Missouri Wine Country

When I need to get away to wine county but can’t quite fit the bill of Napa Valley or Sonoma, I head to Hermann, MO. Just about 2.5 hours from Kansas City and the ride isn’t too bad! My husband drove the entire time, what a champ! We visited several wineries and distilleries on our three-day adventure.

We stayed in a hotel in New Florence, I would recommend staying in an Air BnB in town instead of a hotel or cottage. But the availability for an Air BnB was lacking that weekend.

Pinckney Bend
Pinckney Bend is actually not in Hermann proper, it is in New Haven. All of these towns are a little country but still very cute. Back to Pinckney Bend.  This wasn’t our first time at this whiskey, vodka and gin distillery. But it felt much more personal this time because it was a rainy Friday. We had personal attention from Keith, who explained different ways to use the gin and the whiskey. We tried five tastings for $5 and finished with the Perfect Gin &Tonic. This features your choice of gin and their special Tonic Syrup. This distillery keeps it local with barrels from Washington, MO. My favorite was the Hibiscus Gin. My husband went for the Whiskey tasting and purchased the Rested American Whiskey.

Endless Summer Winery
Endless Summer Winery is a family-owned winery that only uses fruit to create the wines. What a nice way to start the day? The tastings were free so we tried EVERYTHING!  We met one of the owners, but the wine was so strong, I can’t recall her name. Haha! My favorites were the Apple, Pecan, Steak Drizzle and Pineapple Habanero Sauce. The bottles of wine were pretty reasonably priced too!

​Adam Puchta Winery
Adam Puchta Winery has beautiful views. It has a few spots for a picnic. The next time we come back we will remember to bring a cooler bag for wine, cheese and meats. This tasting was a $1 per taste. We tried eight total. Missouri is known for its Norton wine, so I had to try the Norton at pretty much every winery. But I ended up grabbing a bottle of the Situation Red instead. Along with some meat and a wine bag to carry on the trolley. ( What upset me is I had a cooler back at the hotel. Grr! Poor planning.)

Stone Hill Winery
Stone Hill Winery offers tours and tastings. The tours are free and the tasting is $5 per person. We already did the tour so we just went for the wine. We met a couple that lived 15 minutes away from us at the tasting. Small world! You know I tried the Norton and I really liked it. Honorable Mentions are the Chambourcin and Hermannsberger. There’s also a restaurant called The Vintage, we ate there on Sunday. We both tried a German Trio with a fresh Harvest Salad.

Stomp N Ground
We got hungry after all that drinking and the cheese and meats I purchased just weren’t enough. I headed to a cute local coffee shop for a grilled cheese sandwich. I hydrated with a few cups of water and was ready for more.

Blackshire Distillery
Blackshire Distillery wasn’t my favorite. But I want to explain what happened because it’s important to know as a person of color in 2019, when I took the trip, ignorance is still alive. My husband, being the nice guy that he is, started talking to this man. My husband was just describing what whiskeys he liked to the stranger. I guess my hubz didn’t notice the guy had on a Hermann shirt. The guy immediately asked where are you from? We said Kansas City and had a conversation with him. This stranger talked about hunting and drinking beers while doing so. Right at the end of the tasting, he invited my husband back to Hermann to go hunting sometime. He said… “ No offense,” mentioned his pastor and said, “ There’s not a lot of coloreds out here.” I don’t know what my face did. I don’t. I just know I was mad my husband left a tip and I didn’t purchase anything. If he said black people, no problem. And duh sir. It was hard to move forward after that. The rest of my trip was kind of tainted.

Hermannoff Winery.
In Hermannoff Winery the Norton was on my mind. The tasting was $6 according to my bank statement. To be honest, I can’t really remember. I was pretty pissed off to be honest. Luckily, I had been there before so, I wasn’t going to purchase. I do remember talking to a lovely couple we met at Endless Weekend. This winery is basically in the center of Hermann and is definitely a must-go.
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Dierberg Winery
​This was a little confusing because there are three wineries in one? Or they serve wines from three different places. These are wines from Napa, CA. My husband did a tasting because I reached my limit. The atmosphere was beautiful and my husband seemed to really enjoy the wine.

Oak Glenn Winery
Oak Glenn Winery had the most breathtaking views of the Missouri River. The tastings were $5 per person. We could select whatever we wanted from the menu of whites, reds, semi-sweets, and ports! I tried a little of everything and took home the White Muscadine. I should have come to this place first with lunch to really enjoy the views.

Overall, Hermann is a beautiful place for wine lovers and drinkers alike. It’s a cute little small town. And I do plan to return. One bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch!