At the Eastern Winery Exposition 2020, in Lancaster, I had the opportunity to try two new wines from Stone Hill Winery. Stone Hill Winery has a wonderful story. Established in 1847, in Missouri, well before there was a Napa Valley wine industry, Stone Hill grew to be the second largest winery in the United States! Stone Hill wines were world renowned, winning gold medals in eight world’s fairs, including Vienna in 1873 and Philadelphia in 1876. By the 1870’s, the winery was shipping 1,250,000 gallons of wine per year.
In 1965, local farmers Jim and Betty Held with their four young children along, bought and moved into the remnants of the original winery and began the long restoration of the dis-repaired old-world buildings and vaulted underground cellars. The business is now in the hands of the next generation, managed by son Jon Held and his wife, Karen.
Today Stone Hill is Missouri’s oldest and most awarded winery. Stone Hill’s yearly production is approximately 300,000 gallons of wine, using state-of-the-art equipment and the latest technology.
Nathan Held presented two of his family's wines. Nathan grew up in Hermann, Missouri, surrounded by the wine industry. His grandparents resurrected Stone Hill Winery and now his parents run the business. Nathan has worked in many different aspects of the business over the years, whether on the bottling line, with the cellar crew, or in the tasting room. Most recently, he has championed a cause-focused marketing effort which has become the number one selling label at the winery since its introduction. Nathan is currently a student at Saint Louis University studying entrepreneurship, philosophy, and biology.
The first winer Mr. Held presented was the Stone Hill Norton Estate 2015. The Norton grape is a true native American grape of the species vitis aestivalis and the official state grape of Missouri. This Estate Bottled Norton is produced from 100 percent estate-grown Norton grapes from their own Norton Vineyards high above the Missouri River.
The grapes were harvested mid-October 2015, and the wine was fermented on the skins, and was then aged for 12 months in French, Hungarian and American oak barrels.Big notes od dark cherry, cassis, blueberry, spices, vanilla and toast. It's a big, lush red. Easilly one of the best varietal examples of Norton I have ever had.
The next wine was also impressive, which was the Stone Hill Ozark Hellbender 2017. The wine was named for the Ozark Hellbender, a regional and practically extinct small lizard, which spends most of its life secretively hiding under rocks in the bottom of Ozark streams. A portion of the proceeds from every bottle of Ozark Hellbender wine sold is donated to the Saint Louis Zoo and hellbender conservation. Reportedly, it is either the best selling or among the best selling wines made in the state.
All of the grapes used to make Hellbender are grown in the Ozark Mountain AVA. It's made from three grapes: Norton, Chambourcin, and an unnamed third secret grape. Some of the grapes in this belnd are aged in neutral oak, whicle some are aged in newer oak. The result is a big red wine with lots of cherry, bramble, and blackberry, with a smooth middle, and a lovely dry finish. A tremendous blended wine, with lots of complexity and backbone. Terrific wine as well.
Two great wines from Stone Hill Winery!