This Missouri Wine Region Dreams of Becoming the Midwestern Napa Valley
要了解为什么德国定居者在19世纪被成千上万的人移民到密苏里河谷蒙特尔酒庄vwin德赢ac米兰near Augusta, Missouri, provides a terrific lens.
Perched atop a towering bluff in the rolling countryside, the lookout frames a bucolic portrait of forests, green hills, riverside row crops, and mile-upon-mile of rich bottomlands that funnel towards the Missouri River, America's longest waterway. The vast panorama, reminiscent of the homeland so many Germans left behind, exemplifies what came to be called the Missouri Rhineland, a geographic area strung out over 100 miles between St. Louis and Jefferson City. While the region's extreme climate made wine-growing a challenging prospect, what with humid summers and frigid winters, its steep, sun-exposed slopes offered tremendous topography for the immigrants to plant their vines. And plant their vines they did.
By the late 1800s, Missouri produced as much wine as any other state in the nation. Anchored by the town of Hermann – home to the award-winning Stone Hill Winery, which, at one point, was the third largest winery in the world – some 2,000,0000 gallons of wine were made each year in the Show-Me State. (Hermann's phylloxera-resistant rootstock is also responsible for saving the French wine industry).在纳帕山谷（Napa Valley）成为家喻户晓的名字之前，密苏里河谷（Missouri River Valley）是葡萄酒行业的美国首都。vwin德赢ac米兰
一个多世纪以后，一个拥有当地关系的载有沉重的投资者希望将密苏里葡萄酒国变成一个国家目的地 - 精确的奥古斯塔小镇，是美国第一个美国葡萄种植区的所在地。vwin德赢ac米兰没错，在圣路易斯以西45分钟路程，这是一个15平方英里的葡萄种植地区，声称是该国最古老的AVA，并于1980年6月20日，在加利福尼亚州纳帕谷（第二AVA）赚取的八个月之前确保其身份它的条纹。为了将密苏里州重新放在地图上，戴维·霍夫曼（David Hoffmann）与他的妻子杰里（Jerri）一起希望在美国葡萄酒史的一章中，禁止在葡萄藤上杀死。vwin德赢ac米兰
Since late last fall, the founders of Hoffmann Family of Companies, a Florida-based conglomerate, have purchased more than 1,000 acres of land in the Augusta area, including multiple vineyards, a bed-and-breakfast, a historic cottage, four of its five wineries, and a slew of old buildings slated for a fresh coat of paint. The estimated price tag for the Hoffmanns' vision: a cool $100 million.
The plan projects a destination restaurant, a five-star hotel and spa, a 12-hole golf course designed by Rees Jones, riverboat cruises aboard a luxury yacht, and a revitalized downtown with flower and coffee shops, a filling station, and a general store. Trolley, carriage, and Gator utility vehicles will take visitors around town and through vineyards. Conveniently, the Katy Trail – America's longest stretch of rails-to-trails – sits at the foot of downtown Augusta.
奥古斯塔地区的投资将通过升级霍夫曼（Hoffmann）的四个获得的酿酒厂的每个酿酒厂的基础设施和设备来提高数量和质量。vwin德赢ac米兰巴尔杜奇葡萄园，蒙特尔酒庄，vwin德赢ac米兰Augusta Winery， 和山宜人的庄园, Augusta's oldest winery established in 1859. At Mount Pleasant alone, production is expected to more than double from its current rate of 25,000 cases a year. The bells and whistles will draw people to Augusta, sure, but the wine heritage and excellence of its vintners will be what keeps them there.
"We are focusing on the history of Augusta and educating everyone on the first AVA," says David Hoffmann, who serves on the board of directors for the Winter Wine Festival in Naples, Florida, the largest wine auction in the United States. "Missouri wine is exceptionally good, and we plan to put it on the map by distributing it throughout the country."
密苏里州目前在美国的葡萄酒生产中排名第十，每年售出160万加仑，是美国五个美国葡萄种植区和125个酿酒厂的vwin德赢ac米兰所在地。由于气候恶劣（与沿海地区相比），该州的葡萄通常是由越过美洲原住民葡萄与欧洲亚洲葡萄种植的杂种产生的Vitis Vinifera，这可能会产生非常酸的或良好的干葡萄酒。vwin德赢ac米兰几十年来，密苏里州的酿酒师故意在葡萄酒中留下vwin德赢ac米兰了一些甜味，使他们对更多人更可口。
根据堪萨斯城居民的道格·弗罗斯特（Doug Frost）的说法，世界上只有葡萄酒大师和大师侍酒师冠军的三个人之一，这是密苏里州所有葡萄酒都很甜蜜的神话。vwin德赢ac米兰他说：“没有一些甜蜜，许多人会太酸了。”
Frost posits that Missouri winegrowers exhibit more skill than California producers who are merely mimicking the work of generations before them, there or overseas. "Our farmers and winemakers are no less deserving of attention and reward than any others, particularly as it is far more difficult to make tasty wine out of the Norton grape than from Merlot," he says. "Missouri producers are inventing a tradition from whole cloth each year."
密苏里州切斯特菲尔德的安妮·冈vwin德赢ac米兰恩（Annie Gunn）餐厅的葡萄酒总监格伦·巴尔特特（Glen Bardgett）担任密苏里葡萄酒大赛的法官已有30多年的历史了。他的詹姆斯·比尔德（James Beard）提名的葡萄酒计划拥有vwin德赢ac米兰来自20个国家 /地区的近1,000种葡萄酒，其中包括来自密苏里州的20种葡萄酒。
"Missouri wines do very well in blind tastings," he says, dubbing Norton the greatest "true" American grape. "Can we make wines to compete with $300 Burgundies or Bordeaux – probably not. Can we make $20 reds, whites, sparkling, rose, and dessert wines to compete with $20 wines from around the world? Absolutely."
虽然奥古斯塔的每个酿酒厂都将在施工期间向游客开放vwin德赢ac米兰，但霍夫曼的整体项目旨在在24个月内完成。完成后，Oenophiles将有一个新的葡萄酒目的地可以添加到他们的遗愿清单中，而美vwin德赢ac米兰国葡萄酒行业和世界上的关键齿轮最终将达到应有的到来。