Like the recommendation of a trusted sommelier about a particularly good vintage, wine lovers are spreading the word about The Iowa Wine Trail.

Stretching leisurely along the hills of the Mississippi River Valley, the six wineries that make up the 2-year-old “trail” are generally open year-round, but fall is a particularly scenic time to visit. Along the way, you might stay at one of a dozen Victorian-style bed and breakfast inns, or sample some of the cuisine at restaurants such as The Twisted Chicken.

On the weekend of Nov. 5-6, the wine trail’s wineries will host a Holiday Foods Open House Weekend. Along with its wines, each winery plans to feature appetizers from a particular country. Of course, each winery will offer tours of their operations.

At the Eagles Landing Winery in Marquette, owner Roger Halvorson says the bed and breakfast he and his wife operate with the winery has been filling up for what has become a semiannual food and wine event held each April and November. The Halvorsons have hosted a number of people from Greater Des Moines.

“Last November we had about 150 people come through, and in April we had about 225,” Halvorson said. “So it’s growing as word of mouth about it spreads.” The Wine Trail, which began with five wineries, this fall will add a sixth vintner, Winneshiek Wildberry Winery in Decorah, as its northernmost stopping point.

The November event, which costs $25 per person for all six wineries, will be limited to the first 300 tickets sold, which must be purchased before Nov. 4 by visiting www.iowawinetrail.com, which also lists restaurants and inns that are partnering in the event. Those “trail blazers” who visit all six wineries during the two-day event will be entered in a drawing in which two winners will receive a bottle of wine each month from one of the wineries.

Each winery will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with tours occurring whenever a group happens to show up, Halvorson said.

“It’s a very relaxed situation; they can actually do a tour of the winery, they can taste all the wines, and they can do it all at their own pace,” he said. His winery will feature Scandinavian cheeses and desserts, as well as meatballs in a sauce made from one of their wines. One of the chocolate pastries they plan to serve goes particularly well with their “Big Red,” their strawberry wine, “which is very nice with anything chocolate,” he said.

One of the participating innkeepers along the route said she hasn’t seen a lot of visitors from the wine trail yet, but hopes to see more business from the event.

“It’s a beautiful little drive up here to scenic northeast Iowa,” said Barb Duwe-Peterson, who operates the Elkader Bed & Breakfast, located in a 113-year-old Victorian house, with her husband, Clint. “The hills are very pretty, and our community has a beautiful antique shop and nine National Register homes.”

Like many of the bed and breakfast owners along the trail, the couple offers guests a complementary glass from one of the local vintners, and sells it by the bottle as well. Most of the bed and breakfast inns in the area are in the $75 to $90 per-night price range, she said.

Though you could push and possibly visit all the wineries in a day, Daley Creek Winery owner Jim Langer encourages wine trekkers to take their time and make a weekend of it.

When you consider all that each winery has to offer, “we really do have a good variety of wines,” said Langer, whose winery is in Anamosa. “It’s just real fun for people to do the trail, and especially (to do it through) this event.”