Family Owned
The Birth of High Brow Wines
A Family’s Unexpected Journey Back Home
Dan and Judy never expected to become winemakers. Judy was busy with her career as a CFO, and Dan was serving with the Cedar Rapids Fire Department. But their youngest son, DJ—already experimenting with homebrewing—suggested they try making wine. Judy’s first response was a firm “No!” but DJ’s persistence eventually won her over, and they started with a simple wine kit.
What began as a small project quickly grew into a passion. Judy and DJ enrolled in winemaking and vineyard management classes at Kirkwood Community College, and before long Dan joined in as well. Along the way, they became part of a growing community of Iowa winemakers, many of whom went on to open their own wineries.
A turning point came when Dan stopped at a vineyard near their hometown of Anamosa during harvest and offered to help. One day turned into many, and soon he was managing the vineyard. With encouragement from Ron at Wapsi Valley Vineyard to experience the full winemaking process, Dan and Judy fully committed to the craft.
In 2024, they came full circle, returning home to Anamosa, Iowa, to share High Brow Wines. What started as a simple suggestion—and a firm “No!”—has grown into a family passion, with every bottle telling a story of curiosity, community, and a little unexpected fermentation.
The Name & The Logo
Our logo is more than a symbol—it’s a tribute to the family history behind High Brow Wines. While researching our ancestry, DJ and Judy uncovered a collection of old professional portraits of relatives from generations past. When our oldest son, Adam, saw the photos, he joked about the “hoity-toity” look of the portraits and coined the name High Brow—a playful nod to the sometimes overly serious reputation of the wine world.
As we looked through the photos, we realized something else: our ancestors seemed to spend most of their money on those portraits, leaving little else behind. That realization inspired the logo—a humorous contrast between the elegant “high brow” image and the reality of the “poor fellow” left behind.
It’s a lighthearted reminder that while we take our winemaking seriously, we never take ourselves too seriously.