Wine tasting weekend

The weekend trip began early Friday morning (0730). We motored East to the Warrenton exit on I-70. Our goal was to view the fall foliage and taste wines. Our itinerary took us through Warrenton where we had a delightful lunch at a place called J & D's on Main. The food was delicious. Their potato soup and steak chili are recommended.

Foliage at the rest stop along I-70. The wonders of the changing colors got better as we went along.

We began our wine tasting Friday afternoon.

George, Gale and Maryann at Blumenhof Vineyards in Dutzow, MO. It was the first of several on Saturday. The wine tasting was indoors. The weather was so nice we decided to sit, rest and listen to the music. It was not very loud and since there were only two guitarists, one of whom was a vocalist, it was very enjoyable.


We stopped and tasted some wines at the Balducci Winery. While the view was spectacular, the wines were not to our liking so we moved on down the road.

We also stopped at the Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta. It was great. They bottle a great Cabernet Sauvignon. It was good enough to bring a bottle home, which I did.

Our last stop for the day near Augusta was the Montelle Winery. For some reason we never discovered, they were closing until we arrived. The winery, tasting room and Klondike Cafe are located on the top of a hill. The view is magnificent. They have a wonderful deck from which to view the surroundings while dining and enjoying the fruits of their vines. I only wish we could have done so. As you can tell from the photo above, the view is spectacular. Perhaps we will return. We left here and proceeded to our next stop which was dinner at Richards on the Riverfront in Washington.

The B&B we booked was the Thias House in Washington, MO. It was the only place that had rooms available at the time we booked. We learned only after arriving that the reason for a shortage of rooms was the annual Octoberfest in the area. Every weekend during the month of October there are activities at the wineries and breweries in the area.

It was quite an experience. What we didn't know earlier was that the B&B is also an antique shop. Just about everything in the place had a price tag on it. Even the lamp on the night stand beside the bed had a price tag. The only problem was that it was not plugged in, nor was there an electrical outlet anywhere near the bed. The bed was comfortable, but the night was full of noises that you would only relate to a large metropolitan area. Washington is not such a metropolis. The new coffee pot malfunctioned, the breakfast was not that tasty and so we set off to cleanse our palates with some wine. After all that was why we went there.

On Saturday morning, after that less than sterling breakfast we drove to Hermann, MO and stopped at a number of wineries there. First we did some browsing in the many antique shops in the area and had lunch prior to wine tasting. The wineries didn't open until 1100. So, a little bratwurst with mustard and sauer kraut and an Amber Bock helped fortify us for the wine tasting.

We began at the Hermannhof Winery. It was absolute pandemonium. It is difficult to imagine how many folks come to the area at this time of year. We then toured some of the historic sites. The most enjoyable site was the Deutschheim State Historic Site. The guide was extremely knowledgeable about the site and was further impressive in the manner in which she engaged the children who were on the tour. If you only go to Hermann for that, the trip will be well worth it.

The day was waning so our next stop was the Oak Glenn Vineyards and Winery. Because they had musical entertainment there was a $5.00 cover that had to be paid along the road at the parking lot entrance. There were two guys there asking for the money. I did ask the parking director as we got to the upper parking lot if he knew there were guys down there asking for money. He assured me that it was part of the plan.

At the Oak Glen Winery we enjoyed a bottle of their Vidal Blanc (Semi-dry white with fruity flavors, somewhat like Italian dry wines. Vidal's clean Citrus flavors create a nicely balanced wine.) The wine was quite good, but the band was loud. They subscribe to the idea that you don't have to be good as long as you have a beat and are not afraid to share with the surrounding counties. We had difficulty hearing ourselves talk. We knew the people who were there for the band, they were drinking beer.

We then headed to Jefferson City where rooms at the Jefferson Inn awaited us.


I couldn't resist taking this photo of the sunset on our way to Jefferson City.

Everything that was less than perfect at the previous night's stay was perfect here. The rooms had private baths. The breakfast was delicious. The Innkeeper and her family were cordial and helpful. Rachel even suggested a Arris' pizzeria for a light evening meal. It is right across the street from the Capitol.

Sunday morning we decided to go back to the Capitol and do the obligatory touring.


The state Capitol taken from the North side. One of our local TV stations used this one as a lead in to the 6 PM weather report.

This is a view of the Governor's Mansion taken from the South. We were not invited in for coffee. Maybe next time.

Another view of the Capitol from the gardens at the Governor's mansion. I just may send this photo to the TV station next week.



On the way out of Jefferson City we stopped by the Summit Lake Winery. They were picking the last of the Norton grapes.

We tasted wine here and bought a couple bottles of red. I particularly liked their red table wine known as Legend. (A medium-bodied red wine made from the Norton and Chambourcin grape varieties; fruity berry aroma with a touch of earthy/spicy complexities.)

Our last stop was at Le Bourgeois Winery in Rocheport. We had a nice, late lunch and then came home. Well that's the tour. We had a great weekend. Tasted some very nice wines and some not so nice. All in all it was fun. Next time Maryann should be off her meds and be able to taste some wines too. It was helpful to have a designated drive along. We had to use her services as such at least once.


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