There are so many ways to cook with Missouri wine. From appetizers to desserts, wine can be incorporated into every course.

Some good rules to follow when cooking with wine are:

1. Use wine you like.

When someone doesn’t particularly like a wine they’ve opened, they might think “That’s okay, I’ll just cook with it.” Unfortunately, that may not be a great solution. When you cook or bake with wine, the flavors are often intensified. So when selecting a wine for cooking or baking, pick one you also enjoy sipping.

2. Play the flavor matching game.

Pick out the primary flavors of your dish or recipe and pair those to a wine that will complement them. For example, Norton has notes of cherries and baking spices, making it ideal to pair with a cherry cake or pie. Vignoles is known for its tropical fruit flavors and is delicious in fruity desserts. Use this guide to help you find the perfect match.  

3. Drizzle, don’t drown.

There can be a bit of a learning curve when it comes to adding wine to your recipes. Too little and you won’t be able to taste it; too much and you’ll throw the dish off balance, masking the other flavors. The best way to know if you’ve added enough is to taste it. Sometimes in the case of baked goods, this isn’t possible ahead of time. Start with a more reserved amount. If you’re not getting enough flavor coming through on the final dish, amp it up by adding wine to the sauce or frosting.

4. Reimagine old favorites.

Maybe you have an award-winning brownie recipe or world-famous cake, consider substituting one of the liquid ingredients for a delicious Missouri wine. You might find that your old favorite reaches a whole new level of awesome!
 

Here are some of our favorite wine recipes.

Appetizer:

Perfectly Shareable Chardonel Fondue

There is something undeniably fun and communal about Fondue that makes it the perfect dish for sharing with a group. Traditional Fondue recipes include cheese, wine, herbs and garlic. Try this version featuring Missouri’s classic white wine, Chardonel.

Time: 15-20 minutes    |    Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

Fresh garlic clove
1/2 lb  Gouda cheese
1/2 lb  Swiss cheese 
1 cup  Missouri Chardonel (dry, white wine)
1/4 cup  Cornstarch
Salt
White Pepper

Directions:

Grate the cheese and coat with cornstarch. This recipe uses a double boiler method. You’ll need a heatproof bowl and a pan it will fit in without touching the bottom of the pan. Cut the garlic clove and rub it on the inside of the bowl to coat the bottom and sides. Place the bowl over the pan of water, bringing the water to a simmer. Add wine to the bowl and heat until warm but not too hot. (You’re looking for small bubbles, not a rolling boil.) Add the cheese a handful at a time stirring until melted. Once all of the cheese is melted, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with dippable delights such as bread, veggies, meat, or even apple slices.

The Fondue will thicken quickly if you don’t have a Fondue pot or small slow cooker, so eat up! Pair this delicious shareable dish with a glass of Chardonel. Cheers! 

Main Dish

Seyval Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
1/2 cup Seyval (semi-dry white wine)
3 green onions sliced

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place in a sprayed nonstick frying pan. Brown on both sides slightly. Add garlic and pepper flakes. Pour wine into pan, cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Wine will reduce. Top with onions and plate.

Sauce

Missouri Red Wine Steak Sauce Recipe

What grows together goes together and Missouri beef and Norton wine are a prime example. Big, bold and complex, Missouri Norton wine is an amazing complement to a delicious steak. This sauce is a great way to take your steak dinner to the next level. 

Time: 25-30 minutes    |    Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Canola oil
4 (6-8 oz) Steaks, sirloin  
3 tbsp Shallots, minced
2 tsp Fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 cup Missouri Norton (full-bodied red wine)
1/2 cup Beef stock, unsalted
1 1/2 tsp Butter, unsalted
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Sprinkle steaks evenly with salt and pepper. Add steaks to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steaks from pan. Let stand 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add shallots and rosemary to pan; sauté 1 minute or until lightly browned. Add wine and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add beef stock; cook 4-6 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half and mixture is slightly thickened. Remove pan from heat. Add butter and mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste; stir with a whisk. Top steaks with sauce and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
 

