Take a Tour of Arkansas' Wineries and Judge for Yourself

Take a Tour of Arkansas'
Wineries and Judge for Yourself
*****
By Jill M. Rohrbach, travel writer
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism

Thousands of visitors stop to savor Arkansas' award-winning wines, tour its wineries and soak up the history of Arkansas Wine Country each year. When planning a tour to the Altus region consider timing it to coincide with one of the annual wine festivals that offer a taste of delicious wine and can leave a lasting impression of the rural, simple life.

Cowie Wine Cellars & Museum

Cowie Wine Cellars, a small family winery that began operations in 1967, produces an assortment of wines from locally grown grapes. Cowie Wine Cellars' Cynthiana won the business a silver medal in a pool of more than 700 entries at the Eastern Wine competition in New York in 1982. The winery has also won medals in Arkansas, Indiana and Tennessee.

Unique to this winery is the Gallery of Barrels, a collection of barrels adorned with oil painting scenes of wine and wine history. Cowie Wine Cellars also sells winemaking supplies, gifts, Arkansas-made Ozark Mountain Smokehouse meats, cheeses and other picnic items, and guests can opt to stay at the Cowie's Winery Bed and Breakfast Inn. The winery is also home to the Arkansas Historic Wine Museum, which includes commercial and home winemaking equipment and information on the growth of the winemaking process since its beginning in the region.

Hours of operation are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Tours are available upon request daily. 101 N. Carbon City Road, Carbon City near Paris; 1-800-419-2691; www.cowiewinecellars.com.

Post Familie Vineyards

The oldest commercial vineyard between California and New York, Post Familie Vineyards has been run by five generations of the Post family since 1880. Today, five Post brothers along with two Post sisters run the operation. Post offers an array of wines, juices and jellies as well as an extensive line of wine-related accessories in its gift shop.

The winery is most noted for its Muscadine wine and its popular Chardonnay, but the business also sells about 15,000 cases of grape juice annually. Post has won more than 80 awards in international, national and regional competitions in the past year.

Hours of operation are 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday. Tours are available upon request. 1700 St. Mary's Mountain Road, Altus; 1-800-275-8423; www.postfamilie.com.

Wiederkehr Wine Cellars

Atop St. Mary's Mountain, the Wiederkehr family tradition of winemaking began in 1880 when Johann Andreas Wiederkehr and his family emigrated from Switzerland to America. The original hand-dug wine cellar, now the site of the Weinkeller Restaurant featuring Swiss and Continental cuisine, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Vintage 1880 Wine Shoppe sells wine, gourmet items and wine-related gifts. Wiederkehr also accommodates groups in its banquet hall and travelers in its RV park. Wiederkehr produces an array of award-winning wines, from classic French varieties and dessert wines to sparkling wines and alcohol-free wines.

The winery and restaurant are open daily (except major holidays). Restaurant hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. for lunch and 5 p.m.-9 p.m. for dinner Monday-Saturday, and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. on Sunday. Tours are offered every hour from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The gift shop is open from 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. 3324 Swiss Family Drive, Altus; 1-800-622-WINE; www.wiederkehrwines.com.

Mount Bethel Winery

Owned by Eugene and Peggy Post, this winery is located in a quaint, native rock structure in a farm setting. While Mount Bethel Winery received its wine permit in 1956, the vineyards, winery and home on the business' land date back to Joe Post, eldest son of Jacob Post who emigrated from Germany to the area in 1880. Other descendants of Jacob Post run nearby Post Familie Winery. Mount Bethel is the original location of the Post Familie Winery, which moved after acquiring the Altus Cooperative Winery. Mount Bethel is now also in the hands of a fourth generation descendant of Joe Post -- Michael Post.

Mt. Bethel vints classic wines such as Merlot, Cabernet and Chardonnay, and native Arkansas varieties such as the Cynthiana and Muscadine. The winery also specializes in fruit wines such as blackberry, blueberry, elderberry, peach, strawberry and wild plum.

Hours of operation are 8:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday. Tours are available upon request. 5014 Mount Bethel Drive, Altus; (479) 468-2444; www.mountbethel.com.

Chateau Aux Arc Vineyards & Winery

Chateau Aux Arc, which means "House with an Arch" in French but is also the original French spelling of Ozark, is the newest vineyard in Arkansas Wine Country. Chateau Aux Arc planted its roots in 1998 when Audrey House finished college, bought 10 acres in Altus, and opened her winery in 2001 selling vintages bottled in 1999 and 2000. She is one of the world's youngest winemakers and made her first wine at age 13.

Now with about 40 acres, this vineyard is known as the world's largest planter of Cynthiana grapes, the largest U.S. Chardonnay vineyard outside of California, and the largest Zinfandel planter in Arkansas.

Chateau Aux Arc features an eclectic tasting room with works of art from several local artisans.

Hours of operation are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday. Tours are available upon request. 8045 Ark. 186, Altus; 1-800-588-WINE; www.chateauauxarc.com.

Annual Wine Festivals

*Cowie International Amateur Wine Competition, last Saturday of April, Cowie Wine Cellars.

*Arkansas Wine Heritage Day, first Saturday of May, Arkansas Historic Wine Museum, Cowie Wine Cellars.

*Altus Grape Festival, last weekend in July. Contact Chateau Aux Arc for dates.

*Wiederkehr Village Weinfest, mid-September, Wiederkehr Wine Cellars.

*Annual Wine Fest and Arkansas Championship Grape Stomp, mid-September, Cowie Wine Cellars.

Information on each festival can be found by contacting individual wineries, the Altus City Hall at (479) 468-4191, or by visiting www.altusarkansas.com.