Regarded as the biggest football game of the year, the Super Bowl is also a flavor filled day full of delicious food. Whether your team wins or loses, you’ll be the champion of the Super Bowl soirée when you pair your spread with Missouri wines. Hosting a Super Bowl gathering is no easy task, so we’ve compiled some menu options that pair well with Missouri wines. Keep in mind, good food deserves great wine.   

A bowl of chili is a popular dish to serve during the big game. There are multiple ways to make it and you can pair each kind with a Missouri wine. From beef to chicken chili, make sure to check out our chili and local wine pairing recipes.

Finger foods are a must have for any football festivity. Just about everyone likes cheese, and it’s quick and easy. We’ve all heard cheese and wine pair well together, but do you know which Missouri wines pair best with each kind of cheese? Take a look at our wine and cheese guide and you’ll be ready to kick off the game!     

Dippable appetizers are always a fan favorite at Super Bowl get-togethers. Your guests will be excited to try a delicious dip when you pair it perfectly with Missouri wine. We’ve compiled a list of classic dip recipes and paired each one with Missouri wines.   

Pizza is a top choice for many football fans when it comes time to watch the game. The flavors of each slice can be enhanced when you pair it with Missouri wines. From pepperoni to margherita, we have the perfect pizza and Missouri wine pairings for you to discover.

Before the game ends, your guests will want to dive into dessert. How about a dessert made with Missouri wine? Brownies can taste even better when you add award-winning Missouri fruit wine into the mix. Score big with this easy to make Missouri fruit wine brownie recipe.

Enjoy the big game and make sure to pair Missouri wines with these traditional game day snacks!

As the cold winter weather travels across Missouri, grape growers throughout the state begin the process of pruning their vineyards. To produce the highest quality grapes, vines need to be pruned and trained as the grapevine re-invents itself each year. It’s a critical process to ensure proper vine growth and tasty, well-formed grape clusters at harvest. Using hand tools and much care, pruning takes skill and experience. Each grapevine is different and is pruned as an individual when the plant is fully dormant.

Dormant grapevine pruning takes place prior to bud-break, usually after the coldest winter temperatures have passed. During this time, it’s easier to see the structure of the grapevine without all of the leaves in the way. Diseased wood can be easily identified and removed. Pruning allows for increased air-flow and sunlight penetration within the grapevine canopy during the growing season, which helps reduce grapevine infections from disease.

Dormant pruning is the first step in the season to regulate the amount of grapes a grapevine will produce. According to Viticulture Specialist, Dean Volenberg, of the University of Missouri Grape and Wine Institute, approximately 90 percent or more of the previous season’s growth is removed during dormant pruning. The vine growth that is removed is mainly one-year old wood. The only one-year old wood retained on the vines are short sections of canes that are called spurs. From the buds on these spurs, shoots will emerge that will produce flowers and eventually grapes. Each coming years harvest is dependent on the vineyard management that was done the previous season and how well these buds came through the cold winter months.

If a grapevine is left unpruned, a large amount of older wood will develop over time that does not produce fruit. If too much one-year old wood is left on the vine after pruning, the grapevine will not develop enough shoots and leaves to ripen the grapes. On the other hand, if too much one-year old wood is removed, the grapevine will produce a jungle of vine growth that can be difficult to manage with little fruit.

Pruning is a talent that takes years to develop, and for many, is an art form. The secret of grapevine pruning is to balance fruit-load with vine growth.  Let’s cheers to those who work in Missouri vineyards and continue to produce high quality wines!

Winter is soup season and it’s hard to find a more warming and comforting soup than tomato. This recipe for tomato soup has gotten a Missouri wine upgrade with the local wine hero, Norton. Wines made from Norton (aka Cynthiana) grapes pair particularly well with tomatoes. The addition of the dry red wine to this dish creates a truly delicious bowl of soup.

Norton Tomato Soup Recipe

Time: Prep- 10 min.   |   Cook- 50 min

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp   Olive oil
• 1 large   Yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves   Garlic, minced
• 2 cans (28oz)   Crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups  Vegetable stock
• 1 cup   Missouri Norton wine (bold, dry red wine)
• 1 tbsp  Brown sugar, packed
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Sautée the onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until translucent, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the crushed tomatoes, vegetable stock, wine, and brown sugar.

Bring the mixture to a light simmer over medium-low heat.

Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 40-45 minutes.

Serve with toasted bread or grilled cheese sandwiches (we recommend using a sharp cheddar).

If you’re a basil fan, add some freshly diced basil before serving.

This recipe is simple and will leave you plenty of Norton to enjoy along side a warm bowl on a chilly winter day. Enjoy!

During the winter months, grape vines are resting, wines are aging and there’s a slower pace in general at the wineries. It’s a perfect time for learning more about Missouri varietals, touring cellars or just relaxing. If you think of the winter as the “off” season in Show Me wine country, here are six reasons to change your mind.

1) Less crowds means more attention.

