Hermann AVA
Encyclopedia
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 Hermann
, about halfway between St. Louis
and Jefferson City
. The AVA covers the northern-most hills of the Ozark Plateau with many of the 200 acres (80 hectares) of vineyards planted along hillside locations. As of 2007, seven wineries were producing wine in appellation, including Missouri's largest winery, Stone Hill Winery
.
The area is a flood plain with alluvial soil deposits up to 30 feet (9 m) deep. Growing conditions in the area have been compared to those in southern and eastern Germany
. A wide variety of grapes are grown in Hermann, including Vitis vinifera
, Vitis labrusca
, and French hybrids.
The Hermann area was founded in 1836 by settlers from the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia. The location along the southern banks of the Missouri river was selected for its similarities to the Rheingau
region that many of the settlers came from. The area was named Hermann after Arminius
of Germania
, a 1st century German hero who opposed the Roman empire
. The founders wanted the area to be a safe haven for German immigrants in America where they could maintain their culture and heritage despite the pressures to assimilate
. The settlers established a joint-stock company and advertised widely throughout the United States
and Germany
, seeking farmers, laborers, winemakers and artisians to establish what they called a "German Athens of the West".
Winemaking
and viticulture
were quickly established in Hermann and by 1852 there were more than 470 acres (190 hectares) planted to grape vines. Several modern Hermann wineries can trace their origins to this period. Stone Hill's cellars were constructed in 1847, the Hermanhoff Winery was founded in 1852 and in 1855, the Adam Puchta Winery was founded by immigrants from Oberkotzau
, Bavaria
who had struck gold during the California Gold Rush
before returning to Hermann. At the turn of the 20th century, Stone Hill Winery was the third largest winery in the world, producing over 1,250,000 gallons (4,730,000 liters) of wine and achieving favorable results at international wine competitions.
Prohibition in the United States
completely wiped out the commercial wine industry in Hermann. The large underground cellars of Stone Hill Winery were converted to mushroom
farms and most of the grapevines were pulled out and the land planted with corn
, oat
, wheat
and barley
fields. Follow the repeal of prohibition
in 1933, it took several decades for the Hermann wine industry to recover with Stone Hill reopening in 1965, Hermannhof in 1974 and Adam Puchta in 1989. Today there is around 200 acres of grapevines planted with the Hermann Wine Trail being a frequent tourist location in the Missouri Rhineland
.
Riesling
and Cabernet Sauvignon
, the Vitis labrusca
Concord and Catawba
, the Vitis aestivalis
variety Norton
(Cynthiana), and several hybrid varieties including Chambourcin
, Seyval Blanc
, St. Vincent, Steuben, Traminette
, Vidal Blanc
, Vignoles
, Chardonel
, Cayuga, Edelweiss
and De Chaunac
.
The region also produces a wide variety of wine styles ranging from sweet late harvest dessert wines and fortified wines, including port-style and solera
made sherry
-style wines to drier still red, white and rosé
s. Many fruit wines are also produced, usually from cherry
, strawberry
or raspberries
.
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....
located in Gasconade County
Gasconade County, Missouri
Gasconade County is a county in the U.S. state of Missouri located on the south side of the Missouri River, which once served as the chief route of transportation in the state. Located in the area called the Missouri Rhineland, the county had a population of 15,342 as of the 2000 U.S. Census. A...
, Missouri, and entirely contained within the larger Ozark Mountain AVA
Ozark Mountain AVA
The Ozark Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in northwest Arkansas, southern Missouri, and northeast Oklahoma. The sixth largest American Viticultural Area in total size, Ozark Mountain AVA covers...
. The wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
appellation
Appellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...
is located on the southern side of the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
near the town of Hermann
Hermann, Missouri
Hermann is a city designated in 1842 as the county seat of Gasconade County, Missouri, United States. It is near the center of the Missouri Rhineland and south of the Missouri River. The population was 2,674 at the 2000 census....
, about halfway between St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and Jefferson City
Jefferson City, Missouri
Jefferson City is the capital of the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Cole County. Located in Callaway and Cole counties, it is the principal city of the Jefferson City metropolitan area, which encompasses the entirety of both counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,079...
. The AVA covers the northern-most hills of the Ozark Plateau with many of the 200 acres (80 hectares) of vineyards planted along hillside locations. As of 2007, seven wineries were producing wine in appellation, including Missouri's largest winery, Stone Hill Winery
Stone Hill Winery
Stone Hill Winery is a Missouri winery located in Hermann, Missouri, along the Missouri River, in what is called the Missouri Rhineland of the Hermann AVA. It has additional facilities in Branson and New Florence...
.
The area is a flood plain with alluvial soil deposits up to 30 feet (9 m) deep. Growing conditions in the area have been compared to those in southern and eastern Germany
German wine
German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...
. A wide variety of grapes are grown in Hermann, including Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
, Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to the eastern United States and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba and Concord grapes, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam,...
, and French hybrids.
History
Rheingau (wine region)
Rheingau is one of 13 German wine regions for quality wines . Named for the traditional region of Rheingau , the wine region is situated in the state of Hesse, where it makes up part of the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis administrative district...
region that many of the settlers came from. The area was named Hermann after Arminius
Arminius
Arminius , also known as Armin or Hermann was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest...
of Germania
Germania
Germania was the Greek and Roman geographical term for the geographical regions inhabited by mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube...
, a 1st century German hero who opposed the Roman empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. The founders wanted the area to be a safe haven for German immigrants in America where they could maintain their culture and heritage despite the pressures to assimilate
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
. The settlers established a joint-stock company and advertised widely throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, seeking farmers, laborers, winemakers and artisians to establish what they called a "German Athens of the West".
