Let us help plan your summer adventures! Get inspired to travel with these helpful tips and suggestions. There is something for everyone in Missouri wine country. Check out the links below to explore wine country and even MO. (link tourism)

1.Pack the perfect Picnic

Explore ways to make your picnic in wine country extraordinary. Feast on the views and snacks while sipping your favorite varietal – you can’t go wrong with this on your road trip!

2.Take your best friends (& furry friends)

Here’s a list of pet-friendly wineries! Hit the road with your pals and pups to explore new wineries that you both will love.

3.Stay a while!

Many wineries also offer lodging in their list of amenities. Book your next getaway in wine country for a vacation (or staycation) you will remember for years to come!

4.Sip smart & get home safely

Utilize this list of trolleys and buses to explore MO wine country. Exploring responsibly has its perks – ride around in style!

5.Off-the beaten path trails

If you are outdoorsy, check out this list of trails to hike and wineries near them that you can sit back and relax or continue your day’s adventure.

6.Camp out under the night sky

Enjoy these camping-friendly wineries that encourage you to sleep under the stars in your RV or tent. Explore even more at these wineries by trying new wine varietals or food pairings.

7.Track adventure down

Buy a train ticket on Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner to or through wine country. This fun and easy train ride features lots of wineries to visit along the way. All aboard!

8.Take our word wine for it

We’ve made your next road trip easy. Download our trip planners that have your trip mapped out by popular regions across the state. We hope you enjoy your visit!

Tag us in your road trip travels! Share your hikes, bikes, trains, and trolley adventures by tagging #missouriwine and @missouriwine.

Missouri wine country is the perfect place to explore. Missouri's wineries and vineyards offer it all, whether you're looking for adventure, local agriculture, a fun evening with friends, or a sunny patio just to kick back and relax. To celebrate all the experiences you can have while sipping a glass of the Show Me State's finest wines, we curated a Missouri Wine Scavenger Hunt just in time for National Scavenger Hunt Day.

To participate, capture any of these ten sights you will find in Missouri wine country. Snap a pic and tag #exploreMOwines to be entered in a drawing to win some wine-themed prizes. Each picture counts as one entry, so the more pictures you capture at Missouri wineries, the more chances you have to win. Post your pictures as you travel - deadline for all photos is October 1.

1.Take a picture in a cellar.

2.Snap a photo in a vineyard.

3.Find and photograph a historical landmark related to a winery or the grape industry.

4.Grab a quick shot of a riddling rack.

5.Pose with your favorite winery team member.

6.Take a 'Gram-worthy pic of your favorite meal paired with a Missouri wine.

7.Snap a shot of your favorite Missouri varietal — bottle or grapes.

8.Picture any branded winery glassware featuring your favorite Missouri wine logo — at home or the winery.

9.Snap a selfie with a Rewards Uncorked window cling at a participating winery.

10.Take a shot of you or your friends enjoying a tasting at a Missouri winery.

Additionally, you can enter these pictures in the upcoming Missouri Wine: Through the Glass photo contest. Be sure to look for details about the competition, as winners are invited to the Missouri Governor's Cup presentation at the Governor's Mansion in Jefferson City. There, they can rub elbows with some of the state's most award-winning winemakers and vineyard owners.

But, if two chances to be rewarded in Missouri wine country aren't enough, we recently launched a new loyalty program — Rewards Uncorked. Join this free, mobile-based program to reap the rewards from simply enjoying your time at participating wineries across the state. Users can sign up today and start earning following account set up. Just check in on your phone when you visit participating wineries, so you can rack up points to redeem for Missouri wine rewards. 

So, get out and explore Missouri wine country today, sip as you travel through the Show Me State, and enjoy the many ways you can win big with Missouri wine.

Pizza and wine make a delectable pair meant to be enjoyed at all times of the year. These 21 wineries offer unique pizza choices. If you love pizza and visiting Missouri’s beautiful wineries, then these should be on your list of places to visit.

Please note that this list was gathered from a survey from participating wineries.

1.Steele Crest Winery – Jackson, MO

Steele Crest Winery offers a unique menu of artisan flatbread pizzas. Offered in two sizes, you can get classic toppings like Supreme, Hawaiian and more. Mix it up and add your favorite choices on top to customize the perfect pizza for your taste.

2.KC Wineworks – Kansas City, MO

KC Wineworks has two delicious flatbread pizzas on their menu. The first is a white sauce cheese pizza with optional pesto drizzle, and a red sauce veggie pizza with spinach, arugula, feta and olives. Pepperoni is a bonus option to add to either pizza choice.

3.Viandel Vineyard – Mountain View, MO

Viandel presents a full menu of food made in-house from scratch using high quality ingredients grown by local farmers when possible. Their menu changes seasonally based on the availability of fresh ingredients. Their pizzas are cooked in a Napoli Forno Bravo Wood-Fired Pizza Oven that cooks at extremely high temperatures. Pizzas are baked for about 90 seconds at 750 degrees.

