
Property Amenities
- Approximately 2,000 sq. ft. of public entertainment/gathering space with stage for performance or presentation
- Two non-gender large restrooms complete with showers
- Outdoor patio spaces with view of rolling hills, vineyard, and prairie
- Directly off Hwy 14 - no travel on gravel roads, located 2 miles south of Knoxville, 3 miles from racetrack
- Parking area (gravel) with hard-service handicap space. Can accommodate most RV/buses
- Free wifi and cable TV
- Stage with Audio-Visual equipment: screen, projector, mic, speaker
- Working winery processing and bottling area available for tour upon request
- Six 60" round tables, three 8' rectangle tables, several small round tables, all with table coverings, black chairs
- Kitchen with stove, microwave, toaster oven, refrigerator, 4 sinks
- Two different room lighting options: party lights or task lighting for classes
- Outdoor seating available on patio or camp area
- An acre of vineyard with scenic view
See more images on Pinterest/NearwoodWinery.
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Our History
Mike's Story Owner and winemaker Michael Van Natta began making wine as a hobby around 1979 and after a few failed attempts, learned the value of great starting materials. After winning the Iowa State Fair amateur wine making contest, he promptly planted a small vineyard. Alas, life would intervene and he abandoned the operation to pursue medicine. In 2010, he replanted some grapes and caught the wine making bug in a much bigger way, expanded the vineyard and opened the Nearwood Winery Tasting Room in downtown Knoxville. In 2018 he and his wife, Joann, expanded again to the new location on Hwy 14, 2 miles south of Knoxville, IA (see map on the left). |
Left: Illustration done in 1996. Right: view from the vineyard 2016. Note the similar shapes and colors.
Joann's Story
An uncanny coincidence convinced me this was to be my life from this moment on. I don’t remember the exact day but the moment of revelation descended upon me like a surge of absolute affirmation. Shortly after I met Mike in 2015, I stood in the vineyard gazing at the white clouds puffed up like cotton balls, drifting in a dreamy ocean of blue sky. The rolling, lime green distant hill had suddenly burst out color that contrasted with the red barn and white roof. Buds from the grapevines had blossomed in rows of green. The visual connection between my artwork created 2 decades before I met Mike and this moment filled me with a sense of confidence that this place was destined to be my new home and life as I knew it was about to change. We've been happily married since 2018, the same year we built our new house and winery.
An uncanny coincidence convinced me this was to be my life from this moment on. I don’t remember the exact day but the moment of revelation descended upon me like a surge of absolute affirmation. Shortly after I met Mike in 2015, I stood in the vineyard gazing at the white clouds puffed up like cotton balls, drifting in a dreamy ocean of blue sky. The rolling, lime green distant hill had suddenly burst out color that contrasted with the red barn and white roof. Buds from the grapevines had blossomed in rows of green. The visual connection between my artwork created 2 decades before I met Mike and this moment filled me with a sense of confidence that this place was destined to be my new home and life as I knew it was about to change. We've been happily married since 2018, the same year we built our new house and winery.
Members of Iowa Wine Growers Association, Des Moines Partnership, Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, Back Roads Wine Trail and Harvest Hosts
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