Dessert

White Wine Lemon Bundt Cake

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 
1/4 cup Brown sugar
1/4 cup White sugar 
1 box Instant lemon pudding mix (3.4oz)
Zest of 1 lemon
4 Eggs 
3/4 cup Water
3/4 cup Vegetable oil 
1/2 cup Missouri Vidal Blanc Wine 

Glaze 

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

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Melt two tablespoons of butter. Add two tablespoons of flour and whisk together until smooth. Using a pastry brush, coat the inside of a bundt pan generously with the butter/flour mixture. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all the cake ingredients (cake mix, sugars, pudding mix, lemon zest, eggs, water, oil, and wine). Beat with an electric mixer until fully incorporated, approximately 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake cake 45-55 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean. While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze. 

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. Remove cake from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, drizzle with glaze. 

 

A great idea takes inspiration, but where does that inspiration come from? Some of Missouri’s extraordinary winemakers share why they do what they do.

Katy Dale, Co-Owner of Dale Hollow Winery

We are inspired by Missouri grape growers and winemakers and their European ancestors who have been making wine for generations. We’ve been fortunate to visit Europe a few times and were able to see firsthand how generations of winemakers have brought quality wine to their areas and pair them with the local foods, share it with the community and build a cultural identity around it. 

They have centuries of tradition to draw from but you can see a similar thing happening in Missouri localities where wine has been made for decades and it’s absolutely invigorating to believe we can build that sense of cultural identity and celebrate the wine regions of Missouri and their traditions through the local residents and the wine and foods they produce.

Jean-Louis Horvilleur, Winemaker & Vineyard Manager at Vox Vineyards

Well there’s a lot that inspires me. I suppose the story of how I even got into the wine industry is what propels me. 

Early in my college days, I was studying industrial engineering. I didn’t have much interest in it, as my grades showed. After seeing my grades, my dad strongly suggested I make a change. He gave me a choice to change majors or leave Texas State University. We got into an argument and I decided to go out with friends. However, I wasn’t in the mood to socialize so I went home and went to bed.

That night I had a peculiar dream. In this dream I was 4-5 years old and I was at my grandparents’ house. My grandpa and I were sitting in the backyard and he suddenly got up to pick a grape from the vine that was growing upwards on the pillar. He said “One of these days, you’re going to be a winemaker. Maybe someday you’ll own your own vineyard.” I smiled and grabbed the grape with my little toddler hands and ran inside to tell my mom what my grandpa had told me.

The next morning, I woke up and met my parents in the dining room to have breakfast. My mom asked how I slept and I told her about my dream. She paused and said “that actually happened.” Rolling my eyes, I asked my dad and he recollected the memory. At that point I realized that I may have been visited by my deceased grandpa in a dream, and he may have pushed me in the direction I was meant to journey.

I decided to do research, watch documentaries about winemaking, wine, vineyards, anything to learn about what skills and education go into it. I told my dad that I wanted to major in agriculture with a focus in Horticulture and soil sciences. He said “Great! Texas is a great place to find a job in Agriculture. Do you know what you want to do with it?” I told him we have French blood, we love wine and I’ve always had a pallet for wine so I want to become a winemaker and a vineyard manager.

My dad wasn’t thrilled that I, a college student, wanted to pursue wine as a degree but I told him to give it a chance. My grades shot through the roof that following semester. I began getting internships, met my girlfriend, got a dog and college was being utilized in the right way. The dream seemed to be a sign. Anything seemed possible and it triggered something in my brain. I like to think that my grandpa would be proud, as both my parents are now my biggest fans. This is what keeps me working from sunrise to often nighttime. I love what I would do and I’m passionate about the hard work that goes into grape growing and winemaking. 

Carol Warnebold, Owner of OakGlenn Winery

My husband Glenn and I were looking for a farm to purchase in 1995 to 1997 to retire on. We were both raised on farms and being a part of the land stayed in our blood. In April of 1997 we came to Hermann to look at a piece of property that was on the market.

