I love fall! There's a golden quality to the light this time of year that is just gorgeous. Here in Missouri the trees are turning colors - but it's still pretty green. I headed out at noon, taking I 70 for 45 miles and then Major Tom (the Tom Tom GPS) directed me down State Hwy B. It is weird that they have letters here for some state routes. Reminds me of England.
Hwy B is a winding, 2 lane road through the a hilly section of Missouri. It looked more like the Ozarks, but the hills were not as big. Lots and lots of oak trees lining the road closely. No other cars. Just the sun shining and the blue sky and occasionally field after field of brown, dusty corn stalks and a few wheat fields as well. It was just gorgeous!
Turning off of Hwy B, I took Hwy 94, and after close to 15 miles of winding roads, I came out of the trees to find the Missouri Rhine Valley. It is located around the Missouri river, and is so called because in 1837 a band of German settlers from Philadelphia settled in the area. They decided that it reminded them of the Rhine River Valley in Germany. By the turn of the century, the town of Hermann had become one of the largest wine-producing regions in the world. One-tweflth of all U.S. wine placed on the market in 1904 was from Missouri -- mostly from Hermann vineyards. This ended in 1919 with prohibition. In 1965, Jim & Betty Held bought what is now Stone Hill Winery in Hermann and began a rennaissance.
Stone Hill Winery is listed on the National Historic Register. I decided to take the winery tour for $2.50. Which turned out to be a bargain as it included tasting of at least 7 of their wines! The main building sits atop vaulted limestone cellars that took 22 years to construct. The cellars make a perfect place to barrel wines. During the years of prohibition, they grew mushrooms there! Originally the wine was held in gigantic wooden barrels - one original of which from the pre-prohibition era is still located in the cellar. My favorite wines were the Chardonel (like a Chardonnay) only not made with all Chardonnay grapes. (As I learned in California, when labeling a wine - if you call it a specific grape name it must have 90% of that grape in it.) I also really like their Port - which completely surprised me as normally I do not care for Port. This one was sweet and tasted faintly of tobacco notes and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. The majority of their whites were quite sweet and tasted very similar to German Riesling and Moscato. Their reds (among them the Norton, which is a local grape) were a little weak - more of a table/house wine than anything robust.
After leaving Stone Hill, I made my way a few miles down Hwy 100 to Oak Glenn Vineyards and Winery. To get to the winery, you have to drive up half a mile of winding, bumpy dirt road which is mostly single track. Oak Glenn was advertised quite heavily when I looked up wineries in Missouri. It was originally owned by George Husmann - who later sold it and moved to California. He is considered by most to be the primary influence in establishing the wine making industry in America from Missouri to California. I was warned that because this is Oktoberfest in Hermann - which they apparently celebrate every weekend of the month - it would be crowded. This was definitely the case at Oak Glenn. I was not as impressed with this winery. To give them the benefit of the doubt, I came at one of the peak times. However, there were no winery tours; and the tasting area was wall to wall people. The tastings were 50 cents each for a thimble of wine unless you bought $15 worth of wine - in which case you got 5 tastings for free. Because it was so incredibly busy, no one was discussing the wines, and the ladies behind the bar were completely bored with it. They had no real interest in the process - only in getting the next customer in line as quickly as possible. Outside they had a live music playing in an outdoor pavilion (this was the cause of the $5 cover fee to get in to the winery). Again it was utterly packed with people - drinking, dancing, picnicking and talking. It was certainly a great party! But I was looking for the wine experience. Not a party. The wines I tasted were disappointing. I bought a semi-dry Chardonel because it was decent. But nothing stood out at all. Okay, it did have a beautiful view of the Missouri Rhine valley.
Stone Hill Winery would have to be my recommendation if you every get out this way. I did not have time to visit other vineyards as it was getting late in the day by this time. So I headed back out to Hwy B and enjoyed taking The Ghost round the curves! All in all it was a delightful fall afternoon. This is why I decided to travel!
Hwy B is a winding, 2 lane road through the a hilly section of Missouri. It looked more like the Ozarks, but the hills were not as big. Lots and lots of oak trees lining the road closely. No other cars. Just the sun shining and the blue sky and occasionally field after field of brown, dusty corn stalks and a few wheat fields as well. It was just gorgeous!
Stone Hill Winery is listed on the National Historic Register. I decided to take the winery tour for $2.50. Which turned out to be a bargain as it included tasting of at least 7 of their wines! The main building sits atop vaulted limestone cellars that took 22 years to construct. The cellars make a perfect place to barrel wines. During the years of prohibition, they grew mushrooms there! Originally the wine was held in gigantic wooden barrels - one original of which from the pre-prohibition era is still located in the cellar. My favorite wines were the Chardonel (like a Chardonnay) only not made with all Chardonnay grapes. (As I learned in California, when labeling a wine - if you call it a specific grape name it must have 90% of that grape in it.) I also really like their Port - which completely surprised me as normally I do not care for Port. This one was sweet and tasted faintly of tobacco notes and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on. The majority of their whites were quite sweet and tasted very similar to German Riesling and Moscato. Their reds (among them the Norton, which is a local grape) were a little weak - more of a table/house wine than anything robust.
After leaving Stone Hill, I made my way a few miles down Hwy 100 to Oak Glenn Vineyards and Winery. To get to the winery, you have to drive up half a mile of winding, bumpy dirt road which is mostly single track. Oak Glenn was advertised quite heavily when I looked up wineries in Missouri. It was originally owned by George Husmann - who later sold it and moved to California. He is considered by most to be the primary influence in establishing the wine making industry in America from Missouri to California. I was warned that because this is Oktoberfest in Hermann - which they apparently celebrate every weekend of the month - it would be crowded. This was definitely the case at Oak Glenn. I was not as impressed with this winery. To give them the benefit of the doubt, I came at one of the peak times. However, there were no winery tours; and the tasting area was wall to wall people. The tastings were 50 cents each for a thimble of wine unless you bought $15 worth of wine - in which case you got 5 tastings for free. Because it was so incredibly busy, no one was discussing the wines, and the ladies behind the bar were completely bored with it. They had no real interest in the process - only in getting the next customer in line as quickly as possible. Outside they had a live music playing in an outdoor pavilion (this was the cause of the $5 cover fee to get in to the winery). Again it was utterly packed with people - drinking, dancing, picnicking and talking. It was certainly a great party! But I was looking for the wine experience. Not a party. The wines I tasted were disappointing. I bought a semi-dry Chardonel because it was decent. But nothing stood out at all. Okay, it did have a beautiful view of the Missouri Rhine valley.
Stone Hill Winery would have to be my recommendation if you every get out this way. I did not have time to visit other vineyards as it was getting late in the day by this time. So I headed back out to Hwy B and enjoyed taking The Ghost round the curves! All in all it was a delightful fall afternoon. This is why I decided to travel!
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