We are excited to announce the results of the 2024 Missouri Wine Competition! This renowned competition has recognized the highest quality wines the Show Me State has to offer. Nearly 240 wines representing all regions of Missouri wine country were entered into this esteemed evaluation. 

A panel of 8 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 Governor’s Cup Award. The Governor’s Cup is presented to the best wine in the state. 

“I am immensely proud of the exceptional quality of wines produced in the Show Me State. Recognizing and celebrating this quality is essential, and we are committed to showcasing our distinguished wines throughout the year. From local tasting to national events, we will highlight the craftsmanship and dedication of our winemakers, ensuring that Missouri wines are appreciated by connoisseurs and casual enthusiasts alike.” shared Jim Anderson, Executive Director, Missouri Wine & Grape Board. 

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

Sparkling: Les Bourgeois Vineyards – Brut

Dry White: Defiance Ridge Vineyards – 2023 Katy Traminette

Semi-Dry White: Adam Puchta Winery – 2023 Dry Vignoles

Sweet White: Stone Hill Winery – 2023 Vignoles

Dry Red: Stone Hill Winery – 2022 Cross J Norton

Semi-Dry Red: Stone Hill Winery – 2022 Ozark Hellbender

Sweet Red: Adam Puchta Winery – Riefenstahler

Semi-Dry Rosé: Montelle Winery – 2022 La Rosée

Dessert: Stone Hill Winery – 2020 Port

Late Harvest/Ice Wine: Montelle Winery – 2022 Vidal Blanc Icewine

Fruit: Stone Hill Winery – Peach

The winner of the 2024 Governor’s Cup is Stone Hill Winery’s 2022 Cross J Norton. 

“Once again, I am deeply honored to win the Missouri Governor’s Cup. It is especially meaningful to win this award with our 2022 Cross J Norton,” shared Jon Held, President Stone Hill Winery. “The Cross J is a single vineyard Norton and a tribute to my late father, Jim, the “J” following the Cross. This makes seven consecutive Governor’s Cups for Stone Hill and five consecutive C.V. Riley Awards for the best Norton. My goal has always been to make the finest wines possible from our estate grown grapes. Achieving this goal is only possible with a truly incredible team in the vineyard and winery. They deserve all the credit for our consistently superb wines.”

The C.V. Riley Award for best Norton also went to Stone Hill Winery’s 2022 Cross J Norton. The C.V. Riley award recognizes the official state grape and is named after the first state entomologist, who also helped save the French wine industry.

The Husmann-Jaeger award for best white varietal honors Adam Puchta Winery’s 2023 Dry Vignoles. This award is named after George Husmann and Herman Jaeger. Both influential men were crucial in the early development of the Missouri wine industry. (Learn more here)

In addition to Governor’s Cup, C.V. Riley, Husmann-Jaeger, and Best of Class distinctions, judges awarded gold medals, silver medals and bronze medals. Find the complete list of the 2024 Award-Winning Wines here.

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

Congratulations to the label competition award winners:

Best Traditional Label: Defiance Ridge Vineyard: 2022 – 1897 Norton

Best Contemporary Label: Noboleis Vineyards – Small Batch Series V

Best Wine Series: St. James Winery – Explorer Collection: 2022 Norton, 2022 Vignoles, 38 Degrees North, Moscato, Project 1970

People’s Choice Award: Defiance Ridge Vineyards – 2023 Poppy’s Vidal Blanc

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.  Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all of the wineries who entered this years competition!

Missouri Wine has a deep-rooted history, especially when it comes to the Concord grape varietal. This grape produces a refreshing sip perfect for the hot summer in Missouri. July is Concord month, and the best way to celebrate is by recognizing the deep-rooted history!

St. James Velvet Red label does just that! Not only is it a delicious wine made with Concord grapes, but the label also highlights the rich history of Concord in Missouri.

St. James Winery’s origin story starts with Welch’s and the local Italian immigrants who settled part of the St. James region is the late 1800s. At the time, the railroad was giving land to families would establish homes and a community near the railroad.   The Italian immigrants accepted the railroad’s offer and began to establish a community.  They quickly built a one-room schoolhouse for their children, which still stands in the St. James Winery main vineyard. They also brought with them the tradition of growing grapes. Initially for selling as fresh fruit in the St. Louis market, but later for the owner of Welch’s in the early 1940s.  At the time, Welch’s had a contract with the US Army to supply juices, jams and jellies to the troops during the war years.  

Initially Welch’s even owned a winery for processing the grapes in the St. James region, but by the 1970s, the growers in St. James were shipping their Concord grapes to the Welch’s processing plant in Springdale Arkansas. This grape growing culture is what originally attracted Jim and Pat Hofherr to the area. As an added bonus, historic Route 66 ran right through St. James and brought many tourists from all over the world. Jim Hofherr began construction of the tasting room immediately and purchased a farm that contained a vineyard of Concord grapes that was originally grown for Welch’s. They created Velvet Red using these, and other Concord grapes from local growers.