4.Cave Vineyard – Ste. Genevieve, MO

Cave Vineyard is proud to offer a pizza selection from Katie’s Pizza & Pasta in St. Louis. They are 10” pizzas with choices of Margherita, Pepperoni, Black Garlic, and Sausage – Mushroom – uncured Bacon. Pizzas are offered on Saturdays.

5.Wild Sun Winery – Hillsboro, MO

Wild Sun Winery offers 12” pizzas with varieties of Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Gourmet Veggie with goat cheese, Bacon & Spinach, and the fan favorite, Meat Lover’s Pizza. They suggest to ‘come hungry’ on your next visit and order this “go-to” item off the menu.

6.Backyard Vine and Wine – Maryville, MO

Backyard Vine and Wine offers a great selection of pizzas from Shakespeare’s Pizza in Columbia, MO. In the cooler months, pizzas are baked in the pizza oven. Warmer weather allows them to cook on a grill which provides a smoky pizza oven taste.

7.La Bella Vineyards & Winery – Wellington, MO

La Bella Winery offers delicious pizzas which include options of both thin crust and gluten free crust - great options for everyone.

8.LaChance Vineyards – DeSoto, MO

LaChance Vineyards has a mouth-watering menu of specialty flatbread pizzas. All made as a personal size, their pizzas are guaranteed to bring you back for more the next visit.

9.Riverwood Winery – Rushville, MO

Riverwood Winery makes five varieties of delicious flatbread pizzas. All of which are made fresh at the winery and baked to order in their 800 degree pizza ovens. Their options include Prosciutto with Fresh Mozzerella, Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Barbecue Chicken with Crispy Pancetta, and Three Cheese Bianco.

10.Meramec Vineyards Winery – Saint James, MO

Along with the rest of their delicious food menu, Meramec Vineyards Winery also offers several kinds of pizza which include both meat and vegetarian options.

11.Les Bourgeois Vineyards at The Blufftop at Rocheport – Rocheport, MO

The Bistro offers a non-traditional pizza on the appetizer menu. The flatbread is topped with warm brie, poached cranberries, fresh apples, pecans, fresh berries and Jeunette Rouge gastrique.

12.Arcadian Moon Winery & Brewery – Higginsville, MO

The wood-fired pizzas at Arcadian Moon Winery & Brewery are crafted with house-made dough that is hand stretched and fermented for 24 hours. They offer a huge selection of traditional and specialty pizzas. Serving up slices for everyone!

13.Villa Antonio Winery – Hillsboro, MO

Explore the many made-from-scratch pizza options offered at Villa Antonio Winery. Fun flavors come to life when cooked in their traditional wood fired pizza oven at 750 degrees.

14.Van Till Family Farm Winery – Rayville, MO

The Van Till Family makes pairing pizza with wine easy! Every Friday and Saturday night, artisan pizzas can be enjoyed in their Wine Garden. Their imported French Le Panyol wood-fired oven makes some of the finest gourmet pizza around. Gluten free crust is always an option!

15.Balducci Vineyards – Augusta, MO

Choose between Balducci Vineyards’ 10” original thin crust or a 10” deep pan pizza. Each style is available in a variety of specialty and traditional flavors, with gluten free thin crust available as well. This winery visit is worth the deep dive into pairing.

16.Belmont Vineyards – Leasburg, MO

Take advantage of Belmont Vineyards’ summer menu on Fridays and Saturdays! Create your own specialty pizza by ordering “My Pie” or lean into ordering a delicious classic such as Margherita or Meat Lovers. Either way, you’ll enjoy the ‘za.

17.Chaumette Vineyards & Winery – Ste. Genevieve, MO

Try one of the delicious flatbreads the next time you visit Chaumette Vineyards & Winery. Their award-winning food has been recognized nationally. Pick between four cheese, roasted chicken or Italian sausage – you can’t go wrong!

18.Montelle Winery – Augusta, MO

Stop in at Montelle Winery’s Klondike Café to try one of their fresh baked pizzas. Classic and specialty pizzas with strong Italian flavors are offered. Pizza lovers can mix it up by ordering their Tuscan, Fromage or Chicken Florentine pizzas.

19.Noboleis Vineyards– Augusta, MO

Noboleis creates unique 14” pizzas on regular or gluten free crust. Choose between classic toppings or build your own pizza with fresh, delicious ingredients of your choice. The combination options are endless – check them out next time you’re in Augusta.

20.Sand Creek Vineyard – Farmington, MO

Calling all thin crust lovers! Stop in Farmington to enjoy a variety of traditional pizza offerings on a unique, delicious thin crust you won’t be able to forget.

