Music at Montelle Winery

Over one weekend, Michael and I tried out some new wineries in the Augusta region with our friend Amanda as our guide. Our first winery of the day was Montelle Winery. As we got off state highway 94, we climbed up the hill to where the winery sits on top of Osage Ridge. As we made our way to the tasting room, we were greeted with the magnificent view of the Missouri River Valley below. Even with winter still present in the area with its dormant trees and brown grass the view was still very wonderful. Before even tasting the wine, I was already telling Amanda that we really need to come back during the summer and again in the fall. The tasting room is surrounded by patio outdoor seating. However, with it being a bit on the chilly side we would end up using their indoor seating.

Visiting Montelle Winery

Once inside the tasting room, there is a large oval bar in the middle with wines on one side and a gift shop on the other. Michael and I posted up by the bar awaiting our tasting, Amanda, who'd already done a tasting here before, opted to not have one. Michael and I looked over the tasting menu and noticed that for a tasting it was 4 wines for $15! Amanda had informed us that the Hoffman Family had acquired several wineries in the Augusta area and by doing so had made changes, one being the raising of the price of a tasting. The Hoffman Family intends to make Augusta, Missouri the new Napa Valley.

Michael agreed to do the drier side of the menu, while I went for the sweeter side. Michael started with a Dry Vignoles, it is a off-dry white wine with aromas of pineapple and strawberries. Michael could only pick up the pineapple. He thought the Vignoles was okay, but he figured he wasn't really in the mood for it on a cold day. My first sampling was the Strawberry Moscato. It’s made from strawberries, but, unlike other strawberry wines I have tasted, wasn't overly jammy. For our second tasting Michael had River Country White, made from the Vidal grape in a Riesling style, and I had St. Wenceslaus, a red sweet wine that tasted like Christmas and would be perfect as a mulled wine. Michael had the Norton next. My next wine was Himmelswein, it was highly recommended by the bartender. Himmelswein is made from the Catawba grape and has a green apple finish. I let Michael taste it and it confused him because he thought my next one was Peachy since I had asked him what I should try next. The wine confused him until I told him that it wasn’t the Peachy but the Himmelswein. Michael’s last wine was the Chambourcin. It was good example of a Chambourcin, but not necessarily stand out like others we have tried. Amanda talked about the wines here and the bartender overheard so gave her one complimentary taste of River Country Red.

After our tasting we decided to get a bottle of the Dry Vignoles for lunch. Amanda and I ordered broccoli cheese soup with bacon bits, and Michael ordered a chili. When ordering we were asked if we wanted music bingo cards. Confused we said sure but as we went downstairs to the indoor seating, we heard music being played by Scott and Karl, a music group that did a variety of oldies. We listened and figure out what songs were playing as we crossed off our bingo cards. The three of us discussed which songs we knew and which we didn't.

Sipping wine and playing music bingo

We sat in the back and saw that there was a bit of a dance floor. Michael and I used to do swing dancing almost every Friday before the pandemic. We made our way but sadly started when the song ended. This was when a winery staff member informed Michael that they were out of chili. He was very saddened by this, but said broccoli cheese soup would be fine. Awhile later and after a dance, we were served and the soup that came with some bread that was extremely delicious. Probably not the best pairing with our bottle of Dry Vignoles.

Broccoli Cheese soup with Bacon

The three of us discussed the ranking for this winery. We analyzed the various criteria we had. We really didn’t like how expensive the tasting was even though we got to keep the glass we used for tasting. While that annoyance did affect the rating, we all liked the wine we had tried and there was a good variety. It was also good that there were various places to sit and that there was a good size food menu. So overall, we rated this one in the low A tier.