Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

I saw a demonstration last night on how to sabre a bottle of Champagne. I want to do this from now on, although realistically, I realize that my personal sommelier, Sophie will undoubtably take over this task, as she loves to open wine for me.

So, Sophie? This is for you, my love. Study up.

and remember as Napoleon said, “In victory, you deserve Champagne, in defeat, you need it”

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Travel is broadening because you never know what you are going to encounter… so you have to learn to be flexible.

And boy, am I finding the unexpected.

More explanations later.

I am just pleased to have survived to thunderstorms at night in the mountains.

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Yes, I know that I have been to Wyoming before, but this year I will be in the northern part of the state. According to my map there is a winery near my travel location (though the phone number is disconnected, grrr, Thanks a bunch, Wyoming Tourism Board). So what else can I do in Northern Wyoming without going into Yellowstone, or Jackson Hole (which would have regional wine nearby)?

Well, get out the mashed potatoes, but don’t start sculpting yet as I will be driving in the vicinity of Devil’s Tower and you will be wanting updated photos unless you are seeing them in your head, that is…. I plan to avoid the anal probe so I probably won’t be stopping. I will be near Yellowstone, just not while I am in Wyoming.

If you are aware of anyplaces along the road in Wyoming in the north of the state, please, please, let me know. Email me at gretchen@vinoverve.com.

AnyWho. Here is the updated map!

(I don’t remember being so timid with color when I prepared this last year!)

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Ok, I am a bit off in the order that I am travelling. But the point is still the same. I am stopping in all of these states! And today, I am highlighting South Dakota.

South Dakota has always been close to my heart since I was in Mrs. Herzig’s 2nd grade class and she taught us all about writing letters AND geography by making us all write to the tourism bureau of the various states. My state was South Dakota. Home at various points, to Laura Ingalls Wilder of the Little House Books which were a huge part of my 2nd and 3rd grade life. Ironically, she is not mentioned at all, as I recall, in their tourism literature (not the case now), but because of them (The SD Tourism Board) I was able to stun my parents with knowledge of the Mitchell Corn Palace when they had a chance to visit the state several years ago. Yes, that is the way my head works.

Armed with that knowledge, I have begun to consider places to stop in South Dakota. Luckily, I have been given some advice. Wanda, from the South Dakota Tourism Board has give me some advice.

As a result on my short list of wineries to visit are:

Prairie Berry Winery
Old Folsom Winery (biodynamic farming)
Schade Winery

As for possible adventures? Well, the Black Hills call me. Plus, I watched Deadwood. Oh and the Badlands too. I loves me the geology. Also Sturgis is along the route, though I think I will steer clear if it is crazy that week. Anyone? When do the bikers converge on Sturgis? Clearly the Mitchell Corn Palace deserves a look-see. And finally, DeSmet. Little House on Prairie-ville. That is a big Duh kinda-stop. (Oh, please don’t make it filled with re-enactors. I have issues, please note that I have been banned from the Freedom Trail (unofficially)).

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

North Dakota! Where the winds go sweeping down the plains! Ooops, wrong song. But North Dakota is where I’ll wind up next and there are plains. So that much is accurate. To get there, all I have to do is cross the Red River from Minnesota. Easy-peasy. Now, I have seen the Red in action. it is no meek, mild river. I got to enjoy its delightful flooding during the summer of 1993 in the even more delightful city of Winnipeg. Do you know how big mosquitos get in Manitoba during a flood? I still have nightmares about them.

So what do I have to look forward to in North Dakota?

Well, there is Fargo. Still no Marge, but still. I also get to go through the capital, Bismarck, named for the German Chancellor, not the donut.

Other options for me:

The Roger Maris Museum
The National Buffalo Museum where there are albino bison.
A walking tour of Louis L’Amour’s hometown
I got excited about the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Hall of Fame, but it turns out that it is a portrait gallery of famous North Dakotans Now it is interesting because I learned that Lawrence Welk, Peggy Lee and Angie Dickinson all came from North Dakota.
Fort Abraham Lincoln and Custer House might be more up my alley so long as I avoid the guided tour (I have been banned from the Freedom Trail, after all. Marguerite is similarly banned. We are not good on historical tours, in fact, we are downright snarky.)
Salem Sue! I love giant animals! I visit the Big Duck often, how could I skip the duck’s dairy equivalent?
Dakota Dinosaur Museum. Did you just hear my nerd alert go off? WHEE!
Did I mention that this will be my first time seeing the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt_National_Park?

Now I just have to figure out what the quintessential food of North Dakota is… Any ideas? You know how to reach me or comment below.

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

This year, I will once again, be driving out the Wine Blogger’s Conference. This year, the event will be held in beautiful Walla Walla, Washington. Naturally, I need to find places to stop along the way. No road trip is complete without a bite of the local color. So the key is to start planning now. I have two potential routes to adventure. I can either take the incredibly convenient to hop onto Interstate 90 which will lead me through Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington; OR the equally incredibly convenient to hop onto Interstate 94 which will lead me through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Washington.

Choices, choices. The common denominator is the ease with which I will be able to hit the road as from Chez Neuman it is a five minute drive to either Interstate. Talk about your Gateway to the West!

Now is the time, for me to figure out as much as I can to make an informed drive. So if you know a cool, geeky spot, I should stop, a nice, but reasonable place to stay for the night, the local fare that should be tried or a great winery along the way? Email me at gretchen@vinoverve.com. If I use your suggestion a beautiful Locapour t-shirt could be yours!

Locapour Lite by VinoVerve
View more Locavore T-Shirts

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

While in St. Louis, I did more than drag an underaged teen from one winery to another… I went out to dinner… With grownups even!

