From the Midwest to the Northwest (and back again)

Many of you know the Capital Call Vintners origin story: Iowa farm boy/entrepreneur meets Oregon viticulturist/visionary and they bond over their shared love of wine, land, and possibilities. A Northwest/Midwestern partnership and winery are born.

While wine production and estate vineyards are in Oregon and Washington and our new tasting room in Walla Walla, the first place you could get a glass of wine from our estate vineyards was in the small town of Cumming, Iowa.

Cumming is just 10 minutes from West Des Moines and the home of the Middlebrook Mercantile. The Mercantile is a gathering space for the surrounding planned community; a new model for housing development—an “agrihood” where family homes and working agriculture coexist in harmony.  

Next time you’re driving down the I-35, stop into the Merc and share a glass or two with our Midwest family. The team will take good care of you.  

“A lot of people who drive by stop in, saying they were curious, and always wanted to see the inside of this charming brick building,” says Rick Eaton, assistant manager of the Middlebrook Mercantile, located in up-and-coming Cumming, IA. “You can see the bell tower and beautiful landscaping from the highway.”

The “Merc,” as the locals call it, is housed in a one-room brick schoolhouse, built in 1900. Serving as a K-12 school until 1969, the building held a series of restaurants and then sat empty until the Merc opened in 2022 as the center of the new Middlebrook planned community.

Middlebrook is an agrihood; a new way of considering how a thoughtfully planned housing development and agricultural land can peacefully co-exist. “The focus is on agriculture and farming, not on golf, for example,” Rick said. “There are working farms, hiking and biking trails. The Merc is the social hub of the community.”

Rustic but contemporary, the Merc is open daily for coffee, wine, cocktails, and snacks. They also stock seasonal food items such as locally made jam and farm fresh eggs and gift-ready items such as scented candles and wooden cutting boards.

General manager Robert Wilke met Steve Bruere, Capital Call Vintners co-founder and CEO of Peoples Company, five years ago when Steve came to the steakhouse where he was working as wine manager. Steve told him about the Merc and his plans to create the space where he could feature wines from his newly formed winery and estate vineyards.

Robert was in. “I was ready to ditch the suit and get out to the country!” With a background in and a commitment to hospitality, Robert’s philosophy is “service as fine dining.”

“We have excellent wine, a strong cocktail list, local beers, and an incredible vibe,” Robert says. The Merc exclusively serves Capital Call wines to its midwestern clientele.

“It’s really cool to have these wines as a regional introduction to what we’re doing here at the Merc,” Rick says. “We share the Northwest wines and the estate vineyard bottles with our customers.”

In Iowa, winegrowers typically grow French-American hybrid grapes, which thrive in that particular environment and often yield sweet wines. Serving Capital Call wines has allowed the Merc team to introduce Oregon and Washington wines to a community whose go-to areas for high quality wines has traditionally been Napa and Sonoma.

“We have a lot of people asking for Oregon wine,” Robert said. “They heard from a friend that we have them, or they say, ‘I met this guy Steve and he told me about the Merc.’”

“People come in expecting we must be selling Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris since we have Oregon wine,” Rick added. “We get the chance to explain about the other varietals, such as the Italian varietals we offer.”

The Merc holds quarterly events for the Capital Call wine club including release parties, cheese pairings, and the very popular Halloween candy and wine pairing event. “You’d be surprised at how many Capital Call wines go well with Kit-Kats,” Robert laughed.

“In the summer, we do “Fridays at the Farm,” an outdoor farmers market with live music, food trucks, and the Wine Wagon which is a converted VW bus that exclusively sells Capital Call wines,” he said. “People love the Wine Wagon. I swear I sold 15 cases of the Windhorse Chardonnay glass by glass last summer.”

The Merc’s current best seller is the Capital Call Cabernet Sauvignon, closely followed by the LaBruere Syrah and the Blanc de Blanc. “People are loving the Cashflow Cab and Red Blend by the glass,” Robert said.

Robert and Rick visited the Northwest in 2022 to see the estate vineyards themselves and meet the winemakers. They are hoping to return in the next year with head bartender Eliza Kelley to visit the new Walla Walla tasting room and tour the region.

We love our special Midwest-Northwest connection at Capital Call Vintners. Both of our “homes” inform our how we think about wine and hospitality. While Walla Walla may be the better-known wine destination, the Merc team is ready to show visitors some good old-fashioned Midwestern hospitality.

“We have two Airbnb’s a stone’s throw away from the Merc,” Robert said. “Come visit!”