We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2017 Missouri Wine Competition. For more than thirty years, local wineries have entered their wines with the hope of winning the coveted Governor’s Cup, the top award for best wine in the state. This year was no different with 308 entries from 31 different wineries across the Show Me state.

A panel of judges made up of wine experts and industry professionals from across the country spent two days in Columbia, Mo. swirling, smelling, tasting and evaluating the wines. The entire tasting is done blind. Each wine is assigned a number and the judges get very little information about the wine to avoid any possible bias.

Doug Frost, Master Sommelier and Master of Wine, is one of our judges and he describes what the different medals mean to him, “Bronze wines strike me as wines that someone (perhaps not me, but someone with reasonable experience) might find pleasing or exciting. Silver award wines should be the sort of wines that ANY reasonable person would find exciting or at least very, very pleasing. A gold medal wine is one that I think is thrilling or at least an ideal representation of its type, style or grape. It should be the sort of wine that a judge feels strongly enough about that, if someone else doesn't agree with them, then they're nuts. EVERYONE should love a wine that you've chosen as a gold, or at least it should seem likely that any experienced judge would agree.”

Out of 308 wines, 112 were awarded bronze medals, 117 the distinction of silver medals, 26 the high honor of gold medals. From the gold medal winners the best of class were selected, and from the Best of Class winners the Governor’s Cup top award was named. Stone Hill Winery’s 2015 Norton claimed the highest honor as well as being named the C.V. Riley Award winner for best Norton, and the Best of Class Dry Red Wine.

Join us in congratulating our big winners of 2017:

• Governor’s Cup: Stone Hill Winery – 2015 Norton
• C.V. Riley Award (for best Norton): Stone Hill Winery – 2015 Norton
• Best of Class Wines:
  • Dry White: Adam Puchta Winery – Dry Vignoles
  • Semi-dry White: St. James Winery – Friendship School White
  • Sweet White: Augusta Winery – 2016 Vignoles Estate Bottled
  • Rosé: Stone Hill Winery – Rosé Montaigne
  • Dry Red: Stone Hill Winery – 2015 Norton (*That’s right; it won the Triple Crown!)
  • Sweet Red: Noboleis Vineyards – 2015 Ridgeview
  • Fruit: Pirtle Winery – Blackberry Mead
  • Late Harvest: Stone Hill Winery – 2013 Late Harvest Vignoles
  • Dessert: Stone Hill Winery – Cream Sherry

For a full list of all the medals awarded, click here. How many of these top-awarded local wines have you tried? It’s time to head out to Missouri wine country and discover which award-winning wines are your favorite! 

Véraison is a fancy French word that simply means the grapes are beginning to change color. A more complete definition is that Véraison is the beginning of berry ripening when the berries on a grape vine become soft and take on the colors characteristic of their specific varieties. What makes Véraison exciting? It means harvest is just around the corner, and the grapes are beginning to take on all of the wonderful characteristics that present themselves in the finished wine we enjoy so much.

There is nothing better than a bowl of ice cream on a hot day. Nothing except maybe ice cream made with Missouri wine, that is. This recipe is incredibly easy and only requires three ingredients. If you’d like to add even more fun to this delectable dessert, make a wine chocolate sauce to top it off.

Concord Wine Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup               Missouri Concord Wine

¼ cup               Super-fine Sugar (find it in the baking aisle or make it)

2 cups              Heavy Cream

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the super fine sugar into the wine until completely dissolved. Slowly whisk the cream into the wine and sugar mixture until it begins to thicken, about 2-3 minutes. Pour the mixture into a freezer safe container. Freeze for 3-4 hours or overnight. Scoop and enjoy!

*Bonus: Top your Concord Wine Ice Cream with this decadent wine chocolate sauce for an extra special treat!

Wine Chocolate Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:

¾ cup               Missouri Concord Wine

6 oz                 Milk Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Bring the wine to a simmer over medium-low to medium heat in a small saucepan. Let the wine simmer until it has reduced by about half, approximate 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and add the milk chocolate, stirring until thoroughly melted and smooth. Let cool slightly and serve.

The 2017 Missouri Wine Competition will take place later this month. The Missouri Wine Competition has been around for more than 30 years, and we’re very excited for this year's event. Have you ever wondered what goes into putting on our wine competition? Take a behind the scenes look with us.

