Business on the Vine: Wineries embrace agritourism, diversified products

While California is undoubtedly king of wine production and consumption stateside, Missouri’s long history and growing presence in the industry is making its own splash.

The Show-Me State has 126 wineries, and 10 of them have local tasting rooms. A Missouri Wine and Grape Board study finds a $3.2 billion economic impact with over 28,000 employees and 875,000 annual visitors from the 170-year-old craft.

In Walnut Shade, Bear Creek Wine Co.’s two decades in the business have been marked by growth. General manager Mandy Bonzer, daughter of founder Rebecca Tate, said revenue has grown 20%-25% annually in recent years, and 2020 was no exception. She declined to disclose revenue numbers.

“People are less interested in things and they’re more interested in experiences. That’s where they put their money,” she said, “like in outdoor adventures and really great food and wine. They’ll really spend more to make a memory.”

With COVID-19 precautions pushing people to outdoor venues, Bonzer said Bear Creek’s 7-acre space featuring outdoor seating grew in popularity among locals even as tourists slowed from nearby Branson. Bear Creek debuted heated wine huts for rent to increase spacing capacity over the winter months and kept live music going through the summer and fall.

Like most Show-Me State wineries, Bear Creek sources its grapes from Missouri growers producing French-American hybrids like chambourcin, chardonel and norton, she said. Bear Creek also brews beer and produces fruit wine on-site. While wine making is an international craft, Bonzer said her packaging has an Ozarks twist with images of tractors, bears and a fiddler.

“We couldn’t do snobby French wine labels here in Walnut Shade,” she said with a laugh.

Then and now
Missouri Wine and Grape Board Executive Director Jim Anderson said in the 1850s, Missouri was one of the top producing states for growing grapes and making wine. Citing the state’s diverse climate and soils, he said after the Civil War, it was likely the nation’s No. 1 producer until Prohibition dealt a fatal blow. In the last few decades, a resurgence of wineries has returned to the state, mirroring national trends.

“When I took the position, we had 30 wineries in the state,” Anderson said. “And 25 years ago, there were 2,500 wineries across the U.S.; today, it’s almost 10,000 wineries.”

With the growth of wineries also comes diversification. Anderson said owners are embracing agritourism, which is basically any economic activity that brings visitors to a rural area or farm.

“They are growing other fruits and vegetables, they are also doing agritourism operations where they are having weddings and special events,” he said. “It started with grape growing and making wine, and now it’s an agritourism operation.”

Dwight and Jean Crevelt run Walnut Grove-based 7Cs Winery which is best known for mead, or honey wine. They have a dozen varieties made from mostly Missouri honey and fruit, with some elderberry and aroniaberry grown at the winery. Dwight Crevelt said he most recently produced habanero and ghost pepper mead.

“They’ll get your attention, but they won’t blow your head off,” he said.

He said 7Cs has cultivated agritourism at its 120 acres through tent camping, a sunflower field and various annual festivals. The sunflower field drew a couple thousand visitors in 2020.

This year, the Crevelts plan to add aquaponics, which is a form of agriculture that combines raising fish in tanks with growing vegetables in water rather than soil.

He said the pandemic caused a boost in camping as many state parks were closed last year before the Fourth of July. He can accommodate between 10-20 groups, which often use his site because it runs along the Frisco Highline Trail and TransAmerica Bicycle Trail. The latter is known to draw international visitors to 7Cs.

Most of the visitors, about 70%-80%, are Missouri residents, he said.

“People are looking for something different,” he said. “They enjoy the experience of tasting the wine and talking to the owners and winemakers as part of this agritourism experience. They are not just sitting there with someone behind the tasting bar handing them drinks.”

The Bear Creek owners say they’ve partnered with 37 North Expeditions to use the winery as a destination following nearby guided hikes and horseback riding. The site also offers private cabins for rent and doubles as a wedding venue. Next spring, she said they plan to add 4,000 square feet to accommodate a larger commercial kitchen and deck, and expanded dining options.

In with the new
While most Missouri wineries survived 2020, and some like Bear Creek thrived, Anderson said he knows of three or four that closed.

Curling Vine Winery’s Branson location closed in May 2020. It previously operated as Stone Hill Winery.

But the tasting room will soon have new tenants. Manager Casey Barton said Ozark Hills Winery will open in mid-March in Curling Vine’s former space. To start, she said they’ll offer a selection of Missouri wines for tastes and pours and will soon begin bottling sparkling and still wines.

Anderson said he’s in talks with three other local wineries planning to open in the next year or two.

“Tourism is really going to take off for us, people want to get out. I think that will really pick up this summer and fall,” he said of visitors to wineries. “People are going to be hesitant jumping on an airplane or getting on a boat, and I think there’s a way to capture some of that tourism dollar in that folks are wanting to get out.”

He said the Missouri Wine and Grape Board’s 5-year-old Missouri Winery Visitors Program reached 10,000 members, with roughly 17% coming from nearby states.

“We’ve seen a lot of growth,” he said. “It’s a tie back to local food and farmers markets, but there’s also a tie back to the land.”