Empty Nest Winery

If you are up for a leisurely experience and discovering true-fruit wines, homemade sangrias, and a variety of seltzers and local brews, a trip to the serene, picturesque Empty Nest Winery in Waukon, Iowa, is the place you need to be. The country setting is the project of Pam and Dave Kruger.

Northeast Iowa and the winery growing seasons. In addition to an impressive standard offering, Empty Nest Winery offers four different sangrias on a rotating weekly schedule, four ciders (or three ciders and a seltzer), and local beer selections from their 10-tap system. With all these choices plus non-alcohol offerings and ample space for hanging out and playing games, Empty Nest Winery is known as one of the most family-friendly wineries in Northeast Iowa.

Finding themselves as empty nesters in 2010, the Krugers opened their aptly named winery in 2011. The building opened in 2015, and the rest is truefruit wine history.

Empty Nest Winery features truefruit wines, meaning they ferment the whole fruit rather than only the pressed juice. The winery and farm are an entire family endeavor. Pam is the driving force, in charge of the winemaking and the catering, which is available for events and a few holiday weekends. In addition, family members help to keep Empty Nest running smoothly. All wine production is by hand, and the winemaking process heavily relies on natural gravity. Therefore, visitors will not see the huge, electrically run vats, storage vessels, or processing. Instead, all the wines are produced in small batches with the love, passion, hard work, and attentiveness of the family.

Empty Nest Winery grows as much of its own fruit as possible, and the seasonal wine choices reflect both the

Popular wines at Empty Nest Winery include Hump Day Happiness, a semisweet combination of blackberry and grape, and their well-known berry-flavored choices, including Raspberry, Peach, or Blueberry. In addition, the rotating sangria offerings are always fresh and delicious and include a seasonal, specialty flavor like strawberry rhubarb.

The warm, inviting tasting room is noticeably wood themed, built from reclaimed 100-year-old wood from the original barn that was on the property. It is the perfect place to hang out and have a drink or two, play games that are available on-premises, buy snacks, or enjoy the always-free popcorn. It is a modern work of art built according to green and sustainable methods. As a result, this breathtaking space is ready to host everything from showers and graduations to business events and weddings.

For more information, available wines, hours, and event schedules, click, call, or email:

Information shown on the map is compiled from numerous sources and is complete at time of print. Space restrictions prohibit showing all beverage producers. Please refer to the website www.trails-tales.net for more information.