MISSOURI DIVISION OF TOURISM

MISSOURI DIVISION OF TOURISM
MISSOURI WINERIES AND WINE TRAILS
DEVELOP A TASTE FOR THE FRUITS OF MISSOURI
No trip to Missouri would be complete without visiting some of our world-class
wineries. Missouri’s long history of producing fine wines started in the 1830s,
when German immigrants established the town of Hermann, on the banks of the
Missouri River (because of its resemblance to Germany’s Rhine River Valley) and
the 1880s, when Italians established vineyards in the St. James area. By 1890,
Missouri was the largest wine producing state in America.
The official tourism website for Missouri, VisitMO.com, has detailed
listings for many of Missouri’s award-winning
wineries. Today, a resurgence of Missouri’s
wine industry is ongoing, with wineries
located throughout the Show-Me State. As of
this writing, the Missouri Wine & Grape Board
listed more than 120 member wineries, with
new locations added frequently.
We’ve Got it All!
In addition to wine, some Missouri
wineries have an on-site microbrewery.
Three good examples: Bias Vineyards,
seven miles east of Hermann, includes
Gruhlke’s Microbrewery; Native Stone
Winery, in Jefferson City, is home to Bull
Rock Brewery; Crown Valley Winery
operates Crown Valley Brewery, in
Ste. Genevieve
Nearly 90 percent of our wineries are open to the public, where visitors can sample the
various wines. Most locations are in picturesque areas, with relaxing views. Their outdoor
patios are ideally suited for enjoying a conversation with friends, while sharing a bottle of
wine and picnic foods purchased on the premises. During spring and summer weekends,
many wineries offer live music for the enjoyment of their customers.
Missouri’s wineries continually win top awards in U.S. and international competitions. Stone
Hill Winery, in Hermann, is the third most award-winning winery in America. At Stone Hill,
barrels of wine are still aged in their original stone cellars, constructed in 1847.
Also in Hermann, Adam Puchta Winery has been operated by the same family since it was
established in 1855, making Adam Puchta the longest continuously owned and operated
family winery in the United States. Now in their seventh generation of winemakers, the Puchta
family continues to turn out top quality Missouri wines.
Stone H
ill Winery
A 15-square-mile (39 km2) area surrounding Augusta, Missouri, became the first American
Viticultural Area; a legally defined and protected area named the Augusta AVA. In the United
States, an AVA (often called an appellation) is a federally designated wine-grape growing region,
distinguishable by geographic features ideally suitable for grape production.
In Augusta, 25 miles (40 km) west of St. Louis, Montelle Winery is the first winery in
Missouri with its own distillery, producing four kinds of brandy: apple, peach, cherry
and grape (grappa). Montelle is well known for their multi-level decks, extending into
the trees overlooking the Missouri River valley.
Let’s not overlook Missouri’s top producer, St. James Winery, located in the southcentral town of St. James. They bottle more than 200,000 cases of wine (472,000+
gallons/1,786,520 L) annually. St. James Winery is the largest and most awardwinning winery in Missouri; consistently one of the top five gold medal winning
wineries in the United States.
more on the back...
Montelle Winery
The wines of Missouri range from sweet whites to very dry reds, many of which are made using grapes especially cultivated for
this region; whites such as Cayuga, Chardonel, Traminette, Seyval, Vidal Blank, Vignoles, and reds named Catawba, Norton,
Concord, St. Vincent, and Chambourcin.
Norton, named the official grape of the State of Missouri, is considered the
cornerstone of the Missouri wine industry. A small red grape indigenous to the
Midwestern U.S., Norton was first cultivated in the 1830s. Norton results in a
deep, dry red wine so unique that, in 2009, Austria based Riedel Crystal—a world
renowned manufacturer of high-quality, crystal wine glasses—designed the
Norton Glass, stemware specifically for drinking wine made from the Norton
grape.
In addition to many award-winning
grape wines, several
Missouri wineries offer a
variety of fruit wines, as well as mead.
ery
(Mead is wine made from honey and water; it is the
alley Win
Crown V
oldest form of fermented beverage on earth, dating to around 7,000
B.C.) In the village of Weston, in Missouri’s northwest region, Pirtle Winery is
renowned for their four varieties of mead. Pirtle’s tasting room is in a former
Lutheran Evangelical Church that was built by German immigrants in 1867.
Several of Missouri’s wineries have formed “Wine Trails,” of geographically
aligned wineries. A Missouri Wine Trail is a joint effort between participating
wineries to give visitors a localized selection of wine-related activities. The
wineries that make up Missouri’s nine Wine Trails offer special tasting events,
when their wines are paired with selected foods. These events include special pricinery
ing on wine, tours, picnic facilities (some allow you to bring your own picnic basket;
prings W
Seven S
some have a restaurant on-site), live entertainment, and a friendly atmosphere.
These trails are a great way to visit several wineries in an afternoon or weekend. Visit MissouriWine.org for more information.
Take a day or a weekend and explore Missouri’s wine country. These are just a few examples of Missouri’s 110+ wineries. Note:
no outside beverages (wine, beer, liquor, soda or water) may be taken into any Missouri winery; please leave beverages in your
car.
CONTACTS
Stephen Foutes
[email protected]
573.751.3280
Missouri Division of Tourism
301 W. High Street, Room 290
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Lori Simms
[email protected]
573.526.8027
Missouri Division of Tourism
301 W. High Street, Room 290
Jefferson City, MO 65102