AmericanWinery.com

Missouri has a rich winemaking history that dates back to the mid-1800s. Although settlers in the 1700s tried their hand at winemaking, Missouri wine production did not accelerate until the 1830s and 1840s, thanks to German immigrants. Settling west of St. Louis in the areas around Hermann and Augusta (hillside locales similar to grape-growing regions in Germany), they began planting vineyards. In fact, their efforts were so successful that the region eventually became known as the “Missouri Rhineland.” Throughout the latter 1800s, Missouri rivaled Ohio and then California for top wine-producing state. California’s ability to grow the more popular Vitis vinifera wine grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, etc.) and Missouri’s difficulty with these varieties, gave California the lead. But Missouri was still second moving into the twentieth century. During this period, Missouri’s Norton wines became famous. prohibition ended most wine production from 1920 until 1933. Even after prohibition ended, Missouri’s legal environment did not encourage winery development for several decades. In the mid-1960s things started to change with several old wineries reopening and new ones launching. Currently, there are over thirty-five wineries in the state, most of which produce wines from Norton or hybrids like Chambourcin, Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc, and Vignoles (Ravat). Few Vitis vinifera vines are planted. Mount Pleasant winery is one of the few that produces bordeaux-style wines. Missouri has four avas—Augusta (established in 1980 and the first AVA in the United States), Hermann AVA, the large Ozark Highlands AVA, and the huge Ozark Mountain AVA, which Missouri shares with Arkansas and Oklahoma.