Squeezing Out the Stigma: Local Wine

Can you tell the difference between a French wine and a Missouri wine? What about a $25 California bottle from a Kansas vintage of the same price? Coming up…The Local Show Blind Taste Challenge. We pit some of the area’s best wines against their better known counterparts.

With more than 150 wineries in Kansas and Missouri, why do so few local restaurants still refuse to carry area wines on their menus, especially as they advocate so strongly for locally sourced produce on their menus?

The Kansas City based wine website Regional Wine Taster pulls no punches regarding the lack of local wines being served at Kansas City’s top restaurants.

In its Wine Lists of Shame, it singles out esteemed local eateries like Blue Stem, the Bristol, EBT, Lydias, Grand Street Cafe and YaYa’s. The website’s author, Danny Wood, and Colleen Gerke, Owner of Jowler Creek Vineyard & Winery in Platte City, Missouri, join Nick Haines to discuss the challenges that local wine producers face.

Learn more about Kansas City’s Amigoni Urban Winery:

Harvest 2010 from Michael Amigoni on Vimeo.

                     The Blind Taste Challenge

Our resident wine expert Doug Frost along with Randy Mason are the referees for our blind taste test. The rating system, based on the wine rating system created by British wine expert Michael Broadbent and a similar system used by the British wine magazine Decanter, rates wines from one to five with five being the highest score and one being the lowest.

The Tasters:

Stretch: Artist, TV Personality, Restaurateur, Visionary and Sculptor whose works have been on display in private and corporate collections throughout the world. The sculptures vary in scale from small approachable pieces to environmentally dominating. The choice of materials Stretch uses in his pieces-glass & steel-work against each other, causing tension while maintaining a high level of dialogue. Stretch is a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute. He owns a restaurant called Grinders, and a deli, Grinders West. He developed the sculpture park behind Grinders into a live music venue known as Crossroads KC @ Grinders, which promotes artists, musicians, and benefits for non-profit organizations. He has appeared on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives.

Eddie Kennison: Former wide receiver for the KC Chiefs. He established “Quick Start–The Eddie Kennison Foundation” whose “Festival of Food and Fun” is coming up June 25th where folks can test some great wines and help support Lupus research efforts. An owner of Cellar and Loft wine store in the City Market. Because of his continued charitable and civic activities, Eddie was nominated for the prestigious 2006 Walter Payton NFL “Man of the Year” award by an esteemed blue-ribbon panel from the NFL.

Katie Van Luchene: Katie brings an unmatched passion and depth of experience in writing about her hometown. She was a columnist for Kansas City Magazine and KC Home Design before launching KC Magazine where she now serves as executive editor. She’s also written about Kansas City for Midwest Living and Budget Travel.

Stephen Molloy: Stephen is the wine manager at the Classic Cup restaurant on the Plaza. He came to the States from Ireland where whiskey and brew are mainstays. His career began at Starker’s, in Kansas City, another established restaurant with a reputation for fine foods and wine. He worked in every position at the restaurant and eventually became the maitre’d. It was here he was “forced” to learn about wines and the maintenance of a wine list. He developed the Starker’s wine list from 600-1300 selections – eventually earning the restaurant the Grand Award in 1992 from the Wine Spectator, the highest award from the wine industry’s foremost publication.

Lucinda Kreifel: Lucinda is regular customer and fan of wine at Belvoir Winery in Liberty. In fact, she is such a fan of Belvoir that she chose the winery as the location of her upcoming wedding.

Check back after we air the show for a complete list of wines and results.