On Sunday, we took the trolley which stops right at the campground and visits a number of wineries and distilleries in the area. Our first stop was Adam Puchta which like Stone Hill is one of our favorites. I was sad to hear that Tim Puchta had recently passed away. Founded in 1855, the Adam Puchta Winery is the oldest, continuously owned family farm winery in the United States. We were told that Tim’s children will continue the tradition.
We also stopped at Oak Glenn Winery, and Copper Mule Distillery. Oak Glenn has spectacular views.
During the week, we walked around downtown and stopped in for a tasting at Sohn’s. They are in the early stages of re-establishing the winery which has a long history in Hermann. The Dierberg family (a brother of the Dierberg Grocery chain family) also has a big presence in town with a tasting room for their California wines. They do own the vineyard that provides all the grapes.
The Hermann museum is well worth a visit. The beautiful building was built in 1871 and was intended to be a bilingual school where courses were taught in both English and German. That continued until 1914 when WWI began and all things German were no longer allowed.
The museum covers the history of the town, which was founded in 1836 by George Bayer, who was an agent for the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia. The city was named for Hermann, who led the Germanic tribes to defeat three Roman legions in A.D. 9. There is a statue and only 3 cities have one, Detmold, Germany, New Ulm, Minnesota and Hermann, Missouri.
There is quite a collection depicting life in the town including a school classroom as it might have been in the early days of the German school. There are also displays of the wine making history. In 1918, Prohibition plunged the region into deep economic depression ten years before the Great Depression hit in 1929.
At one point, this was also one of the busiest ports on the Missouri River.
One place that I highly recommend is Doxie Slush.
Kismet is part Doxie with that long dachshund body so we had to photograph the sign. “May your dogs be long and your drinks be strong.”