Yes, it is true. After spending a long day in volleyball and touring Daniel Boone’s favorite wineries, the girl and I headed back to the hotel where she immediately ditched me for team related activities and headed up to see my favorite wine-loving volleyball mom. After snacking on some cheese and crackers and drinking some delicious Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon we headed down to the hotel’s restaurant, An American Place.

The room for this restaurant is beautiful with ridiculously high ceilings due to the Mezzanine being above. The ceiling seemed to have Wedgewood cameos engraved, painted, however it is done.

One of the things that I liked about the menu was that the Chef/Owner Larry Forgione sources many of his supplies locally. Unlike many chefs, he extends this policy to his list of libations which contained selections from :

Mt. Pleasant
Chaumette Estate
Schlafly
O’Fallon

Better yet, the meals were terrific. We started out with an amuse bouche of blue cheese panna cotta with a reduced balsamic glaze and chip of cured pork shoulder. Next I had the sweetbreads which were a treat I haven’t had in a long, long time and finally the hanger steak which at that point I forgot to photograph because I was enjoying the food and conversation…. Oh, and I loved the presentation of the shrimp cocktail, which I thought looked like mini versions of the St. Louis Arch!

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

“Defiance!” I said, while pointing the car down the highway.

“What did I do?” Sophie asked.

“No, no,” I quickly explained, “That is the town we are going to”.

Not that this really helped my 13 year old traveling companion. But then, she really hadn’t done any research.. Defiance is the name of several towns and villages throughout the U.S. It is also the beginning of the Missouri Weinstraße, Route 94 between Defiance and Marthasville.  It was also the final living place (though not resting place) of Daniel Boone.

It is also home to  three wineries.  Chandler Hill Vineyards, Yellow Farmhouse Winery and Sugar Creek Winery & Vineyards.

I stopped at Sugar Creek after finding the Yellow Farmhouse closed (and across the street from a really active biker bar).  The tasting room was off the road and across the Katy Trail and up about 150 feet (yes, it was a steep hill).  I liked that there were different outdoor settings for people.  There were at least two decks, a  patio and scattered tables surrounding a gazebo.  Additionally, there was an area that was set aside for music and (presumably) dancing.

The tasting room was relatively small but opened up into rooms in the back that were available for additional seating or for event rental.  Sophie looked around while a started my tasting.  The winery produces 15 different wines ranging from dry to sweet.  I settled on tasting the dry varietals beginning with the Vidal Blanc.  This is an estate grown wine that was fermented in stainless steel with the addition of oak chips while the wine is aged.  The  wine is light and crisp with just enough oak.

The next wine I tasted was the Chardonel which is a hybrid of Chardonnay and Seyval grapes.  This wine is also an estate selection.  It was fermented in aged in French oak barrels.  This wine was fuller bodies than the Vidal Blanc with nice citrus notes and butteriness.  Overall though, I thought both of the white wines lacked a certain oomph.  The reds, on the other hand, stood out.

The first red wine that I tried was the Chambourcin.  I have to admit that I have been enjoying Chambourcin more and more and this wine was no exception.  The wine was ripe with cherry flavor and dry.  It was aged in oak which provided a richness.

Next was the Cynthiana, more commonly called Norton.  This varietal is a native American grape.  The wine it produced tasted of black fruit and had a pleasant tannic finish.  It was finished in American Oak.  I will be looking for more Norton wines in the future.

The last wine that I tasted that day was the Michael’s Signature Red.  It was produced in honor of the winery owner’s Italian grandfather who taught him about wine making. This wine was softer with a smokiness.  It, like all of the wines that I tasted that day, were estate grown and bottled.

I was surprised to find that the Sugar Creek label did not list the Augusta appellation.  They just designated that they were from Defiance.  The winery is listed as an Augusta winery on the Missouri Wine Country website.  Never fear!  I managed to find AVA designated wine nearby!

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Missouri. The Show Me State. Home of four AVAs and before Prohibition the second-largest wine producing state in the country.

And being in St. Louis meant that these wineries were a hop, skip and jump from me.

So what did I do? Naturally, in our Friday afternoon break, I grabbed the car and started out to wine country. Missouri has over 80 wineries to choose from located both within and outside of their AVAs. Given my love of AVAs, I wanted to try to reach those in designated regions. All four are within a reasonable drive from St. Louis.

Given that I was being accompanied by my personal sommelier but somewhat easily bored teenager, Sophie, I decide to stick as close to the hotel as I could to keep her happy. This narrowed my options to two.

Augusta was the first designated appellation in the US beginning June 20, 1980 and is located along the river bottoms and alluvial plains of the Missouri River though generally at slightly higher elevations. The loamy soil has more of a clay content. The location is that of one of the first wineries in the state, the Mount Pleasant Winery. The region is fifteen (15) square miles and is home to seven wineries and one brewery.

I visited two of the wineries.

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Yes. I have to life outside of wine blogging. I don’t enjoy large parts of it, but that is another story entirely. Wow, has it really been a month since I posted?  More like six weeks?  Well, what is six weeks among friends, right?  Besides, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you what I was doing.  Heck, I barely believe it.

I was thinking about wine.  And drinking quite a bit of it.  And I even got to travel a bit.  Not a fancy trip with luxury accomodations… but the kind of trip that I like to make…  A ROAD TRIP!

And where did I go?

Missouri.

Remind me again… is there any wine in the Show Me State?

YES there IS!

But first, I had to survive volleyball!

Yes.  I am teasing you.  But there will be wine on Friday.  I promise…

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