Harvesting the Wine Market

The arrival of August means harvest season is near for vineyards across southwest Missouri.

A report on the state’s wine industry released last month by the Missouri Wine and Grape Board estimates the fruit and its derivative libations had an economic impact of $1.76 billion in 2013.

The 2013 harvest had particular significance for Mike and Kathy Dennis, owners of Tyler Ridge Vineyard Winery LLC north of Springfield. Mike Dennis said the 2.5-acre vineyard yielded 10 tons of grapes that year – the most since opening four years ago. While production dropped in half last year, he expects to pick about 7 tons this season.

“The crop varies a lot on weather conditions. That’s just part of farming,” Dennis said, adding spring frosts, extreme moisture and wildlife affect yields.

For Ken Meyer, owner of Meyer Farms Inc. near Freistatt and a member of the state board, heavy rain meant there was no need to utilize the vineyard’s irrigation system this year.

He projects the company’s 30-acre vineyard will yield 250 tons of grapes, a 25 percent increase over last year.

“We’re 6 years old, and it’s gone up every year,” said Meyer, who also owns veteran radio station operator Meyer Communications Inc.

However, the revenue key is converting the grapes to wine.

“There are not many vineyards that get by just selling grapes,” Meyer said, estimating Meyer Farms’ 2014 revenue at $300,000, with two-thirds coming from grape sales.

In 2013, Missouri ranked 14th nationwide in gallons produced – just barely behind Virginia – but edged up to No. 9 in terms of acreage and total grape production at 6,040 tons, more than half that of the bottom 40 states put together.

Rival Virginia produces 6,600 tons from nearly twice as many acres, while No. 10 Texas with 3,500 acres produced only 5,800 tons in 2013.

“You don’t want to get too many tons per acre or the quality suffers,” said Brian Overboe, owner and president of the Oovvda Inc. winery, who buys his grapes from Tyler Ridge and grows his own cherries and raspberries for winemaking. “What’s key is that we get some dry weather when they are ripening.”

Viable vines
The three wineries are among 14 operating in southwest Missouri, according to the state board.

In Missouri, 128 wineries were registered at the time of the 2013 study.

“There’s room to grow,” Meyer said, adding before prohibition Missouri ranked No. 2 in wine production – second only to California. “The soil here is much different than it is up on the Missouri River. There’s been a lot of grapes grown in this area.”

Though it’s part of the federally recognized Ozark Mountain American Viticulture Area, southwest Missouri has the fewest wineries of the state’s five grape-growing regions.

“The wine business is a little bit different in that if another winery comes in I don’t look at those as being competition,” Dennis said, adding more businesses increase the potential draw for tourists.

According to the board’s report, an estimated 950,000 tourists accounted for $220 million in 2013 expenditures.

“If we had about six or seven wineries in a 10-miles radius here, that makes us more of a destination,” Dennis added.

Overboe pointed to Les Bourgeois Winery near Columbia and Canterbury Hill Winery and Restaurant, formerly Summit Lake Winery, near Jefferson City as examples of successful businesses in smaller cities.

“If those two markets can support a large winery, there’s no reason Springfield can’t,” he said.

On the table
Meyer Farms and Tyler Ridge sell part of their grape harvest to other wineries.

Meyer estimates 10 percent of grapes are sold, the bulk going to Augusta Winery near St. Louis. The rest of the harvest goes to Les Bourgeois Winery, which bottles and labels Meyer Farms’ wine.

Dennis said he sells to individual winemakers, but up to 70 percent of his grapes go to Oovvda for between $1,000 and $1,200 per ton.

Overboe said he grossed a little more than $100,000 in 2014 revenue, matching Oovvda’s best previous year in 2012. Although the number is diluted by wholesale operations, which accounts for 15 percent of his business, Overboe anticipates a 10-15 percent annual revenue increase due to lower gas prices and more winery visitors this year.

“We’re about 50 percent tourist and 50 percent local,” Overboe said.

“We’ve had a lot of people coming from Fantastic Caverns as of late, so we may be handing out brochures in the right places, too.”

Meyer Farms, like Oovvda, self-distributes product to retail stores, after ceasing a distribution deal two years ago with Glazer’s Inc.

Meyer Farms President Bonnie Bell said the winery wanted more control over its marketing strategy. With a budget Meyer estimated at “well over six figures,” Bell said Meyer Farms will continue traditional advertising with billboards, radio and television, while expanding online outreach and potentially constructing stores at Meyer Communications’ Springfield office, a site in west Springfield and in nearby Mount Vernon to boost retail sales next year.

Bell, who also serves as vice president of sales and development for Meyer Communications, said the farm is pursing contracts in the Columbia, Jefferson City and St. Louis markets.

“We’ve not inked an agreement up there yet, but that would be the next growth,” she said.

At Tyler Ridge, Dennis doesn’t advertise or sell wine outside of the vineyard. He said the sales essentially pay for the hobby.

“We’re kind of at a level where we want to stay, which is maybe a little unusual for a business,” Dennis said.