Making wine in Missouri

I've started this thread in hopes that Geo might continue the discussion we've started over in the KC BBQ thread.

We've got some dear friends who harbor great hopes of someday owning a vineyard in the Texas Hill Country. We'd like to live near these friends someday, but aren't sold on Texas. Kansas City happens to be reasonably close to both sets of grandparents, so we've occasionally joked that a vineyard in the Ozarks might be as worthwhile as one in the Hill Country. Too much information, perhaps, to preface my very general question--can you talk a little bit about growing grapes and making wine outside Kansas City?

What did you grow? What's the general state of viticulture in Missouri? Did you decide it simply wasn't worth it for you? Do you think there's potential for winemaking there?

I realize these aren't questions with simple answers, and perhaps they seem simply stupid coming from someone with as little background knowledge as I have, so feel free to answer as fully or shortly as you please. But it is a topic of great interest to me.

Thanks,

Aaron

Personally, I not aware of a wimery in the Ozarks. Missouri does have a pretty serious wine industry just outside of St. Louis in St. Charles Co. in and around Hermann, MO.

Hi,

ARound the same area, yet just east, in Illinois is a rebudding wine industry. You can learn more at this site about Illinois wine. Pre-Prohibition Illinois was a leading wine producing state.

In the autumn, when you drive just a wee bit beyond St. Louis. There are roadside stands to purchase all sorts of grapes.

Regards,

Aaron,

I don't know much about the Missouri wine industry, other than having tried a couple of Nortons at a friends home. I believe, Missouri has the same problem that Illinois and other midwestern states have. The winters are too cold for noble varietals, so people resort to growing hybrids. If that is the case, you would have a VERY difficult journey ahead of you.

Cheers,
Al

You know, Henry Bishop over at Spiaggia is maybe the foremost expert on Midwestern wines and is personally familiar with the MO vintners. At the very least, he can pick 'em. I bet he'd talk to you about it with relish.

A friend here in Illinois who is dabbling in viticulture told me that midwestern wineries succeed based on tourism more so than on making and selling wine. So if you want to start a winery in Missouri, locate it close to an interstate exit.

When I can buy a pretty passable California cab for $2.99, why should I pay $9.99 for a Norton?

Aaron,

Almost all fifty states have the ability to grow grapes or fruit and, therefore, the ability to produce wine and fruit spirits, not to mention grain ferments and spirits. The relevant dichotomies are (1) as Al Erhart stated, the ability to grow the more commercially viable noble varieties (think $27 for a bottle of Chardonnay or $4 for a Niagra) and (2) the post-prohibition state regulation of liquor production and sale, i.e., I would think Western North Carolina mountains would be great growing region, but other crops developed there before restrictions were eased.


Should you decide to search the web, information on Missouri may be hard to find....adjust the search to "Other United States" which lumps all non-California information. You may also look for a State's agricuture department or county agent, which give indications of crops that could be grown...even though they may not currently be marketed.

Below are some of the "other states" found, reading through some of the pages may lead you to the MO vintners association, etc.


http://www.hawksinger.net/wine/wine-oth.html


http://www.winesandvines.com/links_otherstates.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/07/24/WI137456.DTL

Thanks, all, for the tips. I know my friend has done quite a bit of research on Texas wine...varietals, yields, profitability, marketing, climatology, etc. And obviously we've kicked about the idea for a more Midwestern clime, though not so seriously, since I feel he's pretty set on Texas.

More than general info, I'm curious as to the actual experience of someone who's done it, so Geo, I'd still love to hear your story.

As cowdery points out, most Midwestern wineries make money from tourism, rather than the quality of the wine. It's this aspect that I find particularly interesting in terms of non-canonical winemaking regions.

What is the thinking when someone opens a small Illinois or Ohio or Missouri vineyard? Are these opened by people with lots of viticultural experience who think that some less-well-known grape would really flourish, or are they mostly ready for a change of pace and lifestyle and are attracted by the romanticism and working-the-land aspect of owning a vineyard? Do you start off with high ideals of popularizing a new wine region, only to succumb to the realization that most of your income will come from those who exit the highway on their way to Branson to sip your wine while the kids ride your hayrack and milk your cows? What percentage of the view for the future is MBA, and what part is oenophile?

Again, there really is no answer for "them"--the question's way too general. But presumably, Geo has an experience, and if willing to share, I'd love to hear it.

Cheers,

Aaron

Aaron,

I realize this is not an answer to your general question, but at almost every winemaker dinner they trot out the old joke: Q. How do you make a small fortune in the wine industry? A. Start out with a large fortune.

A story just popped up on Yahoo News, several winemakers are petitioning the EUC to dump wine (recycle to spirit or industrial alcohol) because of the glut. The "news" is for the first time this includes some AOC wines.

Its that Grapes of Wrath burning oranges in the ditches kind of thing...that makes me seek out bargain French Wines, rather than pay $29 for a California wine because the name sounds familar.


pd

pdaane wrote:I realize this is not an answer to your general question, but at almost every winemaker dinner they trot out the old joke: Q. How do you make a small fortune in the wine industry? A. Start out with a large fortune.

Yeah, I'm less interested in how to make money making wine in, e.g., Missouri, than whether you can make good wine there, or rather how good a wine you can make there. Though I think the marketing aspect is fairly interesting, too.

C'mon Aaron,

There are a lot of Ohio wineries that were making wine (and growing their own grapes) for the past 50-100 years. And many of their wines are pretty good. And most are family owned.

Personally, if I had a few billion to invest, I can think of any number of opportunities that I would do before winemaking would come to mind. It is all pretty low return to me.

jlawrence01 wrote:C'mon Aaron,

There are a lot of Ohio wineries that were making wine (and growing their own grapes) for the past 50-100 years. And many of their wines are pretty good. And most are family owned.

I know...I'm not sure what the "C'mon" is for...did I unintentionally slight someone?

With Ann's help, we've figured out the problem of the bad interaction between my Mac and the forum server.

Anyway, to make things easier on myself, I've started a new topic thread, called

"Growing Missouri Wine II"

and it's in the "Shopping and Cooking" theme-group.

Soooo, if nobody would mind moving over there, pls do! Don't expect my responses to be all sweetness and light, btw!

g

Thanks, Geo.

The new topic is right here, by the way.