Did you know that how you store your favorite bottle of wine — both before and after you open it — affects its taste? We put together some quick tips to help you find the perfect way to keep your bottles so your first sip tastes like you remember in the tasting room.

Before it is opened …

Stay cool — Ideally, wine should be stored at 55°F. This makes a cool basement or a wine cooler a great choice to store your wine. Don’t rely on your fridge for long-term wine storage. While refrigerator temperatures are perfect for most beverages, they can dull wine flavors over time and even dry out the cork. Wine stored at temperatures lower than 25°F can freeze, and bottles stashed in areas greater than 68°F will age faster than wine stored correctly.

Keep it in the dark — Sunlight can damage wine aroma and flavor. Always store wine in a dark place, such as a cool closet or basement away from light and windows.

Don’t shake it up — Store your wine away from high traffic areas, appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, washers and dryers, and stereos. Wine will age unfavorably if vibrations stir up the bottle’s delicate balance.

Lay it down —Storing wine bottles horizontally keeps the corks moist and prevents premature aging. Although screw-top wine bottles don’t have to be stored this way, storing bottles horizontally on racks is an efficient, space-saving storage method that provides easy access to bottles while maximizing your space. 

After opening …

Top it off —Always seal a bottle of wine after opening it with a cork, wine stopper or even a vacuum stopper and pump. The latter removes the oxygen from the opened bottle helping to prevent oxidation and aging.

Wax on — If you don’t have a wine stopper or a vacuum stopper and pump, place wax paper around the cork before resealing the bottle. The wax paper keeps any piece of cork from falling into the bottle and helps the expanded cork slide into the bottle more easily.

Chill out — Just like leftovers, the safest storage place for opened wine is the fridge. The temperature slows down the aging and oxidation process. Once opened, always store wine bottles upright to limit the amount of wine exposed to oxygen in the bottle.

Get to cooking — Stored and sealed correctly, most wines last 3-5 days after opening. However, if you don’t think you will be able to finish a bottle during that time, cook with it. Check out these Missouri wine recipes to find new ways to experience wine.

Wine tasting in the Show-Me State is an enjoyable experience for people new to the tasting room and industry experts alike. Glenn Bardgett, a Missouri Wine expert, offers these tips to get the most out of your tasting experience.

When you're in the tasting room:

• Ask the staff questions about the wines and winery.
• Pay attention to the information they're giving you.
• Take notes about the wines.
• Try a wine even if you're not sure you will like it.
• Remember, the tasting room is for tasting wines, not drinking wines.

Remember, just because you may not enjoy a particular wine doesn't mean it is bad. Likewise, just because a wine is award-winning or expert-recommended doesn't mean you will enjoy a sip. It simply means the wine is of high quality. But, knowing the Missouri Governor's Cup gold and silver medal wines are top-quality makes them a great place to start in the tasting room.

Wine is much like art and music — everyone has their own tastes, and that is OK because it's meant to be enjoyed. In Missouri, wine enthusiasts have many local wineries to enjoy tastings and learn about the region's unique grape varieties and wines.

"For anyone wanting to learn, experience and live the lifestyle of wine and food enjoyment, remember the amazing luxury of living in wine country and being only an hour or two from world-class wines made by dedicated and committed local families simply trying to please you and make you happy," says Bardgett.

His Five S's of the Tasting Room can help you do just that!

The Five S's of the Tasting Room

See – Wine should have a clear, brilliant color, whether it's red or white. It shouldn't be hazy or cloudy, and there should be no floating particles. White wines range from clear to golden and red wines begin purple and age to red. Brown-colored red wines and very golden white wines often indicate that the bottle has oxidized; just like a banana or apple, it starts to brown when the wine gets too much air. 
Swirl - Wine sitting in a glass has very little aroma. Tasters swirl the wine in the glass to get air into the wine and increase the nose/aromas. Always smell your wine before you sip. 
Smell – A sniff before you sip gives you a hint of the wine's flavors. Wines' aromas should mostly be fruit. White wines often smell like big white fruits, such as apples, pears and grapefruit. While red wines smell like little red fruits, such as cherries, blackberries, blueberries and currants. Wines should always smell good and please your senses. 
Sip – When you sip wine, make sure the wine coats your entire tongue so you can experience all the flavors on the different parts of your taste buds. When tasting, you're simply ensuring that your first judgment about the wine was correct. And, you want to take in all parts of the wine's character and flavor. You may notice wines have different "weights." Alcohol has a lot to do with the weight of the wine. Weight adds to intensity and length/finish. Think of wine's weight like milk; you have skim milk, whole milk and cream. 
Savor the finish – The last part of tasting wine is simply savoring the finish and reflecting on your experience. Take notes about the wine you tried and communicate to your tasting room staff what you found enjoyable about that sip so they can help you find a Missouri wine you love!