The Wines:

The number of wines entered in the competition varies from year to year, but this year there are 306 entries vying for awards. Wineries submit their wines in different categories based on varietal, style and sweetness level. Once the wines are entered, they’re assigned a number so the process can be blind and unbiased.

The Set-up:

The competition is not quite as glamorous as you might expect, but it certainly is impressive. Rows upon rows of wines, all labeled with their flight numbers, waiting to be poured into glasses with corresponding numbers, loaded on carts, served to the judges, tasted, spit out, and cleared. A lot of time is spent washing, polishing and labeling glassware. The wines are poured as precisely as possible, handled carefully and the entire process is treated with a great deal of respect.

The Volunteers:

The Missouri wine competition wouldn’t be possible without our volunteers. Folks from all walks of life, sharing the common trait of loving Missouri wine, make it all run smoothly. They devote three days of their time to the competition and we are extremely grateful for all their hard work. Most of the volunteers this year are returning for their second, third and even eighth years.

The Judges:

We are grateful to have some truly wonderful and well qualified judges who participate in our competition year after year. This year we are honored to have:

• Doug Frost: One of only four people in the world to hold both Master Sommelier and Master of Wine titles
• Bob Foster: Wine Writer from San Diego, CA.
• Glenn Bardgett: Sommelier and Wine Director at Annie Gunn’s Restaurant
• Andrey Ivanov: Advanced Sommelier and Beverage Director at Reed’s American Table
• Michele Meyer: Winemaker at Holy-Field Vineyard and Winery
• Catherine Neville: Publisher of Feast Magazine
• Patricia Wamhoff: Advanced Sommelier and Certified Wine Educator

The Awards:

These esteemed judges will do a blind tasting and vote on whether they think each wine is worthy of a bronze, silver or gold medal. They’re looking at each wine for how well it represents its class. Is it a good representation of a semi-dry white wine, a Chambourcin, or a port-style dessert wine, etc. The wines awarded gold medals will move on for a chance to take home coveted Best of Class distinctions. Those that make the cut as Best of Class are then considered for the top honor of Governor’s Cup.

Missouri wineries make a wide variety of wines from big and bold dry reds like Norton, to light and fruity semi-dry Vignoles. In July, we celebrate the sweeter side of local wine with Concord Month. Concord is a fan favorite in Missouri. It’s a sweet red wine that pairs perfectly with hot summer days in Missouri!

The Concord grape has an interesting origin story. It was cultivated by Ephraim Wales Bull in 1849. Bell desired to create a hardy grape that could withstand the harsh northeastern climate of the United States. He planted seeds from the native species growing on his farm and evaluated 22,000 seedlings before he settled on what he considered the perfect grape. Bell named the variety after the town where he planted the grape, the village of Concord, Massachusetts.

What made it ideal for withstanding the demanding weather of the northeast, also lets it thrive in the Midwest. Concord vines tolerate our cold winters and hot summers well. There are 120 acres of the grape variety grown in Missouri, accounting for seven percent of the grapes grown in the state.

Concord wines are deep, dark plum in appearance and have a soft, yet robust mouthfeel. They embody the quintessential grape flavor and aroma… think Concord grape jam or Welch’s grape juice. The sweet, fruity wine pairs well with grilled pork chops and barbecue, aged cheeses, peanut butter, ice cream and truffles.

Most wineries in the Show Me state have at least one Concord based wine. Head out to wine country to discover the sweeter side of Missouri wines this July! 

Salads are a summer staple at lunch and dinner time. They’re nice and light on a warm day and a great way to use fresh, seasonal vegetables. They can present a little bit of a challenge when it comes to pairing them with your favorite wines though. Let’s break down the best way to find the perfect local wine to go with your summer salad favorites.

The first and most important thing to do is identify what is the most prominent flavor of the salad. Is it the dressing, or maybe it’s the protein or a flavorful cheese? Picking out the overarching flavor is a great way to start your pairing selection. For example, if the dressing is a tart, citrusy vinaigrette, look for a wine with bright acidity and citrus notes such as a delicious Missouri Vidal Blanc. Once you’ve identified the primary flavor profile, use this interactive guide to match the ideal wine.

