The Missouri Rhineland is a geographical area of
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
that extends from west of
St. Louis to slightly east of
Jefferson City
Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the capital of Missouri, United States. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 census, ranking as the 15th most populous city in the state. It is also the county seat of Cole County and the principa ...
, located mostly in the
Missouri River Valley on both sides of the river.
Dutzow, the first permanent German settlement in Missouri, was founded in 1832 by Baron von Bock. The area is named after the
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
region in
central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...
, a wine-growing area around the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
river, by
German-American
German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...
s who noticed similarities in the two regions' soil and topography.
The soils of the Missouri River Valley and surrounding areas are mainly rocky residual soils left after the
carbonate
A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid (H2CO3), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word ''carbonate'' may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate ...
(mainly
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
)
bedrock
In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet.
Definition
Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of be ...
weathered away to impurities of
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...
ey soil and
chert
Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a ...
fragments. Farther to the north,
glacial
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...
deposits and wind-deposited
loess
Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits.
Loess is a periglacial or aeoli ...
, a
silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...
y soil also associated with the glaciers, are intermingled with the residual soils.
While the soil could support other crops, the steep slopes of these areas were better used for
viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, r ...
. German settlers established the first
wineries
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...
in the mid-19th century. Italian immigrants later established their own vineyards, especially near
Rolla in
Phelps County. By 1920, Missouri was the second-largest wine-producing state in the nation. Then came
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...
, which ruined the industry.
In the 1960s, local winemakers began to rebuild, part of a movement in states across the country. In 1980,
An area around Augusta, Missouri, was designated by the federal government as the first
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know about t ...
(AVA), and
one around Hermann, Missouri, was designated an AVA in 1983. Much of the region of the Missouri Rhineland from Augusta to Jefferson City along the Missouri River is part of the larger
Ozark Mountain AVA. Winning national tasting awards, the state's wine industry contributes to both the agricultural and tourist economies.
History
A German attorney and author named
Gottfried Duden purchased land on the north side of the
Missouri River along
Lake Creek that he first visited in 1824. He was investigating the possibilities of settlement in the area by his countrymen. In 1827 he returned to Germany, which he felt was overpopulated. There in 1829 he published ''Bericht über eine Reise nach den westlichen Staaten Nordamerikas'' (''Journal of a trip to the western states of North America''), extolling the attractions of Missouri.
In 1832, members of the small so-called Berlin Society communally purchased land that became the village of
Dutzow, founded by Baron von Bock of Mecklenburg, Germany in March 1834.
Led by
Friedrich Muench and
Paul Follenius of the
Giessen Emigration Society, German
immigrants arrived in the area in 1834. Resident Friedrich Muench became known for his expertise in the cultivation of grapes and wine making. Muench was a prominent writer and lecturer and wrote a number of books. He frequently wrote under the name of "Far West". His book ''American Grape Culture'' was published in 1859. Also, in 1859, Friedrich Muench's brother George founded
Mount Pleasant Winery
Mount Pleasant Estates is a winery in Augusta, Missouri, United States, on the north side of the Missouri River in what is called the Missouri Rhineland.
History
Mount Pleasant Winery was founded in 1859 by immigrant Georg Muench (1801–1879) ...
based upon the principles and advice of expert viticulturist, Friedrich Muench.
In 1836 the German Settlement Society began to look for a place to build a German community insulated from the increasing diversity of nationalities found in many American settlements. They chose to settle in
Hermann, Missouri
Hermann is a city in and the county seat of Gasconade County, Missouri, United States. It has been the county seat since 1842. It is near the center of the Missouri Rhineland and south of the Missouri River. The population was 2,185 at the 202 ...
, and the first settlers arrived in 1837. An early leader of the settlers was
George Bayer
George Bayer (September 15, 1925 – March 16, 2003) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour.
Bayer was born in Bremerton, Washington. He attended the University of Washington and was a member o ...
, who arrived in early 1838. The soil on the hillsides surrounding the settlement was not appropriate for many forms of agriculture, but was ideal for grapes. Hermann's trustees decided to sell tracts of land with the agreement that they be planted as vineyards.
The ''Weinstrasse''
The area along
Route 94 between
Defiance
Defiance may refer to:
Film, television and theatre
* ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander
* ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent
* ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...
and
Marthasville has so many wineries that the highway has been nicknamed the Missouri ''
Weinstrasse'' (wine route). It runs parallel to much of the
Katy Trail Katy Trail may refer to the following places in the United States:
* Katy Trail (Dallas)
The Katy Trail is a jogging, walking, inline skating, and bicycling path that runs through the Uptown and Oak Lawn areas of Dallas, Texas (USA), following ...
, built in former railway right-of-way. This area has the highest concentration of wineries in the state. Many of these sit high up on south-facing
bluffs above the river.
For a short while during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, Missouri ranked as the number one producer of wine in the nation. Prior to Prohibition, Missouri was the United States' second largest producer of wine.
In 1920, Missouri had more than 100 wineries. Because of Prohibition all wineries were shut down, with one exception: Saint Stanislaus Seminary in
Florissant was allowed to continue making sacramental wine.
[Brett Dufur]
"History of Missouri Wine Industry"
Missouri Wine Country, accessed October 19, 2009.
Prohibition lasted until 1933 and ended the Missouri wine industry. Vineyards were either pulled up and used for other purposes or left untended. Winery facilities were converted to serve other purposes or left to decay.
Some wineries began producing again after Prohibition ended, but significant production did not begin until the 1960s and 1970s. This was when small winemakers began building in many different areas of the United States. In 1965
Stone Hill Winery in
Hermann, south of the
Missouri River, was the first in the state to be re-established.
The
Augusta AVA
The Augusta AVA was established on June 20, 1980 as the first federally approved American Viticultural Area, eight months before the Napa Valley AVA in northern California. The petition was submitted by Clayton W. Byers and Lucian W. Dressel, r ...
in
Augusta was designated the first
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know about t ...
(AVA) in the United States in 1980 and
Hermann AVA
The Hermann AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Gasconade County, Missouri, and entirely contained within the larger Ozark Mountain AVA. The wine appellation is located on the southern side of the Missouri River near the town of ...
in
Hermann was designated an AVA three years later. As of 2009, 88 wineries were operating in Missouri.
See also
*
Missouri wine
Missouri wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in Missouri. German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century founded the wine industry in Missouri, resulting in its wine corridor being called the Missouri " Rhineland". Later Italian immi ...
*
Stone Hill Winery
*
Les Bourgeois Winery
*
Mount Pleasant Winery
Mount Pleasant Estates is a winery in Augusta, Missouri, United States, on the north side of the Missouri River in what is called the Missouri Rhineland.
History
Mount Pleasant Winery was founded in 1859 by immigrant Georg Muench (1801–1879) ...
*
Giessen Emigration Society
*
Alcohol laws of Missouri
*
List of wineries in Missouri
*
Isidor Bush
Isidor Bush or Busch (January 15, 1822, Prague – August 5, 1898, St. Louis, Missouri) was a man of letters, publisher, and viticulturalist.
His maternal great-grandfather was , the first Jew raised to nobility in Austria.
"Jahrbücher"
At ag ...
References
External links
"Historic Hermann, MO, Heart of Missouri Wine Country" Hermann, Missouri Website
Washington Historical Society
Northwest Missouri State University Library
{{Coord, 38.6, -91.0, format=dms, display=title, type:adm1st_region:US-MO
Regions of Missouri
Missouri wine
German-American culture in Missouri