While there are a few wineries that close during the winter, many of the 130+ wineries in the state are open and ready to serve. When you’re not slogging through a crowd, there’s more time to chat to the winery staff, perhaps even the winemaker. Take a tour of the cellars or just sit back and relax with your new favorite wine.

2) Seasonal wines are waiting to be discovered.

Seasonal wines and wine cocktails abound this time of year, everything from mulled wine, to cranberry wine, and much more.

3) It’s a great time to stock up.

Not only do you skip the crowds at the tasting bar, but also at the cash register. It’s a great time to stock up on your favorite wines for the year. Or perhaps replenish what was depleted during the holidays.

4) January is Norton Month.

Norton is the Missouri state grape and it’s celebrated at wineries across the state during the month of January with special tastings, events and wine releases. If you’re a Norton fan, January is a great time to get out to wine country.

5) Seasonal fare and the wines that pair.

There are a number of wineries with restaurants and winter is a great time to try seasonal favorites paired perfectly with local wines. Chilies, stews, winter vegetables are just some of the foods you’ll find at wineries this time of year.

6) Red wine is perfect for chilly days.

There’s not much that could be better than sipping on a big, bold glass of red wine on a chilly day… so warming and comforting!

These are just some of the great reasons to venture out to Missouri wine country this winter. Bundle up and head out for your next vino adventure in the Show Me state! 

Let’s make 2017 a fantastic and delicious year full of award-winning local wine! Everyday can be a celebration, but here are the wine themed festivities coming up the next 12 months. The MO wine lovers’ calendar is your guide to a great year ahead. Cheers!

It’s that time of year again where we set new goals. In fact, you’re probably already mapping out what you want to accomplish in the 12 months ahead. New Year’s resolutions can sometimes be difficult to achieve, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun trying. Instead of recycling the same old resolutions you made last year, why not try something different? Perhaps something that involves Missouri wine? We’ve compiled a list of resolutions you should try this coming year!

1. Sign up to become an MVP: This is an easy resolution that rewards you for visiting Missouri wineries. Each visit to a MVP participating winery will earn you points, which you can use to redeem rewards or enter the MVP sweepstakes for a chance to win a quarterly sweepstakes package. Visit missouriwinemvp.com to get signed up today!

2. Explore the Missouri wine trails: There are eleven different wine trails in Missouri wine country. Each trail has a series of wineries to explore along the way. Plan ahead and spend a day or weekend sipping wine on each of the trails. Stay tuned for special seasonal wine trail events! 

3. Cook with Missouri wine: Have you ever tried cooking with Missouri wine? From sweet to dry, Missouri wines can enhance the flavor of any dish. Missouri’s fruit wines are incredibly food friendly when it comes to baking sweet treats. If you need some inspiration, click here to view our recipes.

4. Try all of the Missouri varietals: Have you tried all of the award-winning varietals? Wine tastings at wineries are a great way to experience all of the different types of wine Missouri has to offer. Try something new, you may discover a new favorite wine! Click here to explore Missouri’s most popular varietals.

5. Take a tour of a Missouri winery: Discover how wine is made and get an up-close and personal tour of a Missouri winery. Some wineries even offer tours of their wine cellars! Each winery is different, so you’ll need to check tour times before you go.

6. Start your own wine tasting club: Do you and your friends have an interest in wine? If so, get the group together and have some fun! A wine tasting club is a great way to learn about wine and enjoy it with friends. Click here for some helpful tips to get you started. 

Cheers to New Year’s resolutions!

Big, bold, and resilient… these are all appropriate descriptions of Norton, the official state grape of Missouri. They could also be used to describe a hero and in a many ways, that’s exactly what Norton is. From saving the French wine industry, to putting the Missouri wine industry on the map, Norton has certainly shown heroic tendencies. For that and several other reasons, we invite you to join us in celebrating January as Norton Month.

Norton (aka Cynthiana) is a Native American grape varietal, and is thought to be one of the oldest grape varieties still being grown commercially in the United States. So, it’s unsurprising that Norton has a bit of a legacy. In the late 1800s a louse was devastating French vineyards. Two gentlemen in Missouri discovered a way to help… this is where Norton comes in. C.V. Riley (an entomologist) and George Hussman (a scientist and vintner) realized that grafting disease-resistant Native American rootstock to the European vines would save them from the dreaded vineyard pest.

This isn’t the only time Norton made headlines. Norton wines from Missouri won gold medals at eight Worlds’ Fairs in the late 1800s, prior to prohibition. This helped word spread about the local wine industry, which was second in the nation in production at that time. Prohibition came along and decimated the industry, but it has recovered and is going strong, boasting a $1.76 billion impact annually. Norton is bringing home awards year after year, and we’re quite proud of the Norton wines we make here in the Show Me State; so much so that we named it our official state grape in 2003.

Comforting aromas of dark berries and light spices are followed by rich flavors of dark fruit and spicy oak in Missouri’s flagship wine. Norton wines are known for being big, bold, full-bodied red wines, but the grape is also used in some rosé and decadent, dessert-style wines. It’s pretty clear Norton is a fan favorite with consumers and winemakers alike as it is the most widely planted grape in the state, accounting for more than 20% of all the grapes in Missouri vineyards.