Glenn and I did not have any intention of building a winery at that time but it soon became obvious we needed to share this special spot. Our first year we cleaned up the property and the more we did, the more beautiful it became.  What better way to share time together than by planting grapes and making wine?

George Husmann, the “Father of the Missouri Grape Industry,” was the original land-granted owner of the property.  We named this spot OakGlenn, for saving the oak tree that marked the driveway entrance and for my husband Glenn. Later we found that George Husmann had named his California winery "Oakglen Husmann Winery.”  Coincidence or meant to be?

Discover the picturesque views and small town charms of Augusta. Located an hour’s drive from St. Louis, Augusta is a great place to escape from it all while enjoying delicious wines surrounded by the beautiful canopy of the Missouri River Valley and Osage Ridge.

Read more about this beautiful community by checking out this helpful trip planner.

 

When the lights go out at Defiance Ridge Vineyards, there’s an old soul that likes to stick around and keep an eye on things. Rain or shine, Heath has been tending to the 42-acre property for the past 17 years. You won’t see him behind the tasting bar or caring for vines in the vineyard. You’re more likely to find this regular fixture in his natural environment – the winery’s lake. Heath is a swan. The beautiful bird has endeared himself to many over the years, so when it came time to select a name for the winery’s Vignoles, the decision was easy.

The wine label for Heath's Off Dry Vignoles features the creative talent of two artists. The Vignoles grapevine predominantly displayed on the front is by plein air artist Allison Laupp. The lower-left design, the winery’s secondary logo, is by Justin Gillentine. The letters "D," "R" and "V" represent the name of the winery, while the “X” symbolizes the Katy Trail railroad tracks. The arrowhead above the letter "D" stands for the Femme Osage Indian area where the winery is located. A grape cluster completes the label’s front design, while a photo of Heath, the winery’s mascot, is featured on the back.

Defiance Ridge Vineyards is easily accessible off Highway 94. The winery is located in a historic farmhouse and features a beautiful view of the Missouri River Valley. Step inside the tasting room and experience delicious wines including Heath’s Off Dry Vignoles, a gold medal winner at the 2019 Missouri Wine Competition. Whether you’re inside or outside on the winery’s terrace or veranda, save room for the winery’s mouth-watering vineyard to table cuisine. And, if you get the chance, take a stroll by the lake and meet the infamous bird that inspired the name of an award-winning wine.

In celebration of Vignoles month, we invite you to cut the heat with these white wine recipes.

Vignoles and Brie Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 4 tsp butter
• 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 1 diced onion
• 4 tsp flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup Missouri Vignoles wine
• 8 oz Brie cheese, rind removed
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt
• pepper

Directions

Sauté mushrooms, onion and garlic in butter until tender. Add flour and cook one minute, stirring constantly. Add broth and wine then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add cream and Brie. Simmer until cheese melts. Season to taste.


Delicious and Easy Peachy Vignoles Trifle

Vignoles is a popular white wine in Missouri. It’s super fruity and refreshing and pairs well with a long list of foods. Fresh fruit is a particularly good match for Vignoles. Fresh peaches are featured in this recipe for Peachy Vignoles Trifle, and it’s sure to be a huge hit at your next gathering. Vignoles wines are made in a wide range of sweetness levels but the most common is semi-sweet, which is what we used in this simple and quick treat.

Time: 30 minutes | Serves: 12-16 people

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Missouri Vignoles
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 5 large peaches (optional: 1 extra for garnish)
• 1 package instant French vanilla pudding
• 2 cups milk (amount may vary slightly depending on the pudding brand)
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 4 tbsp powdered/confectioner sugar
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Pound cake (Frozen is fine, but thaw it before preparing the trifle.)

