For Easter, friends invited me egg hunting at Jowler Creek vineyard in the state of Missouri. My sprinting friends found 14 eggs between them, including coupons for free wine. (I wrote a post about the Jowler Creek entrepreneurs years ago, which included photos and interview excerpts from my book Vino Voices). The couple who run the vineyard and winery host events most weeks during the year – tastings, outdoor movies, live concerts, and more.

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Heartland topography and architecture – ample and clean

After egg hunting, we sipped white wines on the porch. White wines from the states of Missouri and Kansas – agricultural heartland of the USA – often include hybrid grapes such as Vignoles (also grown widely in New York’s Finger Lakes region) and Traminette (a hybrid developed in the state of Illinois in 1965 that includes Gewürtztraminer).

These wines range between sticky sweet to crisp and acidic. The overall price range is attractive for purchasing bottles for a summer barbecue, or for sharing with cheese and sausage on a porch in spring.

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Chateau Jowler

I used my wine scoring algorithm to rate several widely available Missouri whites. Of six scored below, we tasted ten, and four did not make the cut. Three of those that did are from Stone Hill vineyard, also written about in the book Vino Voices.

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Vineyard at Stone Hill – primed for machine harvesting

 

 Vino Value Scoring –

Wine Retail Price – US Dollars Retail Price – Euros Equivalent Value Score
Jowler Creek Vignoles 2014 $15.99 € 14.71 Good Value ♫
Jowler Creek Critter Cuvée $12.99 € 11.95 Excellent Value ♫♫
Jowler Creek Muskrato de Missouri 2013 $15.99 € 14.71 Good Value ♫
Stone Hill Vignoles 2010 $11.49 € 10.57 Good Value ♫
Stone Hill Vidal Blanc 2013 $7.99 € 7.35 Superlative Value ♫♫♫
Stone Hill Traminette 2013 $11.49 € 10.57 Superlative Value ♫♫♫

[This algorithm combines subjective and objective data – including scores from tastings (often multiple), prices per bottle, and others factors that include availability. Value scoring is relative for wines from the same region. ‘Superlative ♫♫♫’ is the highest scoring, ‘Excellent ♫♫’ the second highest, and ‘Good ♫’ next.]

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Jowler Creek spread of wines

 

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Easter Accomplices Barb and Andrew

While Stone Hill Winery was originally established in 1847 (and re-established after Prohibition), Jowler Creek is relatively new. Both put in constant effort to spread the word that heartland vineyards produce decent wine at affordable prices.

 

 

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  1. Sounds like fun!

    1. Those Mid-Westerners know how to work hard, play hard, and enjoy life 🙂

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