October, 2015 -- Hermann, Missouri

Friday and Saturday, October 23 and 24, 2015

Here we are on a road trip once again.  We love road trips, even if it means driving through areas we have seen before.  This time we are headed to Branson, Missouri, with a side trip to the famous wine country around Hermann.  Our adventure started mid-morning on Friday.  It is a dreary, rainy day, though we really don’t mind because it has been very dry this month.   Google routed us to entirely different route … through St. Paul to Rochester, MN and back roads to Iowa I380 in Waterloo. The advantage of staying off the freeway is the fun of meandering through the hills and farmlands with

virtually no traffic. While most of the color and leaves of the landscape in Minnesota is gone, the further south we went, the more variety of colors we saw in the forests. By early evening we were nearing New Florence in central Missouri … the sky, while still cloudy, was lit up by the setting sun in rays of pretty blues and pinks. It was a lovely day’s ride.

Hermann, Missouri

Vineyard and buildings on top of the
Hill ... stone Hill Winery
Hermann, MO

Saturday morning we drove to nearby Hermann, known for its picturesque foothills of the Ozarks along the banks of the Missouri River, its German heritage, its unique shopping experiences and its wineries!  There are a lot more red trees popping up along the hillsides on this cloudy, but dry day.  By 10 a.m. we were at the doors of the Stone Hill Winery for a wine tasting … which is situated on top of a hill with a great view of the area.  Stone Hill is a family owned, highly awarded winery that has been around since the 1800s (except for prohibition when they grew mushrooms). They grow their grapes in the area on almost 200 acres and provide a wide variety of wines.  Of course we had a purchase a couple bottles for Branson!

The drive to Oak Glen Winery
Hermann, MO

The view of the Missouri River
from Oak Glen Winery

Next we tooled around town, up and down very steep streets, checking it out.  We saw the beautiful setting for the Hermannhoff Winery where we stopped at what we thought was the tasting room.  It turned out to be a unique outdoor German restaurant … we never did find the tasting room.  A good reason to come back some day!  We then drove through the beautiful hills along the Missouri River east to a very long, narrow, hilly, curvy, gravel forest road that led us to Oak Glen Winery. That drive in itself was worth the trip … but then … oh my goodness … the grounds and vista overlooking the Missouri River were stunning!  The music was setting up and people were wondering in with their picnic goodies to settle in for a great fall day with friends, wine and music in this gorgeous setting.  The wine tasting was good … another bottle, of course, for Branson!!  

Acres and acres of vineyards
Hermann, MO, area

We continued east once more to another narrow road marked “closed during high water” which led to the river bottom, turning onto another narrow gravel road, across the railroad tracks and up the steep hill to Bias Winery.  At first we wondered if it was indeed a “business” or if it was a “hillbilly haven”.  But, yes, we had a great wine tasting … being treated to even more samples because we were the only ones there.  The wines were unique tasting and the gentleman providing the wines was very friendly and full of knowledge.  Yes, we bought another couples bottles … do you think we’re going to drink a lot this week??

There are several more wineries to explore … another reason to come back! But now it is time to

Water-spout light show,
Branson Landing, MO

head south to Branson where we were very excited to greet Jack and Diane, Bob’s brother and sister-in-law, who flew in from North Carolina.  After a couple hours of non-stop catching up, we­­­ meandered through Branson Landing, watched a delightful water-spout light show to music and had a delicious meal at the Texas Land and Cattle Steakhouse.  Another great day!