July Road Trip – St. Louis Family (1)

 …returning to our road trip from last July.  After visiting our son and his family in Omaha, followed by our exploration of northern and western Nebraska, our next stop was a visit to Laurie’s extended family in the St. Louis Missouri area…

Upon our arrival in St. Louis, Laurie’s sister Bonnie and her husband Bill had us over for a very nice dinner.  We started with a very nice caprese salad…mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, basil and a balsamic reduction.  As you can see, the main course included fresh bakery break, baked Hasselback potatoes, grilled asparagus and a fine top sirloin strip steak!  Excellent!

The next day, Laurie and I were treated to a couple of wineries that are located within an easy driving distance from the metropolitan area.  Our first stop was at the Sugar Creek Winery.

This winery was founded in 1994.  Their current on-line listing shows 14 different varieties of wine…from sweet to dry.  During our visit they were quite busy at the tasting bar.  I noted the brandy and vodka bar as well, but there isn’t anything on their website that describes it. 

Not only is the Sugar Creek Winery popular for its wine, but apparently they also provide a venue for weddings, receptions and other private parties or events.  There are a variety of areas, small and large, for such gatherings.

The vineyards themselves looked nice and lush don’t you think?  The views along this area in St. Charles County Missouri near the Missouri River are very appealing indeed!

Sugar Creek Winery is located at 125 Boone Country Road in Defiance Missouri.  It is right on the Katy trail through Missouri.  Phone: 636-987-2400.  Website:

Our next stop was the expansive Montelle Winery.  This area of Missouri was well known for its wine during the 1800s…but Prohibition stopped winemaking in this area for decades.  In the late 1960s and early 1970, several brave entrepreneurs began to attempt to revitalize the business.  Montelle Vineyards was founded in 1970. 

Wine tasting at Montelle’s expansive wine bar could keep you occupied for quite a while.  They produce about 21 different wines ranging from sweet holiday wines to wines made from fruit other than grapes.  Most of the wine however is of the ‘grape’ variety.  The winery also produces 4 types of brandy, apple, peach, cherry and grape or grappa.

We bought some wine and headed out to the terrace…a series of multi-level decks overlooking the stunning Missouri River Valley.  It was peaceful and relaxing.  Sadly, there is talk about housing developments in the valley… One can only hope that it doesn’t happen anytime soon.

The Montelle Winery also features food…always nice for someone like myself who doesn’t regularly partake of wine.  The Klondike Café offers wraps, sandwiches, salads, pizzas and snacks/appetizers.  In our case, we didn’t have to long to wait before dinner, so we just ordered their Jumbo Pretzel.  It comes packed with a variety of cheese cubes, slices of salami, a cheese spread, grapes and a nice mustard. ($20.00) Sunshine, family, wine and something to eat…hard to beat!

Of course, we just had to take photos of each other out on the terrace… It was a beautiful day, not too warm with a little breeze…and it was yet another opportunity to celebrate life!  Thanks to Bill and Bonnie for the great afternoon…

The Montelle Winery is located at 201 Montelle Drive in Augusta Missouri.  The location is hard to beat!  As you can imagine from the photos, the winery is a place where many weddings and corporate events are held.  Phone: 836-228-4464.  Their website can be found at https://www.montelle.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave