After the meeting, planners might consider arranging a wine tasting or special off-site gathering at a local winery.
A good place to start is the Western Iowa Wine Trail, which includes a select lineup of regional vintners.
Among them are Minden-based Breezy Hills Vineyard & Winery and Treynor-based Prairie Crossing Vineyard & Winery, which are located nearby Council Bluffs.
According to Mark Eckman, executive director of the Council Bluffs CVB, they both accommodate group gatherings.
He says Prairie Crossing has a spacious tasting room and a 200-person event center with panoramic views of the vineyard and countryside, and Breezy Hills, which is surrounded by views of the Loess Hills, features a country-style tasting room, a gift store and a multipurpose room for specials events as well as outdoor space for group gatherings.
The menu of wines at Breezy Hills includes Cabana Boy, a sweet red, and La Crosse, a semi-dry white, and at Prairie Crossing a tasting might include sips of Renegade, an organic semi-dry red, and Howling Coyote, a semi-sweet blush.
The Western Iowa Wine Trail is also home to Thurman-based Sugar Clay Winery & Vineyards, which offers tastings and a light menu for groups of 10 or more, and accommodates receptions and private parties after 6 p.m. in its tasting room.
Sugar Clay’s wine list includes Bada Bing, a chocolate cherry dessert wine, and III Vines, a medium-dry white.
Sioux City is located about five miles from Hinton-based Tucker Hill Vineyards, which features a wine bar and indoor and outdoor event spaces.
At Tucker Hill, attendees will find red, white and sweet wines, including Catawba, a semi-sweet white highlighting pear, and Marechal Foch, a full-bodied black cherry-flavored red.
According to Jill Toft, tourism director for the Clay County CVB, Linn Grove-based InnSpiration Winery is a great location for group wine tastings, meetings, small receptions and relaxation.
Here, groups can sample La Crescent, an off-dry white, and Marquette, a medium-bodied dry red.
