Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant – Clive

Walking into Cooper's Hawk feels like someone took a Napa tasting room, turbocharged the seating capacity, and dropped it into a west Des Moines strip mall — and somehow it mostly works. The wine list is entirely house-branded, which is either a red flag or an interesting premise depending on your mood. We'll call it the latter, because at least they're committed to the bit.

The entire list is Cooper's Hawk proprietary wines, sourced from international fruit and finished at their production facility — so don't come looking for a Willamette Valley Pinot or a grower Champagne. What you do get is a surprisingly wide range of styles: sparkling, rosé, white, red, dessert, and now a non-alcoholic Vivanté! line that's genuinely more thoughtful than most restaurants bother with. The Lux Sparkling sits at the top of the range and holds its own as a celebratory pour, while the Blanc de Blanc shows they're at least trying to play in the traditional method space. The gaps are obvious — no third-party producers means zero terroir conversation and limited discovery for anyone who already knows wine.

This is where Cooper's Hawk actually earns its reputation: 30 to 50 by-the-glass options is absurd in the best way, and the Blending Session Red — a rotating winemaker composition poured exclusively by the glass — is a genuinely fun concept that keeps regulars coming back. The Sangria Flight (four riffs including Raspberry Beret and Rum In Da Coconut) leans hard into the approachable crowd, but at these price points it's hard to complain. Glass pours run $10–$18, which is reasonable for the format.