Directions
In a medium saucepan, bring wine and sugar to a low boil and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10-12 minutes. Let cool when finished. While the wine is simmering, prepare your other layer components. If you prefer your peaches skinless, wash them and cut a shallow X in the bottom. Submerge them in boiling water for one minute. Carefully remove them from the boiling water and put them directly into a bowl of ice water. Once they’ve cooled, the skins will slide right off. If you don’t mind the skin on your peaches, skip this step and go right to removing the pit and chopping the fruit into bite size pieces.

In a large bowl, prepare the French vanilla pudding according to package instructions. Cut pound cake into one-inch cubes. In a medium bowl, beat cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. (Not sure what constitutes a stiff peak, check out this guide.) Fold half of the whip cream into the pudding just until mixed. When the Vignoles syrup is cool, stir it into the peaches. Begin layering your trifle! Make a nice full layer of pound cake, top with peaches and half the juice/wine/syrup liquid. (This yumminess will soak into the pound cake and be amazing.) Add a layer of creamy pudding, then repeat: cake, fruit/juice, pudding. (Optional: At this point in the process, you can add thin slices of peach around the top of the dish for a lovely garnish.) Spoon or pipe the remaining whip cream on top to finish it off.

This dessert is delicious immediately or it can be made up to a day ahead of time and kept covered in the refrigerator. Enjoy a heaping scoop with a glass of Missouri Vignoles.

Vignoles Marinated Grilled Fruit Skewers

Looking for a delicious treat this grilling season? Look no further. Fruit marinated in Missouri Vignoles white wine, grilled and topped with a mascarpone sauce is a delicious dish perfect as a dessert or side dish.

Time: 20 minutes active, 2 hours inactive | Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 4 peaches
• 4 pears
• 2 cups Missouri Vignoles (semi-sweet white wine)
• ½ cup mascarpone
• 2 oz orange juice
• 1 tbsp honey
• Fresh mint (optional garnish)

Directions

Soak 12-15 skewers in warm water for 10-30 minutes. Wash and cut the peaches and pears into large slices. (Tip: Ripe but still slightly firm fruit is best for this recipe as it will soften some when marinated and cooked.) Assemble the skewers, alternating between the peach and pear slices. Marinate the fruit in Missouri Vignoles for 1-2 hours.

While the fruit marinates, make the sauce by whisking together the marscarpone, orange juice and honey, adding additional orange juice until it reaches the desired consistency.

Grill the fruit skewers for 1-2 minutes on each side. Leave them on the grill just long enough to sear both sides; you don’t want to overcook the fruit. Remove the skewers from the grill, allow to cool slightly, drizzle with the sauce, garnish with fresh mint and enjoy!

Vignoles Wine Slushy

Your new favorite summer sipper is here! Beat the heat of August with a Missouri wine slushy. Wine slushies can be made two ways. You can combine cold wine with frozen fruit in a blender, or you can freeze wine in ice cube trays and blend it with fresh fruit. Whichever method you choose, you’re in for a delicious, refreshing treat! There are practically endless flavor combinations, but because August is Vignoles Month, this recipe uses Missouri’s favorite white wine.

Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 10 oz frozen peaches 
• 10 oz frozen strawberries 
• 1 bottle semi-sweet Vignoles wine, chilled

Directions
Put frozen peaches in blender. Add half the bottle of Missouri Vignoles. Blend fruit and wine until smooth and slushy. Pour into a bowl or pitcher and set aside. Place frozen strawberries in blender. Add the remaining Missouri wine. Blend until smooth and slushy. Pour slushies into glasses 2-3 ounces at a time, alternating between the flavors. Enjoy! 

We hope you try one of these delicious recipes featuring one of Missouri’s favorite white wines - Vignoles.

It’s hot outside! Grab a glass of Vignoles and cut the heat with this fruity white wine.

August is Vignoles month in Missouri. As one of Missouri’s most versatile white grapes, this French-American hybrid produces wines ranging from dry to sweet, late harvest dessert wines. Vignoles’ luscious floral aroma and fruity flavors of pineapple and apricot make it a favorite.

Vignoles is one of the most food-friendly varietals. It pairs well with spicy pork, chicken and cheeses, peppers, Mexican, buffalo style hot sauces, strawberries, apricots and cheesecake.