If you plan to taste several wines or will be visiting multiple wineries in a single day you may elect to spit after tasting. This is considered standard tasting room protocol when sampling many wines. Be sure to share your wine country adventures on social media using #MoWine!

We are excited to announce the results of the 2021 Missouri Wine Competition! For more than three decades, this renowned competition has recognized the highest quality wines the Show-Me-State has to offer. More than 225 wines representing all regions of Missouri wine country were entered into this esteemed evaluation.

A panel of eight expert judges spent two days blind tasting and evaluating the wines entered. Those that received a gold medal distinction went head-to-head for the honor of a Best of Class award in their respective category. The top wines then competed for the ultimate recognition, the coveted Governor’s Cup award. The Governor’s Cup is presented to the best wine in the state.

Join us in congratulating this year’s Best of Class winners:

Dry Red Wine:  Stone Hill Winery – 2019 Chambourcin

Semi-Dry Red Wine: Stone Hill Winery – 2019 Ozark Hellbender

Dry Rosé Wine: Stone Hill Winery - Dry Rosé

Fruit Wine: Adam Puchta Winery – Jazz Berry

Sparkling Wine: Stone Hill Winery – Demi Sec

Dry White Wine: Noboleis Vineyards – 2019 Dry Vignoles

Semi-Dry White Wine: Stone Hill Winery – 2020 Traminette

Sweet White Wine: Les Bourgeois Vineyards – Moscato

Late Harvest/Ice Wine: Augusta Winery – 2020 Icewine

Dessert/Fortified Wine: Augusta Winery – Fine Old Tawny

Distilled: Montelle Winery – Napoleon Finest Missouri Brandy

The winner of the 2021 Governor’s Cup is Stone Hill Winery’s 2019 Chambourcin, a dry red wine that thoroughly impressed the judging panel. The C.V. Riley Award for best Norton went to Stone Hill Winery for their 2019 Norton. The C.V. Riley award is a special recognition that honors the official state grape and bears the name of the first state entomologist, who is credited with helping save the French wine industry.

“It is truly an honor to receive this recognition from the Missouri Wine Competition for our hard work,” Stone Hill’s winemaker, Shaun Turnbull said. “Our vineyard and cellar crew did a remarkable job, along with Mother Nature’s good graces…” Turnbull continued, “The whole Stone Hill team came together to produce exceptional wines yet again.”

In addition to Best of Class, C.V. Riley and Governor’s Cup distinctions, 83% of all the wines entered into the competition took home a medal. Judges awarded 40 gold medals, 90 silver medals and 57 bronze medals.

A label competition accompanied traditional judging in honor of Missouri’s Bicentennial celebration. This portion of the competition was designed to recognize wineries who have stand-out labels considering information provided, design and overall bottle appearance. Ten label winners were awarded in the following categories: Traditional, Contemporary, Bicentennial, Series, Alternative Packaging, as well as a People’s Choice label award.

Congratulations to the label competition award winners:

Bicentennial Label: Les Bourgeois Vineyards – Rocheport Reserve Aged 20 Years

Traditional Label: Stone Hill Winery – 2015 Port

Contemporary Label: KC Wineworks – 2017 Chambourcin

Alternative Packaging: KC Wineworks – Show-Me Sangria

Best Wine Series: Edg-Clif Farms and Vineyard – 2019 Sunset, 2020 Chambourcin Rosé, 2020 Soleil, 2020 Vidal Blanc, 2020 Vignoles

People’s Choice Award: Small Batch Winery – Cardinal Red

Find the complete list of the 2021 award-winning wines here.

This competition was made possible by a hardworking group of volunteers called “The Flight Crew.” Their help ensured that the competition ran smoothly and efficiently, and we cannot thank them enough for their teamwork.

Be sure to sample these wines next time you visit Missouri wine country.

What better way to enjoy a sweltering Missouri wine country day than by combining two summer favorites? You’ll be delighted to know that your favorite ice cream treats can get even more delectable with the incorporation of award-winning Missouri wine.

Want to make your own ice cream to celebrate the occasion? Check out our easy, three-ingredient recipe card for wine ice cream and chocolate sauce:

Classic ice cream floats and milkshakes enhanced with your favorite Missouri wines are also tantalizing treat to make in celebration of National Ice Cream Day. Both are incredibly simple and scrumptious to make, and the flavor combinations are nearly limitless!

