Feast Magazine, producer of Feast TV, is hosting an event to feature the best tastes and toasts of the region. It’s time to raise a glass to locally produced, award-winning wines!
On Friday, May 6th from 7-10pm, join Feast at Majorette in Maplewood, Missouri to celebrate local flavor at the second annual Taste & Toast! Enjoy pours from area wineries, eats from some of the area's best restaurants and live music by DJ Billy Brown. This is your chance to meet some of the winemakers who are crafting the local, award-winning wines that are taking the regional wine industry to the next level.
While you’re tasting and toasting, be sure to also visit the Missouri Wines table to learn more about the industry and enter for a chance to win a prize perfect for celebrating your love of Missouri wine. Cheers! 
Purchase a VIP ticket to attend a pre-event happy hour in Majorette’s game room featuring exclusive wines, beers and spirits. Each ticket to the event includes a Riedel wine glass!
Participating wineries include: 

• Augusta Winery
• Balducci Winery
• Belmont Vineyards
• Cave Vineyard
• Chandler Hill Vineyards
• Chaumette Vineyards & Winery
• Montelle Winery
• Noboleis Vineyards
• Röbller Vineyard and Winery
• Stone Hill Winery
• and many more!

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets to the event. 

April 19th is National Bicycle Day, and that inspired us to post about the breathtaking wineries you can find along the Katy Trail (AKA- bicycle heaven). The legendary Katy Trail is a 237 mile (386 km) trail stretching across most of the state of Missouri. It is built on the former corridor of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad (better known as the Katy). It's ideal for walking, hiking, running, or cycling on just about any kind of bike. Next time you’re looking for a beautiful trail to take, hop on the Katy and stop at one of the 17 wineries along the trail. (All of the wineries listed are within 5 miles of the trail and are listed from west to east.) 

• Les Bourgeois Vineyards in Rocheport
• Canterbury Hill Winery & Restaurant in Holts Summit 

Hermann Wineries:

• Endless Summer Winery 
• Adam Puchta Winery
• Stone Hill Winery 
• Hermannhof Vineyards
• OakGlenn Winery
• Lost Creek Vineyard in Marthasville 
• Blumenhof Vineyards & Winery in Dutzow

Augusta Wineries 

• Balducci Vineyards 
• Noboleis Vineyards
• Augusta Winery
• Mount Pleasant Winery 
• Montelle Winery

Defiance Wineries: 

• Sugar Creek Winery & Vineyards 
• Chandler Hill Vineyards 
• Little Hills Winery & Restaurant in St. Charles 

Grab your bike and hit the trail. We’ll see you in wine country! 

Missouri wine country is home to 130 wineries and countless cherished memories with family and friends. Spring is here! The warmer weather and sunshine are begging you to enjoy them, and there is no better place to do that than a local winery. A glass of wine in hand, good company by your side… we’ll see you in wine country this weekend!  

Prep Time- 5 minutes        |    Cook Time- 20 minutes

Ingredients: 
1 ½  cup     Red wine
½  cup        Balsamic vinegar
2                 Shallot, diced
2 tbsp         Butter
2 tbsp         Flour
2                 Fresh rosemary sprigs, leaved trimmed from stem and finely diced 
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

1. Sauté shallots in butter over medium-low heat until the shallots are soft, approximately 2-3 minutes. Add flour, stirring constantly until fully coated. 
2. Stir in red wine, vinegar and rosemary.
3. Bring to a simmer and reduce by half, about 10-15 minutes.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste. 
5. Serve immediately. 

* This sauce is great on top of meats, like pork chops or steak, and on roasted vegetables.     

Vidal Blanc wine is light and bright with delicious citrusy notes. It’s perfect for adding extra flavor to this springtime lemon cake. This recipe is simple and delightful! Don’t forget the glaze; it might be the best part!

Prep Time- 25 minutes         |     Cook Time- 45-55 minutes

Ingredients: 

Pan prep 
2 tbsp    Melted butter
2 tbsp    Flour 

Cake 
1 box     Lemon cake mix 
¼ cup    Brown sugar
¼ cup    White sugar 
1 box     Instant lemon pudding mix (3.4oz)
Zest of 1 lemon
4    Eggs 
¾  cup    Water
¾  cup     Vegetable oil 
½  cup     Missouri Vidal Blanc Wine 

Glaze 
1 cup    Confectioners’ Sugar
2 tbsp    Missouri Vidal Blanc Wine  
Zest of 1 lemon 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). 
2. Melt two tablespoons of butter. Add two tablespoons of flour, and whisk together until smooth. 
3. Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of a bundt pan generously with the butter/flour mixture. Set aside. 
4. In a large bowl, combine all the cake ingredients (cake mix, sugars, pudding mix, lemon zest, eggs, water, oil, and wine).  
5. Beat with an electric mixer until fully incorporated, approximately 2 minutes.
6. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan.
7. Bake cake 45-55 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean. 
8. While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze. 
9. Glaze instructions: Stir wine into confectioners’ sugar one tablespoon at a time until smooth. Stir in the lemon zest and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes. 
10. Remove cake from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert on a wire rack to cool completely. 
11. Once cool, drizzle with glaze. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTon-QgEJoU&feature=youtu

Click play to learn how you too can make a White Wine Lemon Bundt Cake!

