How to Plan a Wine-Tasting Trip to Missouri

Steep yourself in the history of Missouri wines before planning a trip through the land of the Ozark Mountains and lush valleys. The tale of Missouri wine reaches back to the early 1830's on the banks of the Missouri River and it grew to produce some of the most famous wines in the country before Prohibition axed the industry. Napa Valley has nothing on Missouri wine. In fact, Napa was founded by a member of one of Missouri's oldest wine families.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Read about the German settlement of Hermann on the southern banks of the Missouri River in 1837, a town that was developed solely for the production of wine and today hosts some of the best wineries in the state.
2. Visit the Missouri Department of Agriculture Wine and Grape Board website to discover approximately 70 operating wineries in the state of Missouri.
3. Peruse the websites of the wineries to learn about the seasonal tours of each winery, but remember that Missouri summers can be blistering and winters can spell disaster for travel plans with the big snow falls.
4. Select a summer tour and enjoy the mingling of taste tempting berry dishes paired with Berry Black, Weisser Flieder, Traminette, Sweet Caroline or Vignoles wines on the Very Berry Wine Trail Tour through the Hermann Valley.
5. Take off your shoes and relieve stress by stomping grapes at the historic Stone Hill Winery in Mt. Pleasant at summers end.
6. Treat the yourselves to a refresing swim or nature hike at Beaver Lake. The kids can also enjoy an afternoon of theme park fun near Branson and while you are there, tour the Stone Hill Winery to see spumante bottled and taste the best of the winery's selections.
7. Step back in time with a tour of Hermannhof's 10 stone cellars, recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. The winery, which is on First Street in the Hermann Historic District, has won the Brown-Foreman Trophy for "Best New World White Wine" and has the capacity to produce 50,000 gallons.
8. Go wild with a visit to Ste. Genevieve and the Crown Valley Winery, where live bands and great wines satisfy the senses. Then thrill the family with a visit to Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary, a game preserve for exotic big cats.