In a cellar built decades before the Civil War, you’ll find an award winning red wine you may have never heard of. This wine is called Chambourcin, and it is made at Stone Hill Winery.
Chambourcin is a very pretty wine with lovely flavors of red berries, raspberries, and cherry. It comes from a hybrid vine that loves the Missouri heat. Winemaker Shaun Turnbull says it makes an easy-drinking table wine, kind of like a Pinot Noir.
Shaun helped to develop Stone Hill Winery’s Chambourcin, taking home top honors not just for the best Chambourcin, but for the best wine in the state! Stone Hill has won seven Governor’s Cups over the last eleven years.
Stone Hill owner John Held grew up living and working on the hill above Hermann’s historic downtown. His parents revived the winery in the mid-60s as it had gone dormant in the decades following prohibition. Before that, Stone Hill was said to be the second largest winery in the country.
John says one of the reasons they are able to control the quality of their product so well is because they grow about 95% of the grapes that they use. They have 17 different vineyards, all within about 14 miles of Hermann.
You can find more information about Stone Hill and all of Missouri’s wineries at MissouriWine.org.