21.White Mule Winery – Owensville, MO

Create your own thick or thin crust pizza at White Mule Winery on Saturdays. Choose from one or two topping, pepperoni, sausage mushroom, and meat lovers made with their home raised beef hamburger. Get creative or keep it simple, it is deliciously made either way.

For more pizza inspiration, check out our pizza and wine pairing graphic. This list of delicious pizza choices in Missouri wine country should leave you hungry and craving a slice or two. Let us know which pizzas you try and tag us on social media @missouriwines and #MissouriWine.

Raise your glass and celebrate Missouri Beef Month with us! Our state is home to 50,000 cattle farmers and ranchers, making it one of the largest states in beef production.

As with many Missouri wineries, the tradition and legacy of raising beef is rich in history and goes back many generations.  We made a list of delicious beef-based recipes for you to create this month, as well as the perfect Missouri wines to go with them. We hope you enjoy this beef recipe and pairing collection!  

Smoked Strip Steaks with Seyval Blanc Blue Cheese Wine Sauce

You don’t have to follow the old “rule” of how you can only have red wine with red meat. The crisp and refreshing flavor of Seyval Blanc goes deliciously with the garlic and blue cheese featured in these smoked strip steaks. Use it in the marinade and enjoy a glass while cooking too!

Beef Jerky and Spinach Pasta with Vidal Blanc

Unique and tasty! Red onion, red pepper and other spices complement the bright and refreshing fruity notes in Vidal Blanc. Sip a glass paired with the finished pasta.

Mushroom Merlot Burgers with Chambourcin

Complex Chambourcin is perfect for these far from simple burgers. Shallots, mushrooms and thyme parallel with this dry, red wine’s oaky, spicy bold flavor.

Norton Marinated Grilled Flank Steak

A Missouri-raised steak marinated in a Missouri-grown Norton is a classic Midwestern combination. These bold and delightful spices in this flank steak are well matched with this robust full-bodied wine. Enjoy as a pairing in addition to the marinade for the full experience.

Norton-Braised Short Ribs

These short ribs created with Norton certainly rival restaurant quality. The delicious sauce simmered with tomatoes is the perfect topper to these mouth-watering, fork-tender short ribs. Don’t forget to serve with your choice of Missouri Norton!

 

Currently, more than 90% of U.S. farms and ranches are family-owned and operated. Learn more about the people who are invested in raising high-quality, sustainable beef for generations to come. Share your beef creations as you celebrate Missouri Beef Month throughout May! Tag us with @missouriwine and #missouriwine for us to share with other wine and beef enthusiasts!

In 1965, Herb C. Barrett crossed the Gewürztraminer grape with the French-American cultivar known as Joannes Seyve 23.416 at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. The resulting grape was named Traminette, a well-known and celebrated varietal, especially in the Midwest. This final progeny produced large, moderately loose clustered grapes, similar to its famous parent, while bringing the cold hardiness and disease resistance of the lesser-known wine grape.

Johannes Seyve was a French biochemist that often utilized Seibel wine grape hybrids in his breeding program. Seibel hybrids were created from native American grape varietals, known as vitis labrusca, in the 1860s by Albert Seibel. Seyve is also credited for creating the French-American cultivar Chambourcin. His brother and father bred grapes as well, and are credited for hybrids including Seyval Blanc, which is also grown in Missouri.

It was initially bred as a table grape, but after finding stronger wine grape qualities suited to several inland states and their continental climates, vines were planted in Virginia, New York and Indiana to produce wine. It proved to be a high producing varietal with good yield and disease resistance. Traminette is grown across the state of Missouri, and is seen as an important varietal to grape producers who face similar climate challenges.

Traminette is very similar to its well-known perfumed parent in terms of flavor and aroma, yet less intense as Gewürztraminer. This floral forward white grape can have notes of apricot and peach, honey, rose, lychee, apple, passion fruit, pear and citrus. It is a versatile varietal and can be made into dry to off-dry, sweet and sparkling style wines, and even into ice wines. Its distinctive aroma can feature spicy notes as well.

In the vineyard, it is mostly low maintenance. There is little cluster thinning to be done to berries, and due to this, it is easier to maintain vine balance throughout the growing season. However, it is important to manage leaf canopies to guarantee the grapes get enough sunlight. Berry exposure ensures the formation of monoterpenes, the main contributors to the floral aroma. Traminette’s root system thrives in a variety of soil types and has a high disease tolerance. When the grapes turn a light gold or yellow, it is time to harvest the mature fruit from the vines. In the off season, Traminette can survive the cold and its hardy nature protects it from winter damage.

Did you learn something new about Traminette? Tag us on social with your favorite Missouri Traminette wine. If you haven’t had the chance to try this fabulous floral varietal, pursue it next time during your travels in Missouri wine country.