Once known as an area of small farms and a history influenced by lead mines in the area, Ste. Genevieve and St. Francois counties, about 60 miles south of St. Louis, are growing rapidly as grape-and-wine country, challenging Missouri’s more venerable wine sites like Augusta and Hermann as places to visit on a weekend.
With the exception of the Sainte Genevieve Winery, which is several generations old, the wineries in the two counties are of recent vintage, which means they are tourist-friendly, replete with modern conveniences. With modern technology close by, they were able to start miles ahead of their older neighbors, who fought the non-California image, studied agriculture and wine-making while holding down other jobs and battled to give Missouri wine a certain cachet, helped by Lucian Dressel’s wisdom in earning the first Federal wine appellation for Augusta. Everyone else followed. Napa became No. 2.
So if there was a road beginning at the first plantings and trudging to the point of making drinkable, valued wine, Crown Valley and the other Lead Belt wineries started about three-quarters of the way home.
Joe Scott, the Crown Valley founder and owner, planted his first Chardonel grapes in1998, opened the winery in 2003 and has expanded the operation to three wineries in eastern Missouri, more than 600 acres of grapevines and a huge facility near Ste. Genevieve. Crown Valley claims to have the largest Norton vineyard in the U.S. The Crown Valley vineyards also are planted in Chambourcin, Chardonel, Traminette, Vignoles, Viognier and others. Some vinifera grapes are grown in Missouri, others are brought from California, with labels that specify "American wine." The Champagne facility, with production in both Champenoise and Charmat methods, is in nearby Farmington, and Port is made and aged on property in the Tievoli Hills, near Clarksville, north of St. Louis on the banks of the Mississippi. The wine is made from Norton grapes, blended with some Californian-grown Syrah.
Winemaker Daniel Alcorso, born in Australia, reared in Tasmania and experienced in the wine industry in those countries, plus New Zealand, California and Virginia, has been at the winery for a handful of harvests, but says he enjoys the pressure of handling a variety of grapes and blends.
His 2005 Meritage, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (30 percent), Petit Verdot (32), Cabernet Franc (25), Merlot (10) and Malbec (5), is made of grapes from Napa and Sonoma Counties, spends 18 months in French and American oak, is a solid Bordeaux blend, though it would benefit from another year or two in the bottle. The aroma is of berry, the flavor of cassis and red fruits, the finish is long and smooth, and while there is tannin, it is generally soft, providing a long, agreeable finish.
A 2004 Norton, from locally grown grapes, spends two years in oak and has the distinctive Norton aroma of cedar and tobacco. It’s an excellent example of Missouri’s best red wine and, in this writer’s opinion, is the finest American red grape. Again, it could use a year or two additional age, softening the tannins and bringing out its warmth.
Sweet Redbird is a blend of Chambourcin (68 percent) and Norton (32) from the winery’s vineyards is a good wine to carry less-experienced drinkers from white to red, from sweet to dry. At 8 percent sugar, it’s only slightly sweet, and the berry flavors are impressive. The absence of oak makes the ‘07 easier to quaff, and the $9 price tag makes it easy on the pocketbook, too.
The Crown Valley whites include a locally grown Vignoles and Chardonel, the latter bottled under the Casper White label. The Vignoles is made for some sweetness that go with tropical fruit and melon flavors, and an aroma of orange blossoms. California-grown Chenin Blanc from Lodi, Calif., and Riesling from Lake County have crisp, clean flavor.
We're happy to participate in Regional Wine Week, a project of www.drinklocalwine.com, which is masterminded by our pal Dave McIntyre, the wine writer for Washingtonian magazine, whose wine blog is here. Check it out.