October 20, 2012 - Shawnee Bluff Winery Part II

My wife and I left the Quail's Nest Saturday afternoon and headed north on Osage Beach Parkway. As we drove the windy road, I thought about how similar it felt compared to Highway 7. The parkway was a four-lane road, sometimes divided and sometimes not. Still, it had quick elevation changes and short sight distances which for a tourist made the road feel faster than it should. True, there weren't deer this time, but instead there were cars pulling out from strip malls, other visiting drivers erratically changing lanes when they realized too late that they had missed their turn, and the siren-like pull of the scenic fall vistas drawing your eyes off the road. Wherever you go, there's a sense of  being higher than the surrounding area.

The windy road to Shawnee Bluff Winery

As we neared the dam, Osage Beach Parkway forks into Bagnell Dam Road and an option to merge with U.S. Highway 54. On Bagnell Dam Road the traffic slows, and the properties shrink in size but become more numerous. This is Lake Ozark, MO the older township on the lake. Original to when the lake was first created, many properties were quickly built to cater to the new tourist industry. While some shopping and restaurant properties have been demolished and sit vacant awaiting redevelopment, you'll pass mom & pop motor lodges from the 1930's, the Church of our Lady of the Lake, and steep driveways both up and down from the road.

Sunsetting on Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church

It was because of the steep driveway, we missed our turn off the first time through, but then saw the banner announcing "Winery" high above the roadway.  Taking the Jeep up the driveway, we encountered a small parking lot nearly full with five cars, two small buildings and a larger cape cod style building.  We entered the cod style building.

 

The motel and winery as it is now

The motel as it was

We walked over to the bar, where the hostess, Victoria, was juggling orders from the food menu and helping another employee serve other patrons.  My wife and I said that we were interested in doing a wine tasting of both reds & whites and having our Missouri Wine Passports stamped.  Victoria told us that the owner of Shawnee Bluff Winery also owns Casa de Loco Winery in Camdenton, MO.  He  also bought the remaining inventory of Grey Bear Winery.  The Grey Bear owner recently had a stroke and decided to sell the business.  She stamped our passports for both Shawnee Bluff and Grey Bear.

Inside the tasting room at Shawnee Bluff Winery

First we tried the Sauvignon Blanc.  We usually weren't fans of Sauv Blancs, but agreed that it's lemon/lime zest with crisp finish was probably the best we had sampled.  It was interestingly complex being slightly sweet with a dry, mineral finish.  Next we tried the Call Your Bluff, a sparkling white wine.  It had floral notes and was sweet but had a crisp finish.  You could still tell that it had a definite grape flavor, being derived from muscato grapes, but didn't taste like grape juice.  The Call Your Bluff is kept on tap and if you should desire a bottle or carafe, they will bottle it for you on the spot.

 

Up next was a Pinot Grigio.  It was flavorful with citrus notes and a dry finish.  Then came the Muscat Canelli.  It was a semi-sweet wine with woodsy notes yet had a creamy finish.  We usually shy away from Muscato wines, but this one definitely had enough flavor to balance out it's sweetness.  Victoria said it was great to have at a fall campfire.  Next we had the winery's Flappers & Philosophers.  It was a dry wine with a crisp finish and citrus notes.

 

Shawnee Bluff's Cabernet Sauvignon had a cherry cola/coffee flavor to it.  It was a dark, semi-dry wine with nutmeg spice notes.  It was very smooth on the palate at room temperature.  We liked it a lot.  Victoria followed that up with the Barbara, a flavorful wine with strong chocolate and cherry notes.  Then came the smooth Primivito, again with cherry and coffee notes but with little tannins providing a mellow finish.

 

The winery's Retro Red was a light red blend with a crisp dry finish.  More tannins were present than with the Primivito, but not overwhelmingly so.  Shawnee Bluff's Bluff Blush was a sweet rosé wine from the Catawba grape.  It was sweet and light but had plenty of flavor to be enjoyed alone or with a meal.  Sweeter than a White Zinfindel, but smoother and with more flavor, we both liked it very much.  Next was I'm A Sweetie with it's Muscato sweetness.  It came with lemon drop notes and could easily stand in for a dessert.  After that came I'm A Sweetie Too, another sweet red wine, this time coming from Concord grapes.  It was also another dessert wine with plenty flavor.

 

We bought a bottle of Bluff Blush and Muscat Canelli and took a seat on the Winery's pool deck.  Although unplanned, we enjoyed the spectacular view over the lake as the sun set gently in the western hills.  For a fall weekend in late October, there was still a fair amount of boat traffic gliding across the water.  We would have liked to stay longer for the customary live weekend music, but we had to meet back with my in-laws and our daughters for dinner.

