Mount Pleasant Winery

Mount Pleasant Winery
5634 High Street
Augusta, Missouri
USA 63332
Phone: (636) 482-WINE
http://www.mountpleasant.com/

Contact: Chuck Dressel
Email: [email protected]

With more than 150 years of winemaking excellence, Mount Pleasant Estates is what every Missouri winery aspires to be. Experience the serenity of relaxing on Mount Pleasant’s patio with views of the sweeping vistas. Enjoy a meal artfully prepared by the chef in residence at Mount Pleasant’s Appellation Café. Discover the charm and history of old world winemaking. Taste the richness and variety of Mount Pleasant’s award-winning wines.

As the oldest winery in the Augusta Appellation, Mount Pleasant's rich history is a testament to Missouri's long-standing contribution to the global wine industry.

In 1859, two brothers from Germany, George and Frederick Muench, established Mount Pleasant Winery as a commercial wine business. The beauty of the rolling hills of Missouri River Valley reminded them of their homeland and showed exceptional potential for creating excellent wines.

The Muench brothers built the cellars in 1881, using the wood and limestone from the area. These cellars are still used today to age Mount Pleasant's estate-bottled wines and internationally award-winning Augusta Ports.

In the early days, Mount Pleasant was not the destination it is today. Not only were differing grape varieties planted, but apple orchards were also maintained. The Muench brothers shipped barrels of wine up the river to Chicago, to be shipped all over the world.

When Prohibition was enacted in 1920, the winery was forced to close. The wine and all of the winemaking equipment was destroyed and the vineyards were set on fire.

REVIVING MOUNT PLEASANT
It wasn't until 1966 when Lucian Dressel and his wife Eva purchased the property that Mount Pleasant was reopened as a winery. They replanted the vineyards with self-rooted vines and classic grafted European varieties. Lucian Dressel turned Mount Pleasant into a destination to enjoy award-winning wines in a picturesque landscape.

In 1980, Augusta was chosen above all wine-growing districts in the country, to be the first government-appointed wine-growing district. The first American Viticultural Area (AVA) became known as the Augusta Appellation.

Keeping the winery in the Dressel family, Chuck Dressel's family purchased Mount Pleasant from their uncle, Lucian Dressel, in 1992.

MOUNT PLEASANT TODAY
Mount Pleasant is the oldest and the most well established winery in Augusta. The winery grows 12 grape varieties on 78 acres. Over the past two decades, Mount Pleasant has won numerous prestigious awards and achieved high point-ratings for its wine.

Visitors to the winery in Augusta enjoy tasting wine in the spacious 4,000 square-foot tasting room and sipping wine on the terrace with spectacular views of the Missouri River Valley. There is entertainment year round including cellar tours, wine classes, winemaker dinners, holiday-themed events and more. Mount Pleasant, the pioneer in sustainable viticulture for the Missouri wine industry, celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2009.

Mount Pleasant Winery opened a second location in April 2008, a 9,200-square-foot tasting and bottling experience in Branson. The beautiful ledgestone building offers patrons the chance to shop, sample Mount Pleasant's numerous award-winning wines and even bottle their own wine from a specially designed 600-gallon French oak barrel.

In celebration of the 150th Anniversary and to reflect an enhanced visitor experience, Mount Pleasant changed the name of its Augusta location to Mount Pleasant Estates in 2009. The winery's location in Branson is still known as Mount Pleasant Winery.

Winemaker: Colin Pennington

Twitter: http://twitter.com/mtpleasantwine

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mount-Pleasant-Winery/94262055073

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