Jenny Sauer-Schmidgall (@TheWittyFarmer) | Twitter  https://www.thewittyfarmer.com/  https://danenbergerfamilyvineyards.com/ DFV pays tribute to Bill Sullivan, our Winemaker’s father, on every bottle. After many attempts of trying to upload the picture of him above, our computer would only return a pixelated result. However, its beauty was apparent, even if the original picture was not. This pixelated image, featured on our logo, graces every bottle and his legacy is entrenched in all we do: commitment to all that is good – being ethical, moral, and responsible to the land.Our Centennial farm, where DFV is proud to call home, was established in the mid-1800s by my great, great grandfather, James Sullivan, and his son, Jeremiah, who came over from Ireland. The original farmhouse, although completely modernized, still graces the property. The gazebo itself is housed in the grain silo, where the crops were stored. It is fitting that while some of our farm has a history going back to the 1800s, the remainder has a modern twist.I understand that we have a valuable legacy to nurture with the ability to adapt and change with the future. From my great, great grandparents who came to this area and settled this land to my, to my parents, and now my children, I cherish the generations and the land that has brought me DFV.I believe that my ancestors are looking down upon us and smiling. They may have questioned my endeavor in its beginning, but I think they are probably quite proud of us. I have approached my wines for the last 12 years as if they were pieces of art that I was creating; painting with different flavors and structures to arrive at something layered by cohesive – letting the fruit tell its story, with its tannins and acids – and using yeasts and/or barrels to complete the dream. I start every season with a vision once I taste the fruit, the stems and the tendrils. Even when I am pruning, I am chewing the cuttings and looking for clues. Often, my yeast choices change throughout the growing season, as I detect different flavors that I want to enhance or downplay.In 2011, I decided to commit to making the best wine that I could, and returned to the classroom. I  attended University of California Davis, learning viticulture and enology from some of the finest in the industry.Just like art on a canvas, wine can incite an immense amount of feelings and emotions. It is this passion, love, joy and inspiration that I try to capture with each bottle. It is my vision, this artisan, boutique winery, which I have brought to DFV. I am excited to share DESAGACÉ and AURA ARIA with others in the near future.   Lost Lake CheeseWe are a small dairy farm and cheesery just north of Jewell, Iowa. Our goal is to make award-winning artisan cheese based on regenerative, ecological farming practices. Our farm has 20 beautiful, grass-fed cows and we milk these cows and make all of their milk into cheese right on the farm. We have been selling cheese since the fall of 2016. Kevin makes the cheese and is the primary farmer and we have one part-time employee, Josh Mechaelsen. We started this farm because we'd like to see more life out in rural Iowa, this was one of the few ways we could see starting a farm from scratch, and we really love cows and cheese. Kevin started making his own cheese in 2007, we got our first cow in 2010, and we built a milking parlor and commercial cheesery in 2016.  We direct market a majority of our cheese - usually through farmers' markets in Des Moines, Ames, and Clear Lake. We ship online when it is cold out. Right now the easiest way to find our market alternatives is to head to our website. We have a cheese drop off on Saturday mornings in Des Moines and Ames and will be starting some other options when we get into Mozzarella season. We also sell at Wheatsfield in Ames and Backcountry Winery in Stratford. It's a lot for people to remember and I'll update our website to make it more clear. We do most of our communication a