By Dave Woods
dwoods@joplinglobe.com
Piper Pierce knows a thing or two about wine.
So, it’s no surprise to the Southwest Missouri native — who staffs the wine and spirits counter at Annie’s Epicurean Delights, 116 W. Third St. in Carthage — that interest in Show-Me State wines is growing.
Pierce said Missouri vineyards and wineries offer a little something for everybody.
“St. James’ Velvet Red and their Velvet White are, to me, really good for people just getting started drinking wine,” she said. “A lot of people just starting with wine are looking for something a little sweeter.”
If you are looking for something less sweet, a drier wine, she said the fruit of Missouri’s vines have that covered, too.
The Norton — a style of dry red wine made with Missouri’s state grape — is popular too, she said.
“Any of the Missouri Nortons would be great for making mulled wine,” she said. “It’s a spiced wine drink that can be served warm or cold.” And, she added, it makes the house smell great during the holidays.
------------------------------------ Wine Feast ---------------------------------
Missouri wines and others will be featured during Ozark Public Television’s 19th annual Wine Feast on Sunday, Nov. 2, at Hammons Convention Center. For $25 in advance and $30 at the door, participants may sample more than 60 wines including products from Mount Pleasant, St. James and Stone Hill wineries, and locally produced wines from Keltoi Winery in Oronogo and the White Rose Winery in Carthage. Call 782-2226 for reservations and information. Participants must be 21.
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Music to their ears
That kind of talk is music to the ears of Peter Hofherr, the owner of St. James Winery in St. James.
“The Norton is a distinctive wine that has gained worldwide acceptance,” he said. “The Norton is our best dry wine, and our Velvet Red is a good wine for those who like something sweeter.”
He said that both styles are good all-around red table wines and great for everyday use.
“Try the wines in different situations and with different meal pairings,” Hofherr said. “Missouri wines are approachable, not pretentious and more flexible than the California brands.”
Thomas Held, owner of Stone Hill Winery in Branson, agreed.
“Today, people are willing to explore regionally popular wines,” said Held. “It’s not just California and European wines people are seeking out anymore.”
Held said he believes that Stone Hill makes one of the best Nortons in the country, but points to another style his company produces that is also popular with wine fans.
“Our best-selling sweet wine is a Concord grape wine,” he said. “It is the No. 1-selling style of wine in the Midwest.”
At Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta, general manager Rob McCormick and his team of winemaking veterans are proud of the progress they’ve made growing grapes not native to the Missouri, let alone the United States.
“We are known for our ability to produce California varietals like chardonnays, cabernets and merlots,” he said. “We grow them in smaller plots, they produce very fine wines, and we have won a number of great awards for them.”
But, it’s Mount Pleasant Winery’s port wines, or port for short, for which McCormick said his brand may best be known. Ports are sweet, wood barrel-aged red wines fortified with brandy.
“The recipes for our ports are a very highly guarded secret,” he said. “Our wine maker wouldn’t even let me look at the recipe notebook. Ports are great after dinner with a rich dessert or with a cigar.”
Rich history, promising future
With 70-plus wineries in Missouri producing more than 420 varieties sporting the Missouri-product designation, it’s easy to understand why the state’s wines are growing in acceptance and popularity. North American native grapes like the Norton and Concord grow well in the thin, rocky soil of southern Missouri. But so do the French-American hybrid varieties like seyval and vignoles.
“I would tell people who want to share a Missouri wine with friends to give the vignoles or a seyval a chance,” Hofherr said. “They are good middle-of-the-road wines with a fruity character, and great with rich, holiday foods — turkey, duck and ham.”
While Joplin-area residents can find Missouri brands at most wine and spirits retailers, a growing number of vintners offer visitors to Branson a hands-on, wine-making experience.
At Mount Pleasant Winery’s Branson location, visitors can bottle their own wine to take home.
“The thing that separates us from other wineries is our ‘bottle-your-own’ experience,” McCormick said. “You can bottle your own port and cork it right here and keep it for 20 years.”
When you open it, McCormick promises, it will be better than when you corked the bottle.
Cream sherry — a sweet, after-dinner drink — is Stone Hill’s specialty in Branson, and is bottled there every day.
“It’s a nutty, fortified dessert wine with hazelnut and other flavors,” Held said. Visitors can watch the sherry produced and bottled seven days a week.
To produce cream sherry, wine is baked at 130 degrees for four months, oxygenated, fortified and then aged in oak barrels to create its unique flavor.
In the summer of 2009, a new player will join the wine game. Branson Ridge Winery and Marketplace will open its doors just north of Branson in June. The property will feature a state-of-the-art wine-making facility, vineyards and a retail marketplace and bistro.
As interest in Missouri wine continues to grow, Pierce said she expects to keep getting requests for Missouri wines at Annie’s in Carthage.
“We have a lot of people traveling Route 66 come into the store looking for Missouri wines to take home with them,” she said. “It’s always a great gift.”
Stone Hill winery provided the following recipe that uses their Golden Rhine wine.
Wine cake
1 package yellow or white cake mix
1 package (3 ounces) raspberry or strawberry-flavored gelatin
3/4 cup Stone Hill Golden Rhine
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs, beaten
Combine all ingredients in bowl and beat for about three minutes. Pour into lightly greased and floured 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan. (You may want to put a ring of paper in the bottom.) Bake in moderate oven at 350 degrees for 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand five minutes. Turn out on cake rack.
When cool, spread with thin wine glaze.
Wine glaze
1/3 cup Stone Hill Golden Rhine
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
In a small saucepan, heat together 1/3 cup sweet white wine and 2 tablespoons butter. Remove from heat and gradually stir in 2 cups sifted powdered sugar. When cooled and slightly thickened, spread over top of cake.
Pairing suggestions
• Norton: Garlic rubbed leg of lamb, venison, filet mignon, hearty stews, smoked meats or barbecue, bleu cheese or a sharp cheddar and chocolate desserts.
• Vignoles: Asian-influenced with sweet and spicy sauces, pasta with rich cheese sauces, seafood curry, white chocolate desserts and desserts with berries.
• Port: Stilton and bleu cheeses, walnuts, creme brûlée or black forest cake.
• Concord: Pork chops, grape pie, English truffle cheddar cheese dishes. Use concord wine in coolers made with half soda water and half Concord wine.
• Cream sherry: Brie cheese, cookies, pastries and cakes, pound cake, streusel. Cream sherry makes an excellent topping for ice cream.
Source: Stone Hill Winery
Wine Feast
Missouri wines and others will be featured during Ozark Public Television’s 19th annual Wine Feast on Sunday, Nov. 2, at Hammons Convention Center. For $25 in advance and $30 at the door, participants may sample more than 60 wines including products from Mount Pleasant, St. James and Stone Hill wineries, and locally produced wines from Keltoi Winery in Oronogo and the White Rose Winery in Carthage. Call 782-2226 for reservations and information. Participants must be 21.
