Wine region | |
Official name | State of Missouri |
---|---|
Type | U.S. state |
Year established | 1821 |
Years of wine industry | 1837–present |
Country | United States |
Sub-regions | Augusta AVA, Hermann AVA, Ozark Highlands AVA, Ozark Mountain AVA, Loess Hills District |
Climate region | Continental/humid subtropical |
Total area | 69,709 square miles (180,545 km2) |
No. of vineyards | 400 |
Grapes produced | Baco noir, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Catawba, Cayuga, Chambourcin, Chardonel, Chardonnay, Chelois, Concord, Couderc noir, De Chaunac, Delaware, Diamond, Edelweiss, Malbec, Marechal Foch, Merlot, Muscat Canelli, New York Muscat, Norton, Rayon d'Or, Riesling, Rougeon, Ruby Cabernet, Seyval blanc, St. Vincent, Touriga Francesa, Traminette, Valiant, Vidal blanc, Vignoles, Villard blanc, Villard noir, Vivant, Zinfandel [1] |
No. of wineries | 134 |
Wine produced | 971,031 gallons |
Missouri wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in Missouri. German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century founded the wine industry in Missouri, resulting in its wine corridor being called the Missouri "Rhineland". Later Italian immigrants also entered wine production. In the mid-1880s, more wine was produced by volume in Missouri than in any other state. Before prohibition, Missouri was the second-largest wine-producing state in the nation. Missouri had the first area recognized as a federally designated American Viticultural Area with the Augusta AVA acknowledged on June 20, 1980. [2] There are now four AVAs in Missouri. In 2017 there were 125 wineries operating in the state of Missouri, up from 92 in 2009. [3] [4]
German immigrants to the Missouri River valley established vineyards and wineries on both sides of the river. Hermann, Missouri, settled by Germans in 1837, had ideal conditions to grow grapes for wine. By 1848 winemakers there produced 10,000 US gallons (37,900 L) per year, expanding to 100,000 US gallons (378,500 L) per year by 1856. [5] Overall, the state produced 2,000,000 US gallons (7,570,800 L) per year by the 1880s, the most of any state in the nation. [5] Stone Hill Winery in Hermann became the second largest in the nation (and the third-largest in the world), shipping a million barrels of wine by the turn of the 20th century. Its wines won awards at world fairs in Vienna in 1873 and Philadelphia in 1876. [5]
In the mid-19th century, the phylloxera louse destroyed much of the Vitis vinifera grape crop in Europe, especially France, after a Frenchman transferred American wine grapes carrying phylloxera to France. Missouri's state entomologist, Charles Riley, found that American rootstocks were resistant to the pest. He directed selling millions of rootstocks to vineyards around the world, to which their grape varieties could be grafted. This saved the French wine industry as well as others. The city of Montpellier erected statues honoring these events, as well as Riley's scientific colleague J.É. Planchon. [5]
Before Prohibition, Missouri was the second-largest wine-producing state in the nation. [5] The new amendment forced the shutdown or abandonment of all wineries except that at St. Stanislaus Seminary, in Florissant, which was permitted to make sacramental wines. The wine industry was destroyed for decades. [5]
Revival of the state's wine industry started in 1965 with the reopening of Stone Hill Winery (originally established in 1847) in Hermann by Jim and Betty Held, [6] followed soon by the opening of Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta on the north side of the river. [7] By 1974, Jim Dierberg was restoring the Hermannhof Winery, which had originally been opened in 1855. [6]
The federal government has recognized the importance of winemaking to regional and national economies. The region received the first certification issued by the U.S. government as a distinct American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 1972. This certification recognizes their qualities of soil, climate and other unique characteristics that help create identifiable wines. One distinct area was developed on the north side of the Missouri River in southwestern St. Charles County. The Augusta AVA was recognized in 1980. The Hermann AVA, on the south side of the river chiefly in Gasconade County, was designated by the federal government in 1983.
Italian as well as German immigrants introduced wine production in the Rolla, Missouri area. This is now within the Ozark Highlands AVA, designated in 1987 and including parts of several counties, from southern Gasconade County to Texas and Dent counties further south.
All three smaller AVAs are within the Ozark Mountain AVA, a designation covering southern Missouri below the Missouri River, northwestern Arkansas, and northeastern Oklahoma.
Missouri's climate, with its long, hot summers, good sun exposure, and thin rocky Ozarks soil, is excellent for growing grapes. The moderate average temperature allows natural cellaring of wine.