Vignoles accounts for 15.4% of all grapes grown in Missouri with a whopping 262.2 grape bearing acres. The vines tolerate the state’s cold temperatures and have a later bud opening period than most, making the varietal less susceptible to late frost damage.

Missouri Wines invites you to discover the versatility of Vignoles!

Wondering what to do with all those wine bottle corks you have laying around? Put them to good use by making a super slim and convenient cork board.

What you will need:

Yard stick
Hot glue gun
18-20 bottle corks
Knife or box cutter

The greatest part about using a yard stick is that it takes up very little room. Use it to pin up reminders, recipe cards and more!

Step 1.
Cut each bottle cork in half lengthwise.

Step 2.
Put a couple drops of hot glue on the back of your cork.

Step 3.
Glue cork to the yard stick.

Step 4.
Repeat until yard stick is covered.

Step 5.
Hang up on wall or set on counter and enjoy your new cork board!

Keeping a tidy vineyard is an ongoing challenge during the growing season which is why some vineyard managers have enlisted the help of sheep. These natural weed eaters are superb at trimming below trellises and they aren’t picky eaters so they won’t complain about what’s on the menu.

Utilizing sheep in the vineyard is a practice that is common in the states and overseas. Jowler Creek Vineyard and Lambs and Vines Winery are just two of the wineries in the Show-Me State that keep sheep on staff. The animals are green alternatives to gas-powered lawnmowers and herbicides.

Watch this video to see how a herd of Katahdin sheep are earning their keep at the University of Missouri Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center in New Franklin.

 

 

We are pleased to announce that the results are in from the 2019 Missouri Wine Competition! For more than 30 years, this annual competition has honored the highest quality wines made in the state. More than 280 wines from 32 different Missouri wineries were entered, but which ones soared to the top?

An acclaimed panel of 10 judges, comprised of wine experts and industry professionals, spent two days swirling, smelling and tasting all the wines entered. After all wines are scored, the entries that receive gold medals go head-to-head for the honor of being named “Best of Class.” Those that make it to this top tier battle for the highest award - the Governor’s Cup.

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

Dry Red Wine: Stone Hill Winery – 2017 Chambourcin
Semi-Dry Red Wine: Noboleis Vineyards – 2018 Syncopation Jam Session
Sweet Red Wine: Dale Hollow Winery – 2018 Concord
Dry Rosé Wine: Montelle Winery – La Rosee Missouri
Semi-Dry Rosé Wine: Defiance Ridge Vineyards – Femme Osage Rosé
Sweet Rosé Wine: Les Bourgeois Vineyards – Pink Fox
Fruit Wine: Stone Hill Winery – Peach
Sparkling Wine: Stone Hill Winery – Brut Rosé
Dry White Wine: Adam Puchta Winery – Dry Vignoles
Semi-Dry White Wine: St. James Winery – 2017 Dry Vignoles
Sweet White Wine: Stone Hill Winery – Moscato
Late Harvest/Ice Wine: Montelle Winery – 2018 Vidal Blanc Icewine
Dessert/Fortified Wine: Adam Puchta Winery – Signature Port

The winner of the coveted Governor’s Cup for 2019 is Stone Hill Winery’s 2017 Chambourcin, a dry red wine that blew the judges away. The C.V. Riley Award for the best Norton went to Stone Hill Winery for their 2017 Norton. This is a special recognition honoring the official state grape and the history of winemaking in Missouri and is named after Missouri’s first state entomologist.

In addition to Best of Class, C. V. Riley Award and Governor’s Cup honors, 87% of all the wines entered into the 2019 Missouri Wine Competition took home a medal.

The breakdown:

48 Gold Medals
110 Silver Medals
89 Bronze Medals

A devoted group of volunteers we call “The Flight Crew” helped ensure that this year’s two-day wine competition ran smoothly. We can’t thank them enough for all their hard work.

You can find the complete list of this year’s award-winning wines here.