Hermann, MO

The 60-gallon oak barrels of dry red wine aging in the cellars at Stone Hill Winery are part of a tradition that dates back more than 150 years in Hermann, Mo. (pop. 2,674).

In the heart of “Missouri’s Rhineland,” Hermann and the nearby communities of Berger and New Haven are home to several wineries and vineyards—Adam Puchta, Bias, Hermannhof, OakGlenn, Robller and Stone Hill—which began growing and fermenting grapes as far back as 1848.

“You still see that good German upbringing, work ethic, and fastidiousness,” says Patty Held-Uthlaut, Stone Hill’s spokeswoman and the daughter of winery owners Jim and Betty Held. “I just couldn’t imagine raising my children somewhere other than Hermann.”

Wine has been a part of the economy and lore of Hermann since it was founded by the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia in 1836. The society commissioned immigrant George Bayer to find a location for a community that would preserve German culture in the New World.

Bayer was drawn to the Missouri River and its surrounding bluffs—which teemed with wild grapes—because it resembled the Rhine River Valley in Germany.

Like the wine industry, the river has always been important to Hermann. During the early 20th century, more than 30 steamboats plied the gentle flowing river north of town, providing a cost-effective way for the region’s 66 wineries to ship barrels of their product to St. Louis and beyond.

“The river was the salvation of Hermann for quite a period of time,” says historian Dorothy Heckmann Shrader, who has written four books about the town. “Back when steam was on the decline and everyone else was getting out of it, Hermann was getting into it.”

“They made a wonderful lot of money out of it,” she adds. “Some of those (steam) boats were built for $3,000 or $4,000, and they paid for themselves three or four times over in one season.”

In the early 1900s, Stone Hill was the second-largest winery in the country and the third largest in the world, producing 1.2 million gallons a year.

After Prohibition shut down commercial wine production in 1920, Stone Hill’s labyrinth of limestone cellars was used to grow mushrooms until the mid-1960s, when Jim Held bought the historic winery and began the long process of reviving the local wine-making industry.

“There were so many (home winemakers) in town at the time that we made 1,500 gallons the first year and were only the third-largest winery in Hermann,” he jokes.

Today, Stone Hill employs three of Held’s children and is the undisputed leader in Missouri wine production, with volume topping 200,000 gallons for the first time last year. Most grapes are grown locally, with new hybrids joining the longtime standard Norton. As it was a century ago, wine production is the linchpin of the local economy.

In addition to its wineries, Hermann boasts several upscale restaurants, 40 bed & breakfasts, and more than 100 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, including Hermannhof and Stone Hill wineries. The population swells for two local festivals—Maifest and Oktoberfest—honoring the town’s German heritage.

“We’re not losing our German culture, but we have come to the point of meshing the old with the new,” says Cheryl Schwartze, sales manager and special events director for Hermannhof Winery.

Schwartze grew up in Hermann and spent her summers leading tours at the winery. After going away to college, she and her husband, Leroy, welcomed the opportunity to return.

“When I was offered this job, I jumped at the chance,” she says. “We are seeing a lot more young couples coming back. We couldn’t have done a better thing.”

Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in Lee’s Summit, Mo.

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