The most prominent Missouri-grown variety is Cynthiana/Norton, believed to be a variety of Vitis aestivalis . Other varieties grown include native American grapes, Concord and Catawba, as well as French-American hybrids such as Vignoles, Seyval, and Chambourcin. Recently, there has been more interest in planting Vitis vinifera grapes varieties, especially the fine European grapes: Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Petit Verdot and Mourvedre. [8]
The wine industry in Missouri is growing rapidly. Missouri has more than 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) planted in grapes. In 2008 over 888,000 gallons of Missouri wine was sold. The market share of Missouri wine within the state was 7.95% in 2008. The wine industry in Missouri has consistently grown for over a decade, in 2009 97 wineries were producing select Missouri wines. These were supported by over 400 local vineyards. Missouri's winery count was over 126 by 2016. [9] Many of these are small "mom and pop" wineries that have become favorite day-trip sites for many. The four largest wineries in Missouri are (in order): St. James Winery, Stone Hill Winery, Les Bourgeois Winery, and Meramec Vineyards Winery. [8] Missouri is home to five wine trails which host wine events and festivals year round and encourage weekend getaways to some of the established wine regions in the state. [10]
A state tax on wine imposed in 1984, now 12 cents per gallon, supports the state Missouri Wine and Grape Program, which provides scientific and marketing support for Missouri wines. The state hired a viticulturalist to assist in restoring the wine industry. Missouri State University's fruit experiment station began working with winemakers to determine grape varieties suitable for Missouri's climate. [11] The state government hopes to encourage the local wine industry by promoting Missouri regionalism: integrating grape agriculture with winemaking, the restaurant business, and tourism.
Missouri State University's Mountain Grove Cellars, part of the Missouri State University - Mountain Grove Campus Fruit Experimentation Station - is a wholly university-owned and operated wine grape producing vineyard. [12]
The University of Missouri's Grape and Wine Institute (GWI) researches best winemaking and grape growing practices and how they impact the growth of the wine industry in Missouri and the Midwest. [13] The University of Missouri has had some interest in developing a grape-growing education program. Many of the grape growers and winemakers received some instruction from California universities to supplement their studies. [13]
Vidal blanc is a white hybrid grape variety produced from the Vitis vinifera variety Ugni blanc and another hybrid variety, Rayon d'Or. It is a very winter-hardy variety that manages to produce high sugar levels in cold climates with moderate to high acidity.
Stone Hill Winery is a Missouri winery located in Hermann, Missouri, along the Missouri River, in what is called the Missouri Rhineland of the Hermann AVA. Established by German immigrants in 1847, it is the largest winery in the state.
The Missouri Rhineland is a German cultural region of Missouri that extends from west of St. Louis to slightly east of Jefferson City, located mostly in the Missouri River Valley on both sides of the river. The region overlaps with Little Dixie, an Old Stock American cultural region populated by settlers from Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. Dutzow, the first permanent German settlement in Missouri, was founded in 1832 by an immigrant from Lübeck, the "Baron" Johann Wilhelm von Bock. The area was named by Rhinelanders who noticed its similarities in soil and topography to the Rhineland region of Europe, a wine-growing area around the Rhine river. Rhinelanders settled the region, along with other Germans; by 1860, nearly half of all settlers in Missouri Rhineland were from Koblenz, capital of the Rhine Province.
Wine has been produced in the United States since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. As of 2023, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 80.8% of all US wine. The North American continent is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.
Illinois wine refers to any wine that is made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 2006, Shawnee Hills, in southern Illinois, was named the state's first American Viticultural Area. As of 2008, there were 79 wineries in Illinois, utilizing approximately 1,100 acres (4.5 km2) of vines.
Washington wine is a wine produced from grape varieties grown in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington ranks second in the United States in the production of wine. By 2017, the state had over 55,000 acres (220 km2) of vineyards, a harvest of 229,000 short tons (208,000 t) of grapes, and exports going to over 40 countries around the world from the 940+ wineries located in the state. While there are some viticultural activities in the cooler, wetter western half of the state, the majority (99.9%) of wine grape production takes place in the shrub-steppe eastern half. The rain shadow of the Cascade Range leaves the Columbia River Basin with around 8 inches (200 mm) of annual rain fall, making irrigation and water rights of paramount interest to the Washington wine industry. Viticulture in the state is also influenced by long sunlight hours and consistent temperatures.
The state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine, ranking fourth in the country behind California, Washington, and New York. Oregon has several different growing regions within the state's borders that are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the states of Washington and Idaho. Wine making dates back to pioneer times in the 1840s, with commercial production beginning in the 1960s.
The history of Oregon wine production stretches back to before the state was incorporated. Settlers to the Oregon Territory planted grapes as early as the 1840s, however the production of wine has only been a significant industry in Oregon since the 1960s. Oregon wines first achieved significant critical notice in the late 1970s; in 2005, the industry sold 1.6 million cases of Oregon vintages with a retail value of US$184.7 million. In 2015, there were 702 wineries and 28,034 acres of vitis vinifera planted.