Most of the 130+ wineries you’ll discover in Missouri wine country will have at least one Norton wine for you to try. Every Norton is different, and that’s part of the beauty and adventure of exploring local wineries. Find your favorite Norton this January, and join us in raising a glass to this local wine hero. Cheers to Norton Month! 

It’s been an eventful year; 2016 has brought all kinds of changes. The Show Me State wine industry has seen new wineries open, the introduction of an exciting rewards program, tons of awards and honors, and much more. Here are some of the highlights of 2016 in Missouri wine country.

Welcomed six new wineries.

The number of wineries in the state just keeps growing! We added six new wineries this year:

• Curling Vine Winery with locations in New Florence and Branson
• Dale Hollow Winery in Stover
• Eagles’ Landing in St. James
• KC Wineworks in the Crossroads District of Kansas City
• McCullough House Winery in Thayer

Debuted a newly redesigned website.

At the beginning of 2016 we unveiled a completely redesigned website we hope serves you well as the resource for all things Missouri wine. On our site you can find info about all the 130+ wineries, food and wine pairings, recipes, infographics, videos and more.

Kicked off an exciting rewards program called MVP.

September 1^st marked the beginning of the highly anticipated Missouri Winery Visitors Program. Are you an MVP? It’s easy! All you do is sign up online, get tickets when you visit wineries, enter your tickets for points and use your points to get great rewards. The program runs through 2017, so sign up now!

Added two beloved varietals to our varietal month celebrations.

In 2016 we officially named April as Chardonel Month and July as Concord Month. We look forward to continuing the celebration of these fantastic Missouri grape varietals for years to come.

Honored… time and time again.

The Missouri wine industry has a long and proud history, and that pride carries through.

• We were honored with the Allied Industry Award by the Cattlemen’s Association
• Dr. Peter Hofherr, CEO of St. James Winery and Chairman of the Missouri Wine and Grape Board was named the Secretary/Treasurer of the National Grape and Wine Initiative for 2016.
• Ken Meyer, owner of Meyer Farms Winery, received the prestigious President's Award from the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
• Bob Mueller, owner of Robller Vineyard, was honored as one of the "50 Missourians You Should Know" by Ingram's Magazine.
• Jowler Creek Winery was named one of Kansas City’s 25 Under 25 by Thinking Bigger Business Media.

… just to name a few.

Named another class of delicious, award-winning wines.

The 2016 Missouri Wine Competition saw more than 300 entries and a team of world-class wine experts awarded a new class of award-worthy wines, including crowning St. James Winery’s 2015 Vignoles the top honor of Governor’s Cup.

Welcomed a new AVA to the state.

An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Missouri is home to the country’s first designated AVA (Augusta, named in 1980), and in 2016 the Loess Hills District AVA was named. The new area covers the northwest corner of the Show Me State.

While we can’t cover everything exciting that happened in 2016, we hope this was a nice reminder of the exciting times we had this year. Thank you for your support of the local wine industry in Missouri over the past twelve months, and cheers to another great year in 2017!

Get your pop, fizz, clink on this New Year’s Eve with Missouri sparkling wine! Come midnight on December 31^st, a celebratory sip of some local bubbly is a great way to toast to the coming year. Missouri’s sparkling wines range from dry to sweet, white to rosé, and can have a light to medium body. Whether you’re hosting a New Year’s Eve soiree or planning to go to one, make sure you celebrate with a bottle of Missouri sparkling wine!  

Just to be clear, sparkling wine and Champagne are similar, but not the same. Champagne is a term commonly used to describe any wine with bubbles in it, but you can only call it Champagne if it comes from the Champagne region of France. After an international trade agreement made in 2006, no new sparkling wines are allowed to be called Champagne unless made in a particular style with grapes grown in the Champagne district. So, here in the United States, we simply call it sparkling wine!

Sparkling wines start out being made like all other wines where a primary fermentation process turns the sugar into alcohol. However, a second round of fermentation must take place within a sealed container to trap all the carbon dioxide, which dissolves in the wine and creates bubbles. Where this second fermentation process takes place is the key difference in the methods of sparkling wine production. In the traditional method, or as the French say méthode champenoise, the second fermentation happens in the bottle. In the charmat method, the second fermentation takes place in a pressurized tank. Many wineries will disclose which method was used to make their sparkling wine, so check the label on the next bottle you purchase to find out how the bubbles were made.

Prior to popping that cork, make sure to chill your sparkling wine for at least 30 to 40 minutes in ice or three hours in the refrigerator. The ideal temperature to serve sparkling wine is around 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. 

So let’s toast, and remember, bubbles are key, so you don’t want to lose them. Instead of pouring your sparkling wine straight down into the flute, try pouring it down the side of the flute, similar to the way beer is poured, it will preserve more bubbles!   

Cheers to Missouri sparkling wines and a happy New Year!