 

View from the Shawnee Bluff Winery deck

Wood-fired oven at the winery.

 

 

Looking down the bluff across the lake

We were hesitant in telling Victoria that our dinner plans involved Golden Corral.  Instead, we would have liked to try some of their wood-grilled shrimp, but with kids you're better off going someplace you know that they'll eat something.

October 20, 2012 - Shawnee Bluff Winery, Part I

My family & I took a small vacation to see the fall colors in the Lake of the Ozarks, a 3+ hour drive southeast of Kansas City.  It had been 10 years since my wife & I had been out there and we thought the bluffs and Ozark hills would add some character to fall leaves.  My in-laws, being from Chicagoland also made the trip with us.  They had not been out much since arriving in the Kansas City area and we asked them to come along with us.

We left Friday afternoon and headed south out of the metro eventually getting onto Highway 7.  The trip started out uneventful and we passed cow pastures, hedge rows, and barb wire fences as we slowly headed east to Clinton, Missouri.  Highway 7 skirts the northern edge of Clinton.  Although we didn't pass through the town, you get a feel for the town.  Part farming town with it harvester and farm implement dealerships, but also part industrial with it's lumber yards and Schreiber Foods and Tracker Boat factories right next to the highway.  There's still another side to Clinton; it's the largest City next to Truman Lake and serves as a regional hub for recreation with access to the Katy Trail and outdoor sports.

Shortly after Clinton, the topography changed.  It became more hilly and the road twisted, becoming a more interesting (and challenging) drive.  Gradually, the road leveled off as we reached the lake shore elevation and crossed over to Warsaw, MO.  Banners strung across the road in town announced that we would not be in town for Warsaw's Heritage Days.  We did briefly stop to change drivers, but with it growing dark, we pressed on.

It was a long hour before we reached Camdenton.  Highway 7 between Warsaw and Camdenton is a narrow, twisty road through a primeval forest.  The last ice age had pushed the ground aside exposing steep rock bluffs and deep valleys.  A number of small communities we passed had businesses offering dozing or mining services.  Barbacue and lodging for sportsman also seemed to be fairly common.  Occasionally, we would reach the top of a hill and be surprised to see a large pasture cleared and open for horses, but filled with deer.  For the most part, it was usually another turn in the road or the start of a descent down the other side of the hill.  I told my wife it reminded me of the videos I'd seen of the famous Nurburgring Test track, thankfully not as fast and without the tire squealing.  Still, when the regulatory sign says Curve(s) Ahead, 25mph, TAKE IT at 25mph.

With less than 20 minutes to Camdenton, the girls told us they'd had enough.  Our four-year-old daughter announced she needed to go potty and her not-quite-two-but-going-on-four-year- old sister told us through her whimpers that she was getting motion sick.  Just when they'd had enough, we reached the intersection of Highway 7 and Highway 5 and the welcome parking lot of Woods Supermarket.  Unanimously we took another break and quickly emptied our cars.

We didn't linger in the store since it was nearly dark.  We were getting hungry, but remembered the deer and were afraid there would be more. 

The remaining stretch of Highway 7 was uneventful and we made it to the McDonalds in Camdenton without incident.  We had a bite to eat and then drove Highway 5 to our hotel, the Quail's Nest Inn & Suites in Osage Beach.  On the way we encountered 2 deer attempting to cross the 65mph highway.  I slowed and put on my hazard lights as the deer ran in two different directions, one back to the grassy median and the other into the safety of the forest beyond the shoulder.  Suddenly, Median Deer realized it was alone and darted back across the road and into the forest.

The Quail's Nest is not a chain motel and was clean and reasonably priced with cable, an indoor pool & hot tub, and continental breakfast.  Some rooms can be had with refridgerators and microwaves, a must when traveling with children.  The weekend we went there was also a Chevelle club having their 10-year rally at the Nest.  It was neat to see (and hear!) the classic muscle cars.


Jeep with the Chevelle at the Quail's Nest.  Yes, that is a C5 Corvette on the far right.

Over the weekend, we visited the DinoSpace Adventure Museum, the Osage Beach City Park, the Osage Beach Premium Outlet Stores, and the Lake of the Ozarks State Park.  My wife & I were able to get away for a bit after the DinoSpace Adventure Museum for a quick visit to Shawnee Bluff Winery...



Fall Colors at Osage Beach City Park

Fall Colors at Lake of the Ozarks State Park