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Before prohibition, Missouri was the second largest wine-producing state in the union, and for a short time during the Civil War, it was number one. Today the state's lush green area overlooking the Missouri River is officially recognized as America's first wine district. Parts of this district have produced wine since the 1830s, when German immigrants from the Rhine River Valley settled in Missouri. The historic towns of Augusta and Defiance, home of pioneer Daniel Boone, are part of this district. Other towns along the river include Dutzow, the first permanent German settlement in Missouri; Washington, which holds the state record for the most buildings on the National Register of Historic Places; and Hermann, recognized by its settlers as a German utopia.
About the author
Don Graveman, a graduate of the University of Missouri, is a historian and freelance photographer. Dianna Graveman, an editor, writer, and teacher, holds degrees from Lindenwood University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. With the assistance of community residents, Historic Hermann's Museum at the German School, and the historical societies in Gasconade County, St. Charles County, and Washington, the Gravemans have assembled a broad, pictorial history of Missouri wine country from St. Charles to Hermann.
