Celebrate your furry four-legged friends with Missouri Wines on International Dog Day! There are four Missouri wineries that feature man’s best friend on their labels - Shamrock Hills Winery, Defiance Ridge Vineyards, Fence Stile Vineyards & Winery and Wenwood Farm Winery.

Shamrock Hills Winery, located in Excelsior Springs, features their adorable pup on Chloe’s Cuvee Red Wine Blend. This wine is a Chambourcin and Noiret Blend.

Defiance Ridge Vineyards spotlights a four-legged friend on their 2020 Chambeaux Red Blend. This dry wine is a blend of Chambourcin and Norton and has a spicy red fruit note.

Fence Stile Vineyards & Winery features two doggies on two of their wines. Becca’s Blend features the winery’s original dog. This wine is a blend of Vidal Blanc and Seyval Blanc grapes. KAIscape is named after the winery owners’ Goldendoodle. This off-dry wine is a lower-alcohol wine with green apple, lemon blossom and pear notes.

Wenwood Farm Winery features their late winery dog, Corky, on their ice-wine-style white. This silky and sweet wine can be found at their winery in Bland, MO.

Raise your favorite glass of Missouri wine to man’s best friend!

Missouri wine country is filled with breathtaking landscapes, endless opportunities and beauty around every corner. We are inviting all photographers, regardless of experience level, to participate in our annual photo contest, Through the Glass.

Images submitted can reflect any part of Missouri wine country. It is not required to have a wine glass in the photos. Be creative and showcase the different elements of what makes our Missouri wine country so special.

The winner of the contest will be announced November 14 and will receive a Missouri wine prize pack and 2 tickets to the Missouri Governor’s Cup presentation at the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City. The winning image will be displayed during the event on December 13, 2023.  

All entries are due by October 31 at 11:59 p.m. CST. A panel of judges will choose top entries which will then be voted on through public voting using an online survey from November 6-10.

Grab your camera and start exploring Missouri wine country!

Click here for the rules and entry form. Use drag and drop feature to upload to Bynder. In the recipient forum, put missouri.wine@mda.mo.gov .

Looking for a delicious, fruity treat that isn’t too indulgent? Granita is similar to a sorbet, but the texture is different. It is a sort of mixture between shaved ice and sorbet. Traditional Sicilian granita has three ingredients: Fruit, water or juice and sugar. We have tweaked the traditional recipe to add ginger and honey for a complex and delicious flavor as well as replacing most of the fruit juice with Missouri wine. This change not only makes for a great tasting granita, but also helps achieve an icy texture without allowing the granita to become frozen too solidly.

Peach Vignoles Granita Recipe

Ingredients:

3 lbs    Fresh peaches (approx. 9)

2 Tbsp Fresh ginger, grated

1 Tbsp Lemon juice

2 Tbsp Honey

¾ cup  Dry Vignoles wine*

Optional: Fresh mint leaves for garnish

*If you use a sweet or semi-sweet Vignoles, adjust the amount of honey to your desired sweetness level.

Instructions:

1. Freeze a 9 x 13 pan for 30 minutes.
2. Using a sharp knife, lightly score the base of each peach with a X. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Using a slotted spoon, carefully drop in peaches and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Transfer the peaches to an ice bath.
3. When cool enough to handle, use a small sharp knife to remove skins. Cut peaches off the stones and into chunks.
4. Place peaches, lemon juice, ginger, honey and Vignoles in a blender and blend until smooth.
5. Pour mixture into the prepared pan. Cover and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour or until the edges and the top are frozen.
6. Using a fork, scrape the mixture into ice flakes. Return it to the freezer and repeat this every 30 minutes until you reach your desired consistency and it is fully frozen.
7. Divide the granita between chilled serving glasses or bowls.
8. Optional: Top with extra peach slices and garnish with fresh mint leaves.

This recipe for Peach Vignoles Granita is ideal for hot summer days, and the Missouri Vignoles makes it a truly unique and delightful dish!

Rewards! Rewards! Read all about it!

Missouri wine month is less than two weeks away. In preparation for our biggest month of the year, we decided to introduce a limited-time incentive to the Rewards Uncorked program.

Between September 1 and September 30, check in at any 10 participating wineries and receive a limited-edition Missouri Wines blanket. You do not want to miss out on this incentive, as it will only be offered during the month of September. Once you visit 10 wineries, redeem your reward.

Start saving points by exploring Missouri wine country and stay on the lookout for new rewards later this fall.

All 10 visits must occur between 9/1/2023 and 9/30/2023. Limit one blanket per person. All incentive stadium blankets will ship in October to validated point redeemers. Points will be refunded to those redeeming points for visits outside of the designated timeframe.

Harvest – a crucial time when winemakers in Missouri gather grapes on the vine, by either hand picking or machine harvest. These grapes have been on the vine all season long and are ready to be picked between August and October.

For many wineries, the fall season means fun festivals, events, and harvest celebrations. Make sure to add these events to your fall trip plans and enjoy all wine country has to offer!

Wineries and their events celebrating harvest season:

Augusta AVA

9/16 – 2023 Fruit of the Harvest Dinner, 6-9 p.m.

Cave Vineyard

11/4 – Vine to Wine Experience, 11-12:30 p.m.

Edg-Clif Farms & Vineyard

Saturday’s and Sunday’s in September – Grape Friends Experience Harvest Season, 10 – 4 p.m.

Click here for full event lineup.

Fence Stile Vineyards & Winery

9/17 –LAUGHH Foundation 2023 Fundraiser, 1-5 p.m.

Les Bourgeois Vineyards

9/6 – Wine Maker's Tasting

Noboleis Vineyards

9/22 – Film in the Vines, 8-10 p.m.

Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery

8/18 – First Picking Day, 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.

10/6 – Harvest Dinner, food from the Willow Springs Mercantile

St. James Winery

8/19 – Crush Festival

10/14 – Harvest Festival

Stone Hill Winery

9/2 – Harvest Festival, 10-5:30 p.m.

Wenwood Farm Winery

9/23 – Harvest Home Festival, 12-5p.m.

Wineries and their events celebrating the fall season:

Adam Puchta Winery

10/6 – Grill Your Own Steak Night, 6-9 p.m.

11/3 – Doe Camp, Cancer Fundraiser, 6 -10 p.m.

Baltimore Bend Vineyard

Fall music series

• - 9/9 – The Music Doctors, 2-5 p.m.
• - 9/16 – ColtNRachel , 2-5 p.m.
• - 9/23 – The Akers, 2-5 p.m.
• - 9/30 – Mark and Sarah, 2-5 p.m.
• - 11/4 – 20^th Anniversary Celebration, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Defiance Ridge Vineyards

Live music on Saturday and Sunday throughout the season, 1-4 p.m.

Click here for full event lineup.

Hermann Farm

8/26 – Shakespeare at Hermann Farm, 6:30-9 p.m.

9/9 – Heritage Festival at Hermann Farm, 10-5 p.m.

11/4 – BUSA Dinner at Stone Barn, 5-9 p.m.

KC Wineworks

10/1 – 10/31 – Hallowine Pop Up Experience

LaChance Vineyards

9/30 –Freebird USA, the premier Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Bands in the country, 5-10 p.m.

Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery

9/7 – Chiefs Season Opener Tailgate, 4-7 p.m.

9/14 – Cookie decorating class

9/15 – ESHS Home Football Season Opener Tailgate, 4-6 p.m.

St. James Winery

9/29 – MO Wine Month Tasting Event, 6-8 p.m.

With this many events happening in the fall, there is surely something for everyone to enjoy. View our calendar to stay updated on upcoming events and start planning your trips to Missouri wine country!