The Big Sky Country of Montana comes with a cold climate that can be challenging for growing many types of grapes, but the cold-hardy Minnesota varieties can withstand the winter temperatures. Other fruits are also used to make local wines. The Montana Grape and Winery Association promotes the industry in various ways. Tongue River Winery in Miles City, with … Read more

Come Over October is an international celebration of—and with—wine as the beverage that brings us together—family, friends, colleagues, entire strangers—to toast all that is good about life. The promotion was created by noted wine communicators Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible, plus Kimberly Charles and Gino Colangelo, both of whom have their own wine-focused agencies … Read more

Missouri has a long history of grape and wine production, mostly due to Germans who settled in Hermann and other communities starting in 1837. In the 1870s, when French vineyards were being devastated by the root louse phylloxera, Missouri sent large amounts of resistant rootstock to help save that industry. Before Prohibition, Missouri was the … Read more

DC Updates Members of Congress wanted to get home to the campaign trail, an incentive that helped them come together to avoid a potential government shutdown. They basically kicked the can down the road with a “Continuing Resolution” (current spending levels) through December 20, when they will again play chicken right before the holidays. What … Read more

Mississippi winegrowers must be intrepid, putting down roots in a state that is perhaps the least hospitable both politically and viticulturally. Even though wine was already being made when the state officially joined the United States in 1817, it banned the manufacture and sales of Mississippi wine 13 years before Prohibition started—and didn’t repeal the … Read more