Wineries at Lake of the Ozarks are the perfect fall escape

WEEKEND GETAWAY |

Fall is calling.

And I hear it saying it’s time for a girlfriend getaway.

My ideal vacation involves nature, wine, great company, food and music. If that sounds like your idea of a good time, you’ll find all this and more at Lake of the Ozarks.

Lake of the Ozarks is a perfect fall getaway because it’s only an hour and a half from Springfield, so you don’t waste a lot of time driving. I drove through last weekend and the trees were awash with hues of amber, gold, and garnet. It’s beautiful.

Plus, two of my Top 5 Missouri wineries are located there: Seven Springs Winery and Shawnee Bluff. They both have gorgeous views, live music on the weekends, and great food and wine.

This region is also home to one of my favorite parks: Ha Ha Tonka State Park in Camdenton. Whether you opt to hike first and then drink, or drink one day and then hike the next, is up to you.

But it’s time to grab some gal pals, don your sneakers for a hike, then sit back, sip wine and enjoy the fall foliage.

Seven Springs Winery

From Springfield, the first winery you will encounter is Seven Springs Winery in Linn Creek, tucked between Camdenton and Osage Beach.

This charming winery opened in 2008 and produces Missouri wines, which tend to be on the sweeter side. It’s located on 160 acres and includes a gorgeous patio for that leaf-gazing.

You can taste three wines for free; six for $8 or the entire menu for $15 — that’s 13 wines.

The menu features everything from Vignoles to Syrah, my personal favorite.

After a tasting, meander outside. The owner has invested a lot in landscaping and design, which pays off in a relaxing ambiance.

There’s a waterfall feature that cascades from the porch down to the patio and is framed with stacked, natural stones. There’s a charming gazebo, small arched bridge, and a patio peppered with umbrellas and tables.

You can sit back and enjoy the rolling hills of the Ozarks.

If you’re going to eat, I recommend the bistro.

The bistro has Boursin-stuffed mushrooms, salads, an award-winning spicy shrimp and crab bisque, sandwiches, and delicious burgers. Try the Norton burger: a six-ounce Angus chuck burger topped with sautéed onions and mushrooms deglazed in Norton topped with melted mozzarella.

They have wine pairing suggestions on the menu.

The owner, Mike Bleile, has a long tradition of wine making in his family. Four generations ago, his family emigrated from Germany and settled near Hermann, Mo., a region praised for its wines.

Bleile’s grandpa made fruit and dandelion wine, and as a child, Bleile would assist in removing the dandelion petals. In college, he started to dabble in wine making and now he’s a winemaker.

There are 10 acres of Vignoles and Norton planted on the property.

These are not necessarily my recommendations — I tend to prefer dry over sweet— but their three best-selling wines are:

• Sevens Red Heaven: This sweet, red blend is the number one seller. It has a deep color, crisp fruit flavor and district sweet finish.
• Norton: This is the state grape of Missouri and this is an estate wine, meaning it is made from grapes grown at the vineyard. This wine has a hint of tobacco, oak, spice and a smooth finish.
• Dessert wines: “the left side white” dessert wine is made with Vignoles, fortified with apple brandy, and has 19.5 percent alcohol. It has a hint of green caramel apple.

My personal favorite is the Syrah, which is dry, has hints of black pepper and oak.

The winery is named after the seven springs located on his land.

Shawnee Bluff

When you walk up to Shawnee Bluff Winery, be prepared to say: “Hello, view.”

That’s because the venue is perched on a bluff and has a patio with sprawling views of Lake of the Ozarks. Sunsets here can be spectacular.

Here’s something to note: Shawnee Bluff has a winery in Lake Ozark and a vineyard in Eldon. The vineyard hosts weddings and is not open to the public except for special events, so don’t let GPS take you to Eldon.

Enter the tasting barn and there are 17 wines on the tasting menu. If you don’t love Missouri wines, good news. There are Missouri wines but also some from California, Washington and a Tempranillo from Spain. They have a sparkling brut and dessert wine not on the menu but available by the bottle.

Tastings are $6, $10 or $20 depending on how many you want to sample.

If you like California wines, try the Cabernet Sauvignon from Lodi; the Merlot from Paso Robles or the Central Coast Chardonnay.

If Missouri wine is more your style, then:

• The Double Bluff is their best seller. It’s a semi-sweet red that is crisp and tart. It’s a blend of St. Vincent and Chambourcin (AKA Missouri Pinot Noir).
• The Vignoles is another popular choice. It is semi-sweet white with notes of citrus and a tart apple finish.
• Moscato lovers, try the Bluff Breeze, a sweet, carbonated white wine that is reminiscent of Moscato.

Red and white sangria is available by the glass and carafe. This time of year, they serve spiced mulled cider. And if it’s a warm day, you can partake in one of the wine slushies. The flavors change weekly but examples include white peach or passionfruit.

The bistro serves wood-fired pizza, salad and appetizers.

This property dates back to the 1930s and was once a motel. You can rent a stone cottage to stay overnight, which has been restored.

Gail Griswold owns Shawnee Bluff with her husband. The couple also owns Rethink Renovations, an eco-friendly construction company in St. Louis. They are also renovating and restoring the former Casa de Loco Winery in Camdenton, but there is no opening date yet.

In terms of the winemaker, the recipes are their own, but Les Bourgeois in Rocheport bottles for them.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park

Now for that hike.

Ha Ha Tonka is one of my favorite parks for multiple reasons. There are 3,700 acres located on the Niangua arm of Lake of the Ozarks. It has everything: it’s lush, has great boardwalks for easy walking, a plethora of lookouts with stunning views, a spring and a castle. How often do you get to see one of those in the Ozarks?

The turn-of-the-century castle was envisioned by a wealthy businessman from Kansas City. He fell in love with the area and decided to build a European-style castle with 60 rooms. Construction began in 1905, but a year later he was killed in one of Missouri’s first automobile accidents. His sons finished construction in 1922, but on a smaller scale.

Eventually, it became a hotel and then was destroyed by a fire in 1942. All that remains is a shell, but it is fascinating.

Once you visit the castle remains, get out and hike.

Ha Ha Tonka has more than a dozen trails and a series of boardwalks. I recommend downloading a map before you go because it will come in handy.

The park is home to the 12^th largest spring in Missouri which produces gorgeous clear, blue-green water and is a must-see. Other geologic features include caves (closed to the public) sinkholes and an impressive natural bridge.

The park is a fabulous spot any time of year, but fall is my favorite.

Happy travels.

Juliana Goodwin

Juliana Goodwin is a freelance journalist with experience covering business, travel and tourism, health, food and history. She is a former Food and Travel Columnist for the Springfield News-Leader, a former business reporter for The Joplin Globe, and has written for USA Today and Arkansas Living Magazine, among others. More by Juliana Goodwin

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