When looking at the label you see this rich history reflected. With the old barn, barrels, vast vineyards and an old school building, this label highlights the St. James Winery’s history as well as the history of this region in Missouri wine country.

St. James Winery opened in 1970. It remains family owned and operated. In the first year 8,000 gallons of wine were produced including the popular Velvet Red and Velvet White.

From 1995 to 2000 they went from producing 10,000 cases to 100,000 cases. St. James Winery continues to expand their winery, vineyards and distribution network.

Now producing 200,000 cases each year, their wines are distributed throughout the Midwest and South. The winery tends vineyards planted with Catawba, Chardonel, Norton, Concord, Seyval, Vignoles, Chambourcin and Rougeon grapes.

If you are looking for a wine to celebrate the rich history of Route 66, Missouri Vineyards, and of course, Concord month, this is a great option!

Check out more on the history of Concord and St. James in this blog!

https://missouriwine.org/news/vineyard-st-james-celebrates-centennial

It’s time to spruce up your home with the perfect succulent holder! Use your old wine corks and create these cute DIY cork succulent holders. The perfect addition to any plant collection, and your home!

What you’ll need:

6-10 Wine corks: Depending on tin size

4 Candle Tins- 4 oz used here

4 Succulents

Box Cutter

Hot Glue Gun and Sticks

Planting Soil

Steps:

1. Cut wine corks in half, hotdog style, using the box cutter. Take lid off candle tins. 
2. Hot glue half corks onto the outside of the candle tins and place around tin vertically. 
3. After corks are glued onto the tin, place some fresh soil into the tin. Clear soil off the plant roots. 
4. Place plant in tin and fill in the empty space with soil. Pack down until stable.

Create a few and place them around your house. This DIY craft is sure to make your house pop and add a unique look to your plant collection!

The 2024 Missouri Governor’s Cup Wine Competition is here, and this year will be full of great judges, volunteers and of course wine!

Our judges this year are truly experts in the wine industry. Our judging tables will have individuals that are Master Sommelier, Master of Wines, wine educators, WSET certification, wine retailers and distributors and industry professionals. Master Sommelier, Master of Wines and WSET Certification are all different certifications that our judges have received. They will be evaluating all the wines Missouri has to offer and decide which will take home the gold!

One of our judges, Glenn Bardgett, said this about working with the expert judges, "This competition is the best way to show the best of what we do. Everyone has different backgrounds. Everyone has different experiences. In one way or another all of our experiences have led us to judging the Missouri Governor's Cup Wine Competition. It is truly a privilege for us, especially for us to all work alongside each other as experts. It is a lot of responsibility, these results can determine numerous things for these wineries. Because of this, bringing in each of these individuals with their own qualifications and background make it an excellent judging panel to be a part of."

Hundreds of wines from across the Show-Me State will be swirled, sniffed and explored 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. After the wines are blind tasted, 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 Hussmann-Jaeger award will also be given out for the second year in a row.

We will also be judging labels as a part of our label competition. Across Missouri Wine Country there are many unique and beautiful labels that enhance the wine inside the bottle. Wines are entered in categories based on the design of their label. The label competition has separate judges who evaluate each bottle, in their respective categories.

• Best Traditional Label
• Best Contemporary Label
• Best Alternative Packaging
• Best Wine Series
• People’s Choice Award

Click here to take the survey and cast your vote for the People’s Choice winner during the 2024 Missouri Wine Label Competition. This survey closes July 14^th at 11:59 pm, so be sure to get your votes in!

We are excited for another year of amazing wine, and cannot wait to share the results with you!

 July is Concord month! With the hot Missouri summer setting in, it is time to cool off with Concord!

While this grape produces a delicious and refreshing wine, it is also used to make grape juice and jam. This versatile grape has become a Missouri staple and deserves to be celebrated!

During Prohibition some Missouri vineyards were saved by the ability to grow this grape. Rather than turning it into wine, they sold them to be turned into grape juice and jam.

Concord is an American grape that is a robust medium-bodied wine that is soft and balanced. It was selected from the wild in the mid 1800s. Its name is appropriately chosen from its area of origin, Concord, Massachusetts.

This varietal produces medium-sized clusters of large berries. It is considered a ‘slip skin’ grape because its skins are easily separated from the pulp during the winemaking process. 

Pair this wine with cheddar, aged cheeses, orange chicken, pork chop, barbecue beef, spicy seafood, candied nuts, nutmeg, figs, poached pear, grape pie or peanut butter

Recipe ideas:

Ice Cream

Popsicles

Concord Daiquiri

Wine Barbecue Sauce

No Free Lunch Wine Tails

The Concord grape has a rich, deep flavor and history here in Missouri. No matter which Missouri Winery you are at this summer, don’t forget to cool off with Concord!