July is Concord Month; it’s super hot outside; and popsicles are delicious. Bring it all together and you get… WINE POPSICLES! Beat the heat with these delicious and super simple treats. 

Concord on its own makes a great popsicle. Pour your favorite, award-winning Missouri Concord wine directly into a popsicle mold or ice cube tray, freeze for 3-4 hours, and enjoy! If your wine ice pop doesn’t want to come out of its mold, run it under cool water for a few seconds and try again. 

Peanut Butter and Concord Wine Ice Pops Recipe 
Prep Time: 5 min     Total Time: 3-4 hours 
Serves: 6-8 

Ingredients: 
1/3 cup      Creamy peanut butter 

1 cup         Vanilla yogurt 1 ½ cups

Missouri Concord wine 

Directions: 
In a medium-sized bowl mix the peanut butter and yogurt until smooth. 
Spoon or pipe the peanut butter mixture into ice pop molds until 1/3-1/2 full. 
Fill the rest of the molds with Missouri Concord wine.
Freeze for 3-4 hours until solid. 
Run the molds under cool water for a few seconds to loosen the pops from the mold. 
Remove the pop from the mold and enjoy! 

Peanut butter and jelly is a truly classic flavor combo, and you’d be hard pressed to find a more delicious way to enjoy it on a hot, summer day than these popsicles.

Savor the sweetness of summer with Concord wine! This Vitis Labruscana grape is very unique. When you’re sipping on Concord, you know. It is what a lot of people equate with a quintessential grape flavor. That’s because grape juice and jam are often made from Concord grapes. With such a distinct flavor profile, it comes as no surprise that there are some great food pairings to go with Concord wine. 

July 6th is Fried Chicken Day and that served as inspiration for a post about all the Missouri wines that pair well with this comfort food classic. The crispy, crunchy, salty goodness of biting into a piece of perfectly cooked fried chicken is about as delicious as it gets, right? Wrong. Pair that drumstick or thigh with a glass of Missouri wine and you’re in for a real treat! 

Salty and Sweet: Pairing a piece of fried chicken with a glass of sweet, fruity Catawba is a delight for your taste buds. The salty and sweet flavors complement each other in an oh-so-tasty way. 

Magic Bubbles: Sparkling wine may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of fried chicken, but it will be after you’ve tried it. The bright acidity and effervescence act as the perfect palate cleanser making every bite as delicious as the first. 

Crisp and Crispy: Dry rosé wine is a growing category and we’re seeing more and more Missouri wineries making this delicious style of wine. You won’t see us complaining though. This crisp yet fruity style of wine is a great match for fried chicken. 

Try one (or all) of these pairings today! 

June is Vidal Blanc Month in Missouri wine country, and it’s the perfect wine to kick off summer with a splash. Vidal Blanc is crisp and refreshing, and it pairs well with all your fresh summer favorites like salads, seafood and citrus fruit. There are so many great food and wine pairings for Missouri Vidal Blanc wines. Use this guide to help you decide what to eat with Vidal Blanc. 

 
Prep time- 5 minutes | Total time- 3-4 hours 
Servings- 3-4 

Ingredients- 
¾  cup        dry, fruity Missouri white wine (We used a Vidal Blanc)
4 tbsp        super-fine sugar (find it in the baking aisle or make it)
1 ¼ cup    heavy whipping 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.
-    Scoop and enjoy. Try topping with fresh fruit for a little extra refreshing goodness. 

*Note: If you choose to use a sweeter wine, decrease the amount of sugar added to taste. 

Missouri summers can get pretty steamy. Cool off with a bowl of delicious wine ice cream. It’s easy to make and a refreshing treat on a hot summer day. This recipe can be made with any of your favorite Missouri wines, but we chose a crisp and fruity Vidal Blanc and it turned out great. 

 
Easy, 3 Ingredient Wine Ice Cream Recipe
Prep time- 5 minutes | Total time- 3-4 hours 
Servings- 3-4 

Ingredients- 
¾  cup        dry, fruity Missouri white wine (We used a Vidal Blanc)
4 tbsp        super-fine sugar (find it in the baking aisle or make it)
1 ¼ cup    heavy whipping 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.
-    Scoop and enjoy. Try topping with fresh fruit for a little extra refreshing goodness. 

*Note: If you choose to use a sweeter wine, decrease the amount of sugar added to taste. 

Rolling vineyards, beautiful countryside, and delicious, award-winning wine straight from the source… it doesn’t get much better than a Missouri winery wedding. The setting is idyllic, the atmosphere is warm and welcoming, and the theme is built-in. With more than 130 wineries in the state, you’re sure to find the ideal venue for your big day. The hardest part is narrowing it down to just one. Here are some ideas to help you plan the perfect winery wedding from start to finish. 

Engagement Photos: Wineries are incredibly picturesque. Take your engagement photos onsite in the vineyard, barn, or historic cellars (just to name a few of the great options you’ll find at local wineries). 

