We made a last minute decision to attend the Midwest Grape & Wine Conference - Tour du Vin on Thursday February 2, 2013. It was a reception to kick off the conference and to give all the wine industry attendees a chance to mingle. While there we sampled many Midwestern wines and met a wide variety of grape growers, wine makers, and suppliers.
We ran into Dale Rowlings, the owner of Yellow Farmhouse Winery; which happens to be apart of one of our most frequented wine trails (the Ultimate Weinstrasse). This winery has always specialized in making dry wines. Dale gave us the insight on a dry Rosé that the winery would be releasing in April, becoming one of the staples on their wine list. It will be called "Sweet Talking Blonde." In April the winery will be holding barrel tastings for a chance to try out the newest addition to Yellow Farmhouse as well as the classics. We also met the owners of Röbller Vineyard & Winery and Chandler Hill Vineyards.
In addition to wine makers from Missouri, we also met a variety of wine makers from outside the state. One of which was Jason Jenkins who is associated with Fox Valley Winery in Oswego, IL. We compared tasting strategies and notes with him and discussed the joys of home brewing.
A familiar face was at the conference as well, Dale Deaton of the St. Louis Wine and Beermaking. Always a pleasure to talk beer with and discuss wine as well. We were informed later that he and his wife got to meet John Blichmann, President and Founder of Blichmann Engineering. Needless to say, we were a bit jealous and very excited about the prospects for next year's conference.
Wines samples from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, and of course Missouri left us wanting more. We cannot wait to return next year to mingle and to experience what the Midwest Grape & Wine Conference has to offer.
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