On Sep 10, 9:46*am, Mark E Sievert > wrote:
> http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/...g-back-norton/
>
> It has been a number of years since I've last posted here but the
> miracle of DSL in my remote location allowed me to re-visit old
> favorites that dial-up couldn't handle.
>
> For those who are blinkingly trying to remember me, I was probably the
> group's sole cheerleader for Missouri wine. *Yes, there is still a
> vast quantity of labrusca plonk produced here, but the above article
> link shows the seriousness of my home state's ability to produce good
> wine.

I have had only very limited experience with Missouri wines, but I do
hear that some are now quite decent, and the price of some of the
better ones can be in the US$ 20 range - a far cry in both quality and
price from what I remember of Missouri and Arkansas wines several
decades ago. In addition to grape wines, several other fruits have
long been made into wine in the region.

A few years ago Missouri laws were changed to allow making of fruit
spirits by wine producers. The only ones of these "eau de vies" I have
tasted came from Montelle, and I know nothing about the wines they
also make. Their Cherry, Golden Delicious, Peach and Grappa brandy
(eau de vie) is sold in 375 ml bottles for close to US$ 20, and it
requires about 8 pounds of fruit for each 375 ml. Their peach seems to
be well made and does have considerable peach character, especially
the aroma of ripe peach skins. I have not been able to find a peach
eau de vie from Europe for a direct comparison. Their cherry is good,
but does not have the complexity of the better examples of kirsch from
Alsace, the Black Forest, or Austria.

OT: I likely will be able to drink wine again before long. I no longer
have to take the strong medication for pain that is not safe to
combine with alcohol. The only thing I take now is a hormone that must
by sniffed by nose once a day. It is supposed to help increase bone
density. It does not seem to interfere with smelling, In November I
will have a bone density scan, and I might be able to stop taking the
hormone if the bone density is high enough.