Winemaking
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
and viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
were quickly established in Hermann and by 1852 there were more than 470 acres (190 hectares) planted to grape vines. Several modern Hermann wineries can trace their origins to this period. Stone Hill's cellars were constructed in 1847, the Hermanhoff Winery was founded in 1852 and in 1855, the Adam Puchta Winery was founded by immigrants from Oberkotzau
Oberkotzau
Oberkotzau is a municipality in Upper Franconia in the district of Hof in Bavaria in Germany....
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
who had struck gold during the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
before returning to Hermann. At the turn of the 20th century, Stone Hill Winery was the third largest winery in the world, producing over 1,250,000 gallons (4,730,000 liters) of wine and achieving favorable results at international wine competitions.
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
completely wiped out the commercial wine industry in Hermann. The large underground cellars of Stone Hill Winery were converted to mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
farms and most of the grapevines were pulled out and the land planted with corn
Corn
Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...
, oat
Oat
The common oat is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name . While oats are suitable for human consumption as oatmeal and rolled oats, one of the most common uses is as livestock feed...
, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
fields. Follow the repeal of prohibition
Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition...
in 1933, it took several decades for the Hermann wine industry to recover with Stone Hill reopening in 1965, Hermannhof in 1974 and Adam Puchta in 1989. Today there is around 200 acres of grapevines planted with the Hermann Wine Trail being a frequent tourist location in the Missouri Rhineland
Missouri Rhineland
The Missouri Rhineland is a geographical area of Missouri that extends from west of St. Louis to slightly east of Jefferson City, located mostly in the Missouri River Valley on both sides of the river...
.
Grape varieties and wines
A wide variety of grapes are grown in Hermann, including the Vitis viniferaVitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
and Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
, the Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to the eastern United States and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba and Concord grapes, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam,...
Concord and Catawba
Catawba (grape)
Catawba is a red hybrid grape variety used for wine as well as juice, jams and jellies. The grape can have a pronounced musky or "foxy" flavor. Grown predominantly on the East Coast of the United States, this purplish-red grape is a likely cross of the native American Vitis labrusca and another...
, the Vitis aestivalis
Vitis aestivalis
Vitis aestivalis is a species of grape native to eastern North America from southern Ontario east to Vermont, west to Oklahoma, and south to Florida and Texas. It is a vigorous vine, growing to 10 m or more high in trees...
variety Norton
Norton (grape)
Norton, a grape cultivar believed to be largely derived from Vitis aestivalis, is grown in the Midwestern United States, Mid-Atlantic States and northeastern Georgia. Norton was first cultivated in Richmond, Virginia and is the official grape of the State of Missouri and is considered the...
(Cynthiana), and several hybrid varieties including Chambourcin
Chambourcin
Chambourcin is a French-American interspecific hybrid grape variety used for making wine. Its parentage is uncertain. The hybrid was produced by Joannes Seyve who often used Seibel hybrids produced in the 1860s. The grape has only been available since 1963. Chambourcin has a good resistance to...
, Seyval Blanc
Seyval Blanc
Seyval Blanc is a hybrid wine grape variety used to make white wines. Its vines ripen early, are productive and are suited to fairly cool climates.Seyval Blanc is grown mainly in England, and the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, as well as to a lesser extent in Canada...
, St. Vincent, Steuben, Traminette
Traminette
Traminette is a cross of the French American hybrid Joannes Seyve 23.416 and the German Vitis vinifera cultivar Gewürztraminer made by Herb C. Barrett ca. 1965 at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. His intention was to produce a large clustered table grape with the flavor of...
, Vidal Blanc
Vidal Blanc
Vidal Blanc is an inter-specific hybrid variety of white wine grape, a cross of Ugni Blanc and Rayon d'Or . It manages to produce high sugar levels in cold climates while maintaining good acid levels....
, Vignoles
Vignoles (grape)
Vignoles is a complex hybrid wine grape variety produced from a cross made by J.F. Ravat of two grapes, Seibel 8665 and Pinot de corton....
, Chardonel
Chardonel
Chardonel is a late ripening white wine hybrid grape which can produce a high quality wine with varietal character. It is a result of a cross made by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station of the popular French American hybrid Seyval and the classic vitis vinifera Chardonnay...
, Cayuga, Edelweiss
Edelweiss (grape)
Edelweiss is a very winter-hardy wine grape variety derived from crossing the Minnesota 78 and Ontario grapes. It was developed by Elmer Swenson in 1980 in cooperation with the University of Minnesota. The clusters are large and rather loose, weighing a pound or more. Early picking of the grape...
and De Chaunac
De Chaunac
De Chaunac is a French-American hybrid wine grape variety used to make red wines. It was developed by Albert Seibel circa 1860. It is also known as Seibel 9549 and is a cross of Seibel 5163 and possibly Seibel 793...
.
The region also produces a wide variety of wine styles ranging from sweet late harvest dessert wines and fortified wines, including port-style and solera
Solera
Solera is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years. A solera is literally the set of barrels or other...
made sherry
Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....
-style wines to drier still red, white and rosé
Rosé
A rosé is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.- Production techniques :There are three major ways to produce rosé...
s. Many fruit wines are also produced, usually from cherry
Cherry
The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
, strawberry
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
or raspberries
Raspberries
Raspberry may refer to:* Raspberry, various fruit-bearing plants in the genus Rubus, especially two commercially grown species, the red-fruited Rubus idaeus and the black-fruited Rubus occidentalis...
.