Missouri Rhineland - The Weinstrasse

The Weinstrasse

The area along Route 94 between Defiance and Marthasville has so many wineries that the highway has been nicknamed the Missouri Weinstrasse (wine road). It runs parallel to much of the KATY Trail, built in former railway right-of-way. This area has the highest concentration of wineries in the state. Many of these sit high up on south-facing bluffs above the river.

For a short while during the American Civil War, Missouri ranked as the number one producer of wine in the nation. Prior to Prohibition, Missouri was the United States' second largest producer of wine. In 1920, Missouri had more than 100 wineries. Because of Prohibition, all wineries were shut down with one exception; Saint Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant was allowed to continue making sacramental wine.

Prohibition lasted until 1933 and ended the Missouri wine industry. Vineyards were either pulled up and used for other purposes or left untended. Winery facilities were converted to serve other purposes or left to decay.

Some wineries began producing again after Prohibition ended, but significant production did not begin until the 1960s and 1970s. This was when small winemakers began building in many different areas of the United States. In 1965 Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, south of the Missouri River, was the first in the state to be re-established.

The Augusta AVA in Augusta was designated the first American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the United States in 1980 and Hermann AVA in Hermann was designated an AVA three years later. As of 2009, 88 wineries were operating in Missouri.