'Try and Buy' at Missouri Wine Festival
at Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks

 Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. – Missouri wines are enjoying a renaissance, as growing numbers of connoisseurs from coast to coast discover the magic of the state’s distinctive vintages.  On Saturday, July 14, visitors to the Lake of the Ozarks can experience that same magic as they taste some of the finest wines from over a dozen of Missouri’s award-winning wineries at the 14th Annual Missouri Wine Festival.  The event will be held from 3:00-7:00 p.m. in the French country-style center court of Stone Crest Mall on Highway 54 in Osage Beach.
   
“The Wine Festival is always a great day, with outstanding wines, lovely music and the sound of our indoor waterfall in the background,” says Robin Evers, manager of Stone Crest Mall.  The event is expected to attract more than 500 people.  “That includes wine experts and people who want to learn more about wine, as well as people who follow their favorite wineries and like to visit with the vintners and try what’s new,” Evers says.  “We’ll also see vacationers, day-trippers and groups of women enjoying a ladies-only weekend at the Lake.  They all want to taste and to learn more about wine.”
   
Admission will be $15, which includes unlimited wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres and a commemorative wine glass (a $30 value).  “We commission a different one every year,” Evers says.  “A lot of people come back just to get the new glass. And it’s nice to have an actual wine glass to taste from, too.”
   
Fourteen wineries will participate in the festival this year. “Each one brings four or five of their wines for tasting, plus wines you can buy by the bottle or case,” Evers says.  Participating wineries will include Grey Bear Vineyards, Stover; Peaceful Bend Vineyard, Steelville; Summit Lake Winery, Holts Summit; OakGlenn Vineyards & Winery, Hermann; Winery of the Little Hills, St. Charles; Stone Hill Winery, Hermann; Adam Puchta Winery, Hermann; Bias Winery, Berger; Wenwood Farm Winery, Bland; Buffalo Creek Winery, Stover; Cave Vineyard, Ste. Genevieve; Crown Valley Winery, Ste. Genevieve; Les Bourgeois Vineyards, Rocheport; and St. James Winery, St. James.  “We’ll have a complete list of every wine available, ranked by color and sweetness or dryness,” Evers says.  “That makes it easy to select what you want to taste and to note your favorites.”
   
Music will be provided by dulcimer musicians Dave and Laurie Thompson, better known as String Fever.
   
For more information about the 14th Annual Missouri Wine Festival, call Stone Crest Mall at 573-348-3106.  Information about the event, as well as Lake-area lodging, dining, attractions and shopping also is available from the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau at 800-FUN-LAKE (386-5253) or online at www.funlake.com.  

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