We’ve got easy-to-follow recipe cards for both wine ice cream floats and wine milkshakes below:

If you’re in need of flavor combination inspiration for the wine ice cream floats or milkshakes, we’ve got you covered. Here’s what we recommend:

Chocolate ice cream + Chambourcin + Strawberries
Mango sorbet + Vignoles + Pineapple
Vanilla ice cream + Concord + Raspberries (or black grapes)
Vanilla ice cream + Vidal Blanc + Melon
Dark Chocolate ice cream + Norton + Cherries
Vanilla ice cream + Sweet Sparkling + Raspberries

Concoct a frozen treat and raise a toast to summer and Missouri wine! Make sure to share your creation and celebration with us on social media using #MOWines.

Wine enthusiasts, we are ecstatic to announce that the 2021 Missouri Wine Competition is almost here!

Hundreds of wines from across the Show-Me State will be swirled, sniffed and sampled by a panel of expert judges over the course of two days. Wines will be evaluated and go head-to-head for medals and Best of Class distinctions. The top wine in the competition will receive the coveted Governor’s Cup award, and the best Norton in Missouri will be bestowed the C.V. Riley award.

The 2021 Missouri Wine Competition coincides with the Missouri Bicentennial, and to celebrate, we are hosting a special 2021 Missouri Wine Label Competition. Wineries have entered their best label designs to be evaluated by industry experts in the following categories:

• Best Bicentennial Label
• Best Traditional Label
• Best Contemporary Label
• Best Alternative Packaging
• Best Wine Series

As a sixth and special category, we want Missouri wine fans to choose the People’s Choice label winner. All labels can be viewed and voted upon in a short, interactive online survey. Now is your chance to recognize your favorite wine label and provide input on which winery leaves the competition with this coveted award.

Click here to take the survey and cast YOUR vote for the People’s Choice winner during the 2021 Missouri Wine Label Competition. Hurry, this survey closes July 18th!

Be on the lookout for the wine and label competition results in an upcoming blog!

This month, Missouri Wines celebrates one of life’s greatest dairy delights: cheese. June is National Dairy Month, and while there are a variety of nutritious and delicious dairy foods, few result in a blissful culinary marriage like cheese and wine.

According to the International Dairy Foods Association, there are more than 2,000 varieties of cheese. Additionally, more than one-third of the milk produced each year in the U.S. is used to manufacture cheese. With all those cheesy choices and the vast variety of Missouri wines, you’re sure to find a favorite match.

While there are no hard-and-fast rules when pairing food and wine, there are some helpful guidelines to keep in mind when tasting these two delicious items. Part of the fun is trying your own combinations to see what complements your palate best. Below are various cheese styles and the wines that pair best.

We hope you try some of these delicious cheese and wine pairings and if you find one of your own, share it with us!

Take a sip of your favorite Missouri wine to celebrate summer nights and the Fourth of July. Of course, you likely have your favorite red and white wines to pair with picnics, grilled entrées and all things summer, but have you tried a Missouri blueberry wine?

Blueberry wine offers a sweet and refreshing sip for wine aficionados in the Show-Me State. Like all Missouri fruit wines or wines made from fruit other than grapes, blueberry wine can be enjoyed in many different ways. We recommend trying these three to start.

Sip — Simply pour yourself a taste of blueberry wine. Unlike Missouri's grape wines, which contain notes of other fruits and flavors, fruit wines are known to taste like the fresh fruits from which they're made. This means a sip of blueberry wine tastes sweetly reminiscent of a handful of ripe, fresh blueberries.

Cook — Blueberry wine is a fun, summer addition to savory entrees and sweet desserts alike. Simmer it with spices to create a blueberry wine reduction sauce to top off a dish or add it to a marinade. A good marinade ratio is 2-parts wine to 1-part fat, such as olive oil, with a dash of your favorite herbs or seasonings and a pinch of salt.

Mix — Blueberry wine doesn't need to be simply sipped by itself to be enjoyed. Mix it with your favorite summer cocktails. Bring a little bit of berry to your favorite sangria. Make your spritzer blue in the best way, or craft a wine cocktail around its sweet, summer flavor. One of our favorites is this simple winetail — Blueberry Lemonade.

To mix up a batch of Blueberry Lemonade, you will need: 

• Missouri blueberry wine
• Your favorite lemonade
• Frozen blueberries to chill your drink (optional)
• Lemons for garnish (optional)

Simply mix 1-part Missouri Blueberry wine with 1-part lemonade to create the perfect sweet and sour sip for hot summer days. Add some frozen blueberries to keep your drink chilled without watering down your glass and garnish with some lemon slices. Enjoy!

Share you incorporation of blueberry wine into winetails and recipes by taking photos and using #MoWine!

Explore Missouri's Vidal Blanc with Fence Stile Vineyards & Winery and Cat Neville.