Invitations: Set the stage for your wedding’s theme with the invitations. 

(Photo credit: Wedding Paper Divas, DesignUnfurls, Rebecca Green Designs) 

Ceremony Ideas: Utilize a rustic wine barrel as your altar and include wine in your ceremony with a love letter wine box. 

(Photo credit: stylemepretty.com, The Paper Walrus)

Guestbook Alternatives: Rather than a traditional guestbook, have guests sign bottles of wine for you and your partner to enjoy on special anniversaries. (Make sure you use a wine that will age well, like a Norton or port-style wine.) Or have guests sign corks that you can use for a craft or display in your home after the wedding. 

(Photo credit: TheDoodleCoop, WeddingDepot) 

Centerpieces: There are almost endless options for centerpieces incorporating wine bottles, glasses and corks. Find a great collection of ideas to spark your inspiration here. 

(Photo credit: HappyWedd)

Favors: There are tons of great ideas for favors that fit the winery wedding theme... bottle stoppers, cork coasters, custom grape jam… and many more. 

(Photo credit: UrbanLoftTampa, HappyWedd)

We hope these ideas help inspire you while you plan your perfect vineyard wedding in Missouri wine country! 

June is Vidal Blanc Month because we can’t think of a better way to kick off summer than with a crisp, refreshing glass. It’s the perfect white wine for poolside sipping or backyard grilling!

Vidal Blanc, served chilled, is wonderful on a warm June day. It smells like a fresh summer garden and tastes like apple and citrus fruits. It pairs well with all your favorite summertime fare like seafood, chicken, fresh green salads, basil and melon.

Vidal Blanc is one of Missouri’s premier white wine grapes. The 110 acres of Vidal Blanc grapes account for 6.5 percent of the grapes grown in the “Show Me” State and contribute to the Missouri wine industry’s overall $1.76 billion economic impact on the state annually. Local winemakers favor Vidal Blanc for its hardiness as well as its versatility. 

Not only can this French-American hybrid grape stand up to the demanding weather of Missouri’s cold winters and hot, humid summers, it is also extremely versatile and is used to make a wide range of delicious, award-winning wines. You’ll find Vidal Blanc wines in styles ranging from crisp, dry white wines, to refreshing sparkling wines, to luscious late harvest dessert wines.

Missouri’s Vidal Blanc is the perfect way to splash into summer. With more than 130 wineries and 10 wine trails in Missouri wine country, what are you waiting for? Head out to a nearby winery and get a taste of Vidal Blanc this June!

Grilling season is here, and pairing your favorite charbroiled delights is easy with this Grill-out Guide. Cheers to warmer weather, longer days and delicious food paired with the perfect award-winning wine!

On a sunny, warm day there is nothing better than sipping on a glass of chilled white wine. Take a vino adventure through the Show Me State to discover some amazing Missouri white wines. There’s an award-winning white for whatever mood you're in. If you want something fruity, Vignoles has you covered. If you’d prefer something crisp and refreshing, reach for Vidal Blanc. The list goes on, so let’s talk white wine!

Vignoles, AKA – A fruit bomb! Depending on the winery, you'll find Vignoles wines that run the entire gamut of sweetness from dry, to semi-sweet, to dessert wines. Be sure not to confuse fruitiness for sweetness though. Even the dry Vignoles wines out there have so much fruit flavor, everything from pineapple, to apricot, and the rest of the fruit bowl in between. If you haven’t tasted Vignoles wines, you’re missing out on a ripe, fresh, fruity vino experience. 

Vidal Blanc is so refreshing! Vidal Blanc is super versatile and refreshing. There are sparkling wines (Who doesn’t love a little fizz?) and still wines ranging in sweetness levels made from Vidal Blanc grapes. They all have one thing in common… they’re great on a warm day. Vidal is the ideal patio sipper.

Chardonel wine is a classic! There aren’t many foods you'll eat during the summer that don’t pair well with a glass of Missouri Chardonel. When it’s aged on oak, it has a really nice smoothness that goes well with grilled chicken or fish. Unoaked Chardonel is a great go-to for pesto or veggies from you local farmers’ market. It’s a classic for a reason.

Traminette is too unique not to love! Traveling around Missouri’s 130+ wineries, you'll come across some really great wines, but nothing quite as unique as Traminette. It smells like flowers. You read that right, fresh-picked flowers. How cool is that? If you haven’t tried a Traminette, search it out and give it a good sniff. It tastes great, but that aroma is too cool. If you're a curry fan, Traminette is a great pair. 

Seyval Blanc is harder to find, but so worth it! Wines made with the Seyval Blanc grape are a little fewer and far between, but the citrusy deliciousness in store is worth the hunt. When you see it, don’t pass up the chance to taste Seyval Blanc. 

Plan a vino adventure today and look for these local white wines at a Missouri winery.