-Submitted photo
A popular family-owned enterprise, Japser Winery first set down roots in Newton in 2003, then relocated to the Des Moines site in 2008.

DES MOINES — Nestled in the scenic Water Works Park in Des Moines sits Jasper Winery.

A popular family-owned enterprise, it first set down roots in Newton in 2003, then relocated to the Des Moines site in 2008.

The winery was first opened by Paul and Jean Groben. Their son Mason now manages the family business. He studied viticulture and enology, which is grape growing and wine science, at the University of California Davis. He’s been the winery’s head winemaker since graduating from college in 2003.

Rose Hanna serves as the assistant wine and cider maker at Jasper Winery. She studied food science at Iowa State University and became interested in the beverage industry and fermentation science. She started at Jasper Winery in 2020 as the tasting room manager, then took a brief hiatus to learn how to brew beer.

“Now I’m back as the full-time assistant wine and cider maker. It consists of a lot of on-the-job training, but having a background in science really helps,” Hanna said.

She explained that the winery sources its grapes from several different farmers who grow the fruit across Iowa. They still source from vineyards in Jasper County as well as vineyards around Knoxville.

“We also have two small demonstration vineyards on site that consist of Norton and La Crescent grapes,” Hanna said, “which were established in 2008 when the winery relocated to Water Works Park.”

Starting a winery requires patience, dedication and hard work, she said.

Paul and Jean Groben are avid gardeners and planted their first grape vines in 2000, which eventually blossomed into the family business it is today.

There are more than 20 different kinds of wines and wine products available at Jasper Winery. Several bottles are 100 percent Iowa grape varietals including La Crescent, Seyval Blanc and Marquette.

“We also offer a range of different blends, including bourbon barrel-aged wines, canned wines and our very popular canned sangria and mimosa,” Hanna said. “We also recently launched our brand-new line of Jasper Craft Ciders. We have three flavors of hard apple cider — green apple and honey, blackberry and peach, and a passionfruit pineapple variety.”

Whether a patron is new to the wine scene or an aficionado, the winery offers complimentary samples and the opportunity to enjoy a full glass of wine on the outdoor patio.

There is also a wine barrel room available to rent for small events of up to 30 guests, and large weddings can be hosted in the winery’s main event space. Their outdoor party tent accommodates up to 250 guests.

“We also host lots of bachelorette parties on Saturdays during our normal tasting room hours,” Hanna said. During the summer, the winery hosts its popular Jasper Summer Concert Series on Thursday nights featuring free live music from 6 to 9 p.m. on the lawn. “We have lots of great bands this summer season, including The Nadas, The Maytags, B2wins and more,” Hanna said.

The full summer concert lineup can be viewed on the winery’s website.