James Arthur Vineyard

Jim and Neenie Jeffers have many passions. Among them are their five children, 13 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Their latest is James Arthur Vineyards. It's their gift to Nebraskans and to the people who visit the Cornhusker state.

Jim, who previously owned Quality Pork International, a deli meat manufacturing plant in Omaha, found he couldn't stay retired. The cornerstone of his business philosophy has always been to provide a high-quality product and first-rate customer service.

That credo can be found throughout James Arthur Vineyards. Together, with their family, they founded the winery.

While the winery staff has grown, Jim and Neenie's influence remains. It can be seen in the friendly service guests receive to the quality product they provide.

For Jim and Neenie Jeffers, James Arthur Vineyards is merely an extension of their lives and loves.

Jim Ballard had a hunch. The many customers of James Arthur Vineyards are glad he followed it.

Jim thought his father-in-law's farmland, situated north of Lincoln, Nebraska, was fertile ground for growing grapes.

With his father-in-law's blessing, Jim planted several grapevines with the hope that his hobby would someday produce fine homemade wine, and something to share with family and friends. It did, and Jim's hobby took a new twist.

James Arthur Vineyards opened five years later.

A former broadcast journalist and graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Jim is JAV's winemaker and still helps with the winery's daily operations and special events. His goal is to produce award winning Nebraska wine while providing guests to James Arthur Vineyards with an experience that is educational, exciting and interesting.

Although she considers herself "retired," Barb Ballard stays plenty busy.

Top priority is raising the couple's three children, Benjamin, Beau and Edyn. Next comes managing the day-to-day operations of JAV as well as the winery's gift shop. She also coordinates the many special events JAV holds throughout the year and coordinates the tasting room. Not bad for being retired!

Barb graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in broadcast journalism. She first worked as a producer for a Lincoln television station then as a talent and casting agent in Omaha. Later, she worked as office manager for her father's meat packing plant.

Barb stopped working full-time when the Ballard's were expecting their second child. She came out of "retirement" when her parents started the winery. Her focus now -- as it always has been -- is family, friends and working with people. It's the perfect combination.

It seems like Laura Suellwold has been around JAV forever, but has only been with the winery since 2001. Laura serves as the JAV Tasting Room Manager, and is always there to greet customers with a warm smile and kind words. Her relationship with the Ballard and Jeffers families goes way back, as Laura and Barb Ballard grew up together while going to school in Crete, NE. The two became fast friends and still enjoy their time spent at the winery together.

Laura enjoys riding horses, baseball, cooking and spending time in the great outdoors with her husband and two sons. When you see Laura here at JAV, be sure to give her a kind hello - that is, if she doesn't give you one first!

Born and raised in the Davey, NE area; Josh Rockemann has been minutes away from the vineyard for as long as he can remember.

His first days at the vineyard began in the summer of 2000 as a part-time summer job that has since grown into much more. Today, Josh is JAV's Vineyard Manager, managing and maintaining the nearly 20 acres of vineyards here at JAV.

As a 2002 graduate of Waverly High School, Josh enjoyed sports year-round and always found time to slip away for a weekend pheasant hunt with his father. A few years later, hunting is one sport that he has not given up. Along with pruning in the winter Josh enjoys his time in the field. From November to January, he can also be found wandering across a CRP field looking for that perfect shot. Josh’s future plans are to graduate from college with a degree in viticulture from Southwest Missouri State.

Paul Perske has a passion for wine. It’s a passion that has served him well as JAV’s Director of Sales and Distribution. A Nebraska native, Paul has had an interesting a path along his way to discovering that passion, as well as JAV.

Paul is a graduate of Hartington Cedar Catholic. Shortly thereafter, Paul headed to Wayne State College where he earned his degree in Business Administration. Soon after college he met the perfect woman (according to him, anyone that would put up with his ways would have to be perfect) and married her.

After a few years with JC Penney, Paul moved to Columbus where he opened his own business, a Men’s Clothing Store. However, the idea of moving from Nebraska and seeking new adventures took him to the Pacific Northwest, where he hooked on with a Utility Contractor which took him to all parts of the United States, and eventually settling down in Idaho. It was there that Paul discovered his love of wine by gaining a part-time job as a wine rat with Sawtooth Winery. His duties included working the tasting room as well as some winemaking responsibilities.

About that same time, Paul and Paula decided home was where they needed to be. They moved back to Lincoln, and soon thereafter welcomed the joy of his life into the world. Olivia Rose was born in 2004.

It was also at that time that Paul showed up on the steps of JAV, and since he wouldn’t go away, he was soon working in the tasting room on the weekends. It wasn’t long before he became the face of JAV as he traveled around the state selling their finest, reconnecting to what he really enjoys doing, working with wine and people.

These days, Paul finds himself daydreaming about finding the perfect place to put down some roots as he recalls all the miles of highways, byways and towns, and all the good friends he has made along the journey to where he is today. For all of us at JAV and our customers across the state, we hope those roots grow deep right here.

Sherry joined JAV in the summer of 2007 and takes care of all the company’s bookkeeping and personnel issues. For Sherry, the task of helping JAV run smoothly is nothing new, as she held similar positions at UNL and the YWCA among other businesses before jumping on board with the winery. However, her current position brings her closer to home, which is on the farm just outside of Valparaiso, where she lives with husband (her high school sweetheart) and their two children, Joseph and Laura.

When not keeping everyone on task here at JAV, Sherry loves a good book or working on her crafts. Sherry’s wit and humor have been a wonderful addition to JAV, and you might even see her helping behind the tasting bar now and then. If so, stop and say hi!

Meet the next generation of winemakers!

Beau (left) and Benjamin (right) both spend many of their days at the winery helping out. Both play an important role on busy weekends helping out in the kitchen, and can often be seen helping their dad in the winemaking process or cleaning equipment. Their namesake is JAV’s 2 Brothers, a wonderful semi-sweet white wine made from the best of JAV’s free run juice.

Edyn (better known around the winery as Peach) loves to help her grandfather give tours, and can clean a tank or the crusher with the best of them. Of course, JAV’s award winning wine, Edyn’s Blush, is named in honor of the Ballard’s youngest.