The history of American wine began when the first Europeans explored parts of North America, which they called Vinland because of the profusion of grape vines found there. However, European settlers, namely the Spanish, would later discover that the wine made from the various native grapes, had flavors which were unfamiliar and which they did not like. This led to repeated efforts to grow familiar Vitis vinifera varieties. The first vines of Vitis vinifera origin came up through New Spain (Mexico) and were planted in Senecu in 1629, which is near the present day town of San Antonio, New Mexico.
New Mexico has a long history of wine production, within American wine, especially along the Rio Grande, from its capital Santa Fe, the city of Albuquerque with its surrounding metropolitan area, and in valleys like the Mesilla and the Mimbres River valleys. In 1629, Franciscan friar García de Zúñiga and a Capuchín friar named Antonio de Arteaga planted the first wine grapes in Santa Fe de Nuevo México, in what would become the modern Middle Rio Grande Valley AVA. Today, wineries exist in the aforementioned Middle Rio Grande Valley, as well as the Mesilla Valley AVA and the Mimbres Valley AVA.
Colorado wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Colorado. Most of Colorado's vineyards are located on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, though an increasing number of wineries are located along the Front Range.
Arizona wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Arizona. There are three major regions of vineyards and wineries in Arizona:
Nevada wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Nevada, where wine has been produced since 1990. There are currently no designated American Viticultural Areas in Nevada.
California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted Vitis vinifera vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. In the 1770s, Spanish missionaries continued the practice under the direction of the Father Junípero Serra who planted California's first vineyard at Mission San Juan Capistrano.
The Ozark Highlands AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in southern Missouri in the Ozark Mountains. The appellation includes land from just east of Jefferson City in the north to the Eleven Point River in the south, including parts of Phelps, Maries, Osage, Gasconade, Franklin, Crawford, Shannon, Dent, Texas, Reynolds, and Pulaski counties. The AVA was established in 1987. Contained entirely within the larger Ozark Mountain AVA, the area is drier than other parts of the state, but the soil of sandy loam and clay retains moisture well. The first grapevines in the Ozark Highlands were planted by Italian immigrants. All variety of grapes are grown in the area, including Vitis vinifera, Vitis labrusca, and French hybrids.
The Hermann AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Gasconade County, Missouri, and entirely contained within the larger Ozark Mountain AVA. The wine appellation is located on the southern side of the Missouri River near the town of Hermann, about halfway between St. Louis and Jefferson City. The AVA covers the northernmost hills of the Ozark Plateau with many of the 200 acres of vineyards planted along hillside locations. As of 2007, seven wineries were producing wine in appellation, including Missouri's largest winery, Stone Hill Winery.
The Finger Lakes AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Upstate New York, south of Lake Ontario. It was established in 1982 and encompasses the eleven Finger Lakes, but the area around Canandaigua, Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga Lakes contain the vast majority of vineyard plantings in the AVA. Cayuga and Seneca Lakes each have their own American Viticultural Areas completely contained within the Finger Lakes AVA. The Finger Lakes AVA includes 11,000 acres (4,452 ha) of vineyards and is the largest wine-producing region in New York State.
Reif Estate Winery is located in Niagara-on-the-Lake in Ontario, Canada. Reif Estate is primarily known for playing an important in role pioneering the Ontario wine Industry, as well as planting some of the first Vitis vinifera vines in the Niagara region.
Chateau Grand Traverse is a Michigan winery located in the Old Mission Peninsula AVA around Traverse City. The winery was founded by Edward O'Keefe Jr. and is notable for having the first large-scale planting of Vitis vinifera in Michigan. O'Keefe and Chateau Grand Traverse were also the driving force behind the establishment of an American Viticultural Area on the Old Mission Peninsula back in the 1980s when the estate was the only commercial winery on the peninsula. In 1980, the winery produced Michigan's first commercial ice wine and the 1987 vintage of Chateau Grand Traverse Johannisberg Riesling Ice Wine was served at the presidential inauguration of George H. W. Bush.
Blanc du Bois is an American hybrid grape that was created in 1968 by John A. Mortensen at the University of Florida’s Central Florida Research and Education Center in Leesburg, Florida. Mortensen created this variety by crossing various Vitis vinifera grape varieties such as Golden Muscat with native Florida varieties. When released in 1987, Blanc du Bois became another grape variety in the small but growing number of vine types that can both produce marketable wine on their own yet can withstand Pierce's Disease, a bacterial infection that destroys nearly all vinifera vinestocks imported into the southern United States.