Missouri Wine - History

History

Some Native American tribes cultivated local varieties of grapes. These species were developed further by later German Americans and Italian Americans.

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. 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. 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.

In the mid-19th century, the phylloxera louse destroyed much of the Vitis vinifera grape crop in France. Missouri’s state entomologist, Charles Riley, found that American rootstocks were resistant to the pest. He directed sending millions of rootstocks to France, to which their grape varieties could be grafted. This saved the French wine industry. The city of Montpellier erected a statue in Riley's honor, because of the significance of his work.

Before Prohibition, Missouri was the second-largest wine-producing state in the nation. 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.

Revival of the state's wine industry started in 1965 with the reopening of Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, followed soon by the opening of Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta on the north side of the river. Soon winemakers began to reestablish Missouri vineyards and wineries along the river and throughout the state.

The federal government has recognized the importance of winemaking to regional and national economies. It has certified distinct regions qualifying as American Viticultural Areas (AVA). 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.