Pairing suggestions:

• Citrus Salad with Grilled Chicken + Vidal Blanc
• Southwest Salad with Seasoned Beef and Grilled Corn + Rosé
• Goat Cheese and Berry Salad + Seyval Blanc
• Spinach Salad with Bacon and Bleu Cheese + Chambourcin
• Chef Salad + Chardonel
• Spicy Asian Chicken Salad + Vignoles

Cheers to salad season! Share your favorite summer salad and Missouri wine pairing with us on social media by using the hashtag #MOwine. 

It’s summertime in Missouri. We all know what that means… It’s hot and humid. What could be better on a sweltering day than a glass of refreshing, chilled Missouri wine? Not much. However, getting your wine chilled quickly or keeping it nice and cool can be a bit of a challenge in the summer heat. So here are some tips.

1. Refrigerate at 3, 2, 1: If you are able to plan ahead, you can use the 3, 2, 1 rule in the refrigerator – 3 hours for sparkling wines, 2 hours for white, rose and sweet reds, and 1 hour for semi-dry and dry reds. Many say red wine should be served at room temperature, but cellar temperature is actually the recommendation. If you keep your thermostat at 60-65 degrees, you’re good to go. If not, chilling your red for a short time will do the trick.
2. Wet Towel + Freezer: If you put a bottle of wine in the freezer for 30-40 minutes, you can get it pretty well chilled. However, if you wrap it in a wet towel or paper towels before you put it in the freezer, it cuts the time to 20-25 minutes for a nice, chilled wine.
3. Ice + Salt + Water: Outdoor events or just a gathering on the back patio often mean beverage tubs and ice as the way to get and keep your wine chilled. This works fine with about an hour lead time, but if you want to speed up the process, submerge your bottles in salted ice water. Adding the water spreads the cold evenly across the bottles surface. Adding salt and spinning the bottles by the neck while submerged also speeds up this tactic.
4. Frozen Grapes: Frozen grapes (or any fruit, really) can act as ice cubes in your wine glass without watering down your vino. We suggest this as a way to keep your wine chilled rather than starting with wine at room temperature.
5. Insulated Wine Glasses: There are lots of options out there, but these can be handy for enjoying your Missouri wine outside. Bonus- if they have a lid, they will also prevent bugs from trying to dive bomb your beverage. There’s even a double-walled wine tumbler on the list of rewards you can get as an MVP. 

Cheers to another warm Missouri summer paired with nice and chilled local wine!

Missouri vineyards and their caretakers have been hard at work for months now. Bud Break brought the excitement of spring and new life to the vineyards, while Flowering reminded us how beautiful and “perfect” nature can be, but now it’s time to really get moving. It’s Fruit Set!

Fruit Set is the stage in the grape growing cycle where the pollinated flowers have dropped their delicate petals and small, green berries begin to form at the end of the stems. What was hundreds of petite flowers will now develop into spheres with all the potential of delicious, quality grapes. As the berries grow, they’ll start to take on the familiar cluster shape.

Watching the different stages of the growing cycle on the vines is a wonderful reminder that wine is agriculture and agriculture isn’t easy or fast. Lucky for us, Missouri winemakers know that some things are worth the work! 

Let’s start with what is an appellation. An appellation is a specifically designated wine region. In the U.S. these are called American Viticulture Areas or AVAs. There are five that are in or touch parts of Missouri. But the day we celebrate as Appellation Day, June 20, marks when the first AVA was named in 1980. That region wasn’t Napa or Sonoma, it was Augusta, Missouri. This means a lot to our local wine industry because it recognizes not only the unique soil, climate and overall terroir of the area, but our rich winemaking history and the impact the wine industry has on the culture of our state.

There is a strong sense of place in an appellation. The wine made from grapes grown there takes on the personality of the region. Norton is the official state grape and the most widely grown varietal in Missouri. However, a Norton wine from Augusta and one from the Ozark Highlands or Hermann AVA taste different when compared side by side, and certainly different than Norton wine from another state or country.

Beyond the flavor of the wine, appellation gives a certain pride to the grape growers and wine makers of the respective areas as well. It’s not an easy feat growing quality grapes and making award-winning wines anywhere, but especially in the demanding climate of the Midwest. The dedicated folks of the Missouri wine industry know some things are worth the work. They take pride in where they cultivate their vineyards and craft their wines.

Celebrate Appellation Day by raising a glass to the winemakers, past and present, who make our local wine industry something to be proud of. Cheers!