Our Story
Our History
Our family story begins in the tiny town of Barzheim in the Canton Schaffhausen in Switzerland. The village is first mentioned in historical records in 1238. It is near the city of Schaffhausen is located on the Rhine river at the Rheinfall, the largest waterfall in Europe.
In 1633, Barzheim was destroyed by the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, in the Thirty Years' War. The village chapel is first mentioned in 1370. The current village chapel, built in 1522, was also used as the schoolhouse from 1829–1972. The current population is about 175. The entire nation of Switzerland is roughly 2/3 the size of the state of Iowa. The canton of Schaffhausen is the size of a small county in Iowa.
Photo: Village of Barzheim in th Canton Schaffhausen Switzerland
Our Tradition
Not all of Switzerland is mountainous. Schaffhausen is a small canton (state) in northern Switzerland which a major region for the production of wine. Schaffhausen has the best farmland in Switzerland with rolling hills and fertile soil. Regional wine is produced by over 900 microvintners and 480 hectares of land is planted in vineyards.
In 1969 Grandfather Frederick Kutzli described his parent's recollections of Switzerland in a letter; “The farming was done by hand. Hay was cut on the hillsides with a scythe. Most of the steep hillsides were planted to vineyards, from which wine was made and sold on market day in Schaffhausen. If you had anything to sell, you took it to the market. Great Grandmother remembered walking to the market carrying butter to sell. The only time they took a wagon was if they had a cask of wine to sell.”
We celebrate our family history and Swiss winemaking traditions in the production of our wines. The small wine cellars of Schaffhausen are the patternf for our own small Kelterei. Dedication to old world standards of purity and quality are our family legacy.
Photo: Switzerland is about 2/3 the size of the state of Iowa. Canton Schaffhausen is 115 sq. mi. (Montgomery County Iowa is 425 sq. mi.)
Our Family
Our American story begins in April 1873 when Johannes Kutzli and wife Elisabeth said goodbye to their parents Michael and Ursula Kutzli and left their homeland in Switzerland. They boarded the ship “Denmark” arriving on May 3, 1873 at Castle Garden, New York. Johannes and Elisabeth raised their ten children in Ohio. Their son Johann and his wife Ursula lived in Ohio. In 1918 their son Frederick Kutzli came to Eastern Iowa where his son John grew up. In 1987 John’s son Eric and wife Nancy came to southwest Iowa and raised two sons, Matthew and Daniel. Dan Kutzli and his wife Stacy also live on the farm with their children, seventh generation descendants of Johannes and Elisabeth Kutzli.
Photo:Ursula and Johann Kutzli (son of Johannes and Elisabeth) with their grandchildren Alyce and John 1921
Our Farm
Our farm is different. The land is too sloped for row crops but has a pond, prairie remnants and timber. It teems with deer from adjoining Viking Lake State Park and Erickson Conservation Area. We call our little farm Whitetail Valley.
Here you can see fruit growing on the hills and “Taste an Iowa summer in every glass”™ of Apfel Wein. The inspiration for our winery comes from our Swiss ancestral traditions of small family ‘micro vintners’. These are tiny rural wineries that have been making wine for generations. We limit quantities in favor of high quality and combine the latest techniques with traditional practices and what we have learned over decades of making wines that our family enjoys. We believe that carefully made fruit wine can be just as rich and nuanced as wine made from grapes. Our goal isn’t to make the most wine, but to make the best wine. Like Grandfather said: “Klein aber fein”, “Small but fine”.
Our mission is to provide a place that renews the spirit in the beauty of creation. Many people pass our door every weekend to stay at Viking Lake Park. Some of them will enjoy the experience of Whitetail Valley Farm. Won't you come visit too?
Photo:Many deer share the farm with us at Whitetail Valley