A note from Sally - Missouri Wine Country

A Visit to the Missouri Wine Country.

Hi Bob:

Claudine suggested to me that my visit to the wine country of Missouri would be a good item for the Paseo Blog in that classmates may be interested in how it all compares to other wine country trips, and also in possibly planning such a trip for themselves. My short report follows:

My daughter Roxanne and I undertook a trip to a few of the Missouri wineries September 22 through September 24. It was a wonderful trip, full of good scenery, good food ,good wines ,and ,was almost perfectly timed. (see below).

We traveled to Augusta, Mo, which is about 40 miles west of St. Louis and visited several wineries in the vicinity--Augusta Winery, Yellow Farmhouse Vineyard, Mount Pleasant Winery, Chandler Hill Vineyards, Louis P. Balducci Vineyards, Sugar Creek Vineyards Winery and our favorite the Montelle Winery. Unlike many of the wineries in Napa Valley, most of the Missouri wineries offered free samples as well as the ability to purchase a glass of wine to enjoy on their grounds

Most of these wineries had decks overlooking the best of Missouri scenery and sipping and viewing became our pleasurable daily routine. The leaves had not yet turned so you may want to plan your trip a couple of weeks later in the years, but on the plus side It was beautifully sunny all three days we were there ,and since it was the middle of the week there were no crowds (I hear the weekends are quite crowded) and , finally, the vines were still holding onto their grapes although not for long as they were about to be harvested.

Our favorite stay in and around Augusta was at a beautiful Bed and Breakfast called Stoneridge Vineyard Farm & Inn in Augusta. It is in the heart of the wine country and offers one of the most magnificent scenic views located along the Lewis & Clark Trail

After purchasing a couple of cases of what I believe to be very nice wine, we moved on to the town of Washington, Mo., about 20 miles from Augusta and on the banks of the Missouri River ,and enjoyed some great restaurants and some nice shopping.

My daughter and I have visited Napa Valley, but we both would give this Missouri Wine experience a higher grade.

Plan a trip if you can. The grass indeed is many times greener here.

Keep moving if you can,

Sally