What Starting & Growing a Local Winery Looks like with Jasper Winery's Winemaker, Mason Groben

Today’s guest is Mason Groben, winemaker of Jasper Winery. Started by his parents in 2000, Jasper Winery was a bit of an anomaly in Iowa but it's grown into a favorite destination.

After graduating the University of California-Davis with a degree in viticulture and enology, Mason returned to Iowa in 2003 to assist with the family business. In 2007, it became apparent that the winery had outgrown the Newton location and needed to expand into a larger building. The Groben family was intrigued by the recent resurgence of downtown Des Moines, and located a property near Grays Lake and began construction of the current winery. The new winery opened in the summer of 2009 and has been booming ever since.

During this week’s episode Emily chats with Mason about all things Jasper Winery; from how the family has continued to evolve and grow over the years, to marketing and product development, to wine production, special events, and more.

Tune in for topics like:

  • Why the Groben family started Jasper Winery

  • What drew Jason back to Iowa after college in California

  • The importance of evolving marketing plans and product development to remain relevant

  • An overview of the winemaking process from harvest to bottling

  • Exciting events coming up at Jasper Winery

Links from the episode: 

Show NotesEmily Steele