MISSOURI WINES: 1995-96 WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR

A variety of Missouri wines is available in Cape Girardeau, including this collection at Schnucks.

The great wines may come from France, but some 2,500 miles and an ocean away, Missouri is showing the wine market that some pretty good wines also come from the U.S. Heartland.

Vins gris, Villard Blanc, Vidal, Serendipity, Seyval and Chambourcin are familiar names in the state's wine country.

And sales of Missouri wines have increased five of the past six years.

More than 315,000 gallons of wine were sold during fiscal year 1995-96, which ended June 30. That total is up 3 percent from the 305,900 gallons sold in 1994-95.

The wine industry is growing.

There was a time in modern years when wine connoisseurs walked past Missouri wine tables at wine-tasting events.

"Now they seek out Missouri wines," said Larry Knipp, coordinator of the Missouri Grape and Win Program.

"Missouri wineries are making a better product now," said Knipp. "That's one of the reasons for incredible increases in sales."

Over the past six years, sales have grown almost 70 percent, while sales of California and European wines in the state have fallen 19 percent.

"The success is definitely related to a refinement in wine making and grape growing skills," said Knipp.

More and more people are accepting the fact that the state is producing good wines. It has taken a little while to catch on to Missouri wines, but more consumers are indicating preferences for home-grown and regional products.

Today, Missouri winemakers have a 4.4 percent of the wine market in Missouri.

"That's not bad considering that California wines have an 85 percent market share in the state," said Knipp.

That wasn't the case before the prohibition era in the United States.

During the year of the St. Louis World's Fair, Missouri wine production was topping the 3-million-gallon mark, second only to California.

What happened?

"The state leveled off, and prohibition took over," said Knipp. "When prohibition ended, Missouri didn't take off on wine making again.

"But it's a going industry in the state now," said Knipp.

Some 7.2 million gallons of wine were sold in Missouri last year, up 11.5 percent from wines sales the previous year.

A half decade ago, in 1991, only about 188,000 gallons of Missouri wine was sold.

That figure jumped up to 246,000 in 1992, and following a small blip, to 219,000 gallons in 1993, has been on the grow since.

The biggest problem for Missouri wineries is the grape supply.

"We just don't have enough grapes," said Knipp. "We've seen a steady increase in grape production, but it takes six to seven years to get a new crop of grapes."

During the past year, production has been off due to weather conditions.

"We had a rough winter last year," said Knipp, "and the spring was too wet. We had great quality grapes, but production was down."

Production decreases ranged from 10 to 40 percent, with some varieties down as much as 50 percent.

Missouri growers used about 1,000 acres for grapes.

"Some of the grapes are not used for wine," he said.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture's Grape & Wine Program, offers incentive to increase grape acreage.

The Grape and Wine program, which is financed from a tax on wine sold in Missouri, was created to market Missouri grapes and wines and to provide research resources to the industry.

"This enables us to promote the industry," said Knipp.

This includes sponsoring a Midwest conference for the industry, statewide wine and grape juice competition and various tasting promotions throughout the year.

Dates have already been established for the 1997 Midwest Regional Grape and Wine Conference, which will be held Jan. 19 through 21 at Tan-Tar-A Resort, Lake Ozark.

Research on grape and wine production is conducted at Southwest Missouri State University's Fruit Experiment Station in Mountain Grove.

The experiment station staff specializes in enology and viticulture.

"Enology" is the study of wine making and "viticulture" is the art or science of growing grapes.

"You can't make good wine from bad grapes," said Knipp. "On the other hand, you can made bad wine from good grapes if you lack proper training."

Most Missouri wines are sold from the state's wineries. However, a big portion of the increased sales have come from restaurant and retail outlets.

The state's 37 wineries work hard to promote their products.

Most Missourians know of the Maifest and Octoberfest celebrations at Hermann, a town known for wineries. The Octoberfest, held each weekend in October, attracts thousands of people to Hermann.

Many people have already become aware of the state's newest winery -- River Ridge Winery -- near Scott City and Commerce and the Mississippi River.

River Ridge, owned by Jerry and Joannie Smith, opened in 1994.

The Smiths welcome families to visit the winery. Visitors can see the grapes, learn about the winemaking process and go on hikes and have picnics, said Smith. "We have picnic tables and hiking trails up to the vineyard and to the bluffs overlooking the river."

The River Ridge vineyards were established in 1981.

The River Ridge name is derived from two geographical factors: the winery is situated on the north end of Crowley Ridge 1 1/2 miles from Commerce and overlooks the Mississippi River.

"It takes eight to 10 years to get a vineyard to the quality that it will produce grapes for quality wine," said Smith. "We have two acres of French grapes, which are grown and cultivated for the sole purpose of making a fine dinner wine. We also have another eight to 10 acres of other grapes."

"Our wine is available only at the winery," said Smith, "but we're looking to some retail outlets in the near future."

"Southeast Missouri is great for growing grapes," said Smith. "We have a good climate for it."

Even though the grape harvest statewide has been bad, Smith's harvest was good. "We probably didn't lose 10 percent of our crop," said Smith.

"Wine making is on its way to becoming an important agricultural industry in the state," said Knitt. "Wine production adds more than $15 million a year to the Missouri economy.

Growing grapes is a long-term venture that requires a large capital investment. But with the rapid growth in wine sales, Missouri growers area virtually guaranteed a market for quality grapes.

Another Southeast Missouri winery is The Ste. Genevieve. The winery is actually at Weingarten, south of Ste. Genevieve, but the tasting room and retail sales outlet is in a mansion in downtown Ste. Genevieve.

The Ste. Genevieve Winery, which has existed since the mid-1980s, manufactures between 5,000 and 6,000 gallons of wine a year.

One of the largest wineries in the state is the Stone Hill Wineries at Hermann, which produces from 65,000 to 70,000 gallons of wine a year. Another Stone Hill operation, at Branson, produces about 45,000 gallons a year. St. James wineries produced about 48,000 gallons a year.

Nationally, the United States ranks only sixth in wine production, with about 450 million gallons a year. Italy tops the wine list, with more than 2 billion gallons a year. In between are France, about 2 billion gallons; Spain, more than 1 billion gallons; Soviet Union, more than 525 million gallons; and Argentina, more than 500 million gallons.