What’s better than a steaming mug of hot cocoa when the temperature is too low to think about outside? That’s easy… hot cocoa with red wine! This recipe is simple, quick and delicious. Warm up with a mug full of Missouri wine hot cocoa tonight. 

Missouri Wine Hot Chocolate 

Makes 2-3 servings    Prep Time: 5 minutes, Cook time: 5-7 minutes 

Ingredients:

2 ½  tbsp    Unsweetened dark cocoa powder
3  tbsp        Sugar
2/3 cup       Missouri red wine (we recommend a big, bold Norton) 
2 cup          Milk (whole milk makes a richer hot cocoa) 
1 tsp           Pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp          Salt

Directions: 

1. In a bowl combine the cocoa, sugar and ½ cup of the milk. Whisk until well combined.
2. Pour into a medium saucepan, and add in the rest of the milk and whisk until smooth.
3. Slowly add in the wine to the mixture, stirring constantly.
4. Once all ingredients are combined, heat the mixture over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring often.
5. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and salt, and serve. 
6. Enjoy! 

If you want to try this recipe with a sweet Missouri red wine or fruit wine (raspberry or cherry, perhaps), omit the sugar from the first step. Wait until the mixture is fairly warm, taste it, and add sugar to taste.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wrtBLZXLK4&feature=youtu

Click play to learn how you can warm up with Missouri Wine Hot Cocoa!  

Never let good cheese go to waste. This “Show Me” State take on a French classic is a delicious way to use every last bit of the cheese in your refrigerator. You can use any combination of cheese for this super speedy recipe. Fromage Fort can be used as a spread at room temperature or broil it on top of bread or crackers. It’s tasty, quick, and versatile! 

Prep time- 10 minutes 

Ingredients: 
1 pound     Cheese at room temperature (You can use any cheese you’d like. Left over bits and pieces are perfect!)
¼ cup    Missouri Chardonel Wine (or other dry white Missouri wine)
2 tbsp    Fresh herbs (parsley, basil, etc.)
1 clove     Garlic

Directions: 
Remove any rinds from the cheeses. Cut the cheese into ¼ - ½  inch cubes. Place the cheese, wine, herbs, and garlic in a food processor, and pulse until smooth, approximately 2 minutes. Serve immediately or refrigerate for a firmer consistency. 

Fromage Fort al a Missouri Wine can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week and is delicious spread on bread, crackers or vegetables. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz4nDfDBAmk&spfreload=10

Did you know Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States? Okay, you probably knew that, but did you also know that he was a total wine geek? No, really. Here are some fun facts about our fellow wine-lover. 

1. He took a little break (a few months) while serving as a diplomat in France to tour the wine regions. He traveled anonymously and changed horses a few times throughout his journey to keep it that way. 
2. His taste for fine wines didn’t go away during his presidency. While in the White House, he racked up a $10,000 wine bill in his first term alone. That would be around $190,000 today. 
3. Even after his presidency came to an end, he still had a hand in wines at the White House. He served as wine advisor to Presidents Adams, Madison, and Monroe. 
4. Not too surprisingly, he wanted taxes on wine to stay low. He’s quoted saying, “No nation is drunken where wine is cheap; and none sober, where the dearness of wine substitutes ardent spirits as the common beverage.”
5. He experimented for many years to grow his own grapes and make wine. He had two vineyards at Monticello. 

Cheers to Thomas Jefferson; he may have been the third president, but he was one of America’s first wine geeks!

Spring is a time of awakening. In the vineyards of Missouri wine country this means bud break. During the winter, a grapevine’s buds are isolated from the vine’s vascular system to protect them from the cold. As the temperatures rise in the spring and the buds are rehydrated, they begin to swell and break through the outer layer of the cane, i.e. bud break. 

The weather plays a huge role in the health of grapevines and the crop they will yield. While we can’t predict what Mother Nature will do, grape-growers have some control over how the vines will produce through pruning. The buds that will swell, break free and turn into shoots are left carefully in place by pruners; two buds on each spur. These buds will provide all of the new year’s growth, and eventually its bounty. 

Welcome back spring and the vines in Missouri wine country. We’ll see you soon! 

Chardonel is a hybrid grape with two well-known parents, Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc, but this grape doesn’t hide in the shadows. Missouri’s classic white wine, Chardonel, is the perfect pairing for spring weather, food, and fun. That’s why April has been named Chardonel Month! 

Pronounced shar-doe-nel, this white grape embodies the best characteristics of both Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc, producing quality wines that have a classic white wine profile and pair well with a wide variety of foods. Maybe that’s why it has been a long-time favorite with winemakers and consumers alike. Chardonel grapes account for eight percent of all the grapes grown in the “Show Me” State. 

Chardonel wines can vary depending on the winemaker’s style. If a winemaker chooses to age their Chardonel in oak, the wine has a rich, creamy character with notes of oak, apple and subtle spice. Chardonel wines made in an un-oaked style feature more citrus and apple notes with a light, crisp finish. Chardonel pairs particularly well with creamy white cheese, grilled chicken, mushrooms and apple dishes. It’s the ideal wine to have on hand for dinners, entertaining or simply sipping on the patio this spring season.

As the weather warms up, head out to Missouri wine country and celebrate Chardonel with us. Cheers to Missouri’s classic white wine!