Sipping a dry white wine, I surveyed the neat rows of grapes at Noboleis Vineyards. A few couples strolled around the hilltop location, caught up in conversation and a rare chance to slow down and savor. Birds sang in an old mulberry tree nearby, and a red bird hopped among the vines. It was a picture-perfect moment of serenity.
This might sound like a scene from California’s Napa Valley, but I was in Missouri.
Noboleis Vineyards in Augusta, located along one of Missouri’s 9 industry-designated wine trails, is one of about 130 wineries in the state. While most people don’t associate winemaking with the Midwest, a bounty of wineries across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana are especially inviting in the fall when crisp days beckon people to linger outside.