Excerpt via Travel + Leisure
Oenophiles looking for an under-the-radar wine region may want to consider the Midwest — particularly, Augusta, Missouri, about an hour west of St. Louis.
I recently visited this hidden gem of a destination during its annual Augusta Harvest Festival, and it surprised me from the start.
During my first night, I attended the Swingin’ in the Vines event. Seemingly, the entire 300-person town — plus visitors who’d come for the festival — met at Harmonie Verein, an event space that was originally built by the first German settlers in the area. Today, the venue has a mission to preserve and promote cultural arts in greater Augusta.
Our group took a hay wagon ride from Harmonie Verein to Honey Bee Vineyard, a private, family-owned estate with beautiful views. Situated on nine acres, it grows Vidal blanc grapes sold to local wineries and overlooks the scenic, well-known Katy Trail, a 237-mile former railroad route stretching across most of the state of Missouri.
Upon arriving, I collected a picnic basket for two (which, of course, included a bottle of Missouri wine) and reveled in being outdoors, listening to swing music with the Augusta community, who was drinking wine and soaking in the crisp autumn weather under the stars.
As a California resident who has spent time wine tasting in both Napa and Sonoma, I was thoroughly impressed by Missouri’s wines. But the state — including Augusta, nearby Hermann, and the other statewide AVAs — is no stranger to winemaking.
Missouri is home to more than 130 wineries, which date back to the time of the German immigrants that founded the wine industry about 200 years ago. In fact, Missouri native George Hussmann, helped save French winemaking in the 19th century, when France’s vineyards were plagued by a parasite. After diagnosing the issue, a Missouri entomologist discovered some Native American rootstocks were immune to this louse’s advances, and grafted French vines onto them so healthy grapes could be produced. Then, millions of cuttings of Missouri rootstock were shipped back to France, averting a global winemaking disaster. (This rescue is commemorated by statues standing in Montpelier, France.)
Missouri was also the first designated American Viticultural Area (AVA), which means it’s older than California’s Napa Valley. The Missouri wine industry experienced a significant downfall and challenges during prohibition, as well as the following years into the era of the World Wars, but over the past few decades, it has made a valiant comeback, with American varietals and local grapes taking center stage in bottles of reds and whites alike.
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