Missouri Rhineland - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 689

and fields of corn and soybeans. Along the way, the road ventures now and then across
the wooded hills and valleys that form the northernmost reaches of the Ozarks, which are
notmountains—despitewhatmanybelieve—butaretheremainsofanancientplateauthat,
over eons, was dissected by the relentless forces of wind and water.
4. Augusta
Golden vines cascade down the gentle rounded slopes surrounding Augusta, the heart
of Missouri River wine country—or Rhineland, as it is sometimes affectionately called.
NostalgicGermanimmigrants,remindedoftheirbelovedRhineRivervalley,flockedtothe
Missouri River in the 1800s, bringing with them their Teutonic architecture and traditional
winemaking skills. Back then Missouri was the largest wine-producing state—that is, un-
til Prohibition turned off the spigots. In 1980 the Augusta area became the first federally
designated viticulture area in the United States. Wineries flourish once again along Mis-
souri'swineregion.AperfectplacetosamplesomeofMissouri'sprize-winningnectarcan
be found in Augusta's five wineries: Mt. Pleasant Winery; Balducci Vineyards; Augusta
Winery; Montelle Winery; and Noboleis Vineyards.
5. Dutzow
As Rte. 94 continues west, it passes through the little German town of Dutzow, founded
in 1832 by members of the Berlin Emigration Society. One point of interest that is easy
to miss is the cemetery, just down the road, where the earthly remains of Daniel Boone
may—or may not—be laid to rest.
Boone's body lay here beside that of his wife for 25 years after his death in 1820. Then
thestateofKentuckyinsistedthatitsfoundingfatherbemovedbackhome.Missouriacqui-
esced, but some skeptics maintain that Kentucky got the bones of a young slave—a story
supported by a forensic expert—while the great backwoodsman remains exactly where he
wished, on this hill overlooking his beloved Missouri bottomland. Boone wasn't the only
one lured by the river bottom; farmers love its rich soil as much as builders appreciate its
level terrain. Vineyards dot the hillsides. Dutzow is home to Blumenhoff Winery.
6. Washington
From Dutzow the drive detours south on Rte. 47, crossing the Missouri River to reach
Washington. With a population in excess of 14,000, this town is, by local standards, con-
sidered something of a metropolis. History was made here in 1869, when a woodworker
mechanized the manufacturing of corn cob pipes. The Missouri Meerschaum Company