Julien's Journal May 2016 (Volume 41, Number 5) | Page 51

WINE & SPIRITS
by John B. Donovan

Tabor Home
Vineyards &
Winery
Twenty Years
and Counting
W

hile you won’t find him wearing a coonskin hat, Paul Tabor, of
Tabor Home Winery, is a pioneer of the highest order when
the topic of the wine industry in Iowa surfaces. The vineyard
at Tabor Home sits on a farm that has been in the Tabor family
since the 1860s and Paul is the fifth generation to work and live off the land.
It’s just that now Paul includes grapes as part of the harvest along with corn
and soybeans.

Paul Tabor invites all to visit and
taste their wines.
Photo by John Moran

2016 will be the 20th year of operation for Tabor Home Winery. It was back
in 1987-88 when the first vines were planted. The winery building was constructed in 1994 with the help of an Iowa value-added forgivable grant and in
1996 the first harvest was brought in. In 1997 the winery opened with wine to
sell. The winery got its name, Tabor Home, as there were seven Tabor families
in the area and this farm became known as the Home Place. It was natural to
keep the sentiment when naming the winery, Tabor Home Winery.

May 2016  ❖  Julien’s Journal  ❖ 47