W(h)ining About Wine? Try Some of the Best Wines Missoula, Montana Has to Offer!

When you think of wine country, you probably think of Napa Valley, but have you ever thought of the Five Valleys? Missoula is the home to some of the most intriguing wineries with wines that you'll have to taste to believe.

Flathead Lake Winery

29 Golden Eagle St.
Columbia Falls, MT 59912
(406) 387-WINO (9466)
www.flatheadlakewinery.com

Tastings: On Request

Flathead Lake Winery is north of Missoula, just west of Glacier National Park. They boast all natural wines with 100 percent Montana fruit. Their wines include Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Huckleberry, Cherry, Apple, White Cherry and Chokecherry Wine. The winery is family owned and operated; the Flemings are fifth-generation Montanans who can trace their roots back to Montana pioneers.

Hidden Legend Winery

1345 Hwy 93 N. Suite # 5
Victor, Montana 59875
(406) 363-MEAD (6323)
www.hiddenlegendwinery.com

Tastings: Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm.

Hidden Legend Winery produces award-winning honey-wine or mead just south of Missoula in the Bitterroot valley. Their wine is all natural with no sulfites and made from Montana honey and Montana fruits. Most of their mead isn't the sweet Viking mead of old but a modern rendition similar to fine table wines, but they are formulating an old-style sweet mead. Ken Schultz, the owner, produces a pure honey mead, a dark mead, three berry meads, and a spiced mead. He also likes to experiment and has produced a peach mead and maple mead. Saturday evenings they're often open until 9 pm because they have bands playing at their tasting room. Hidden Legend used to be called Trapper Creek Winery, but due to a trademark dispute, they changed the name to Hidden Legend.

Lolo Peak Winery

2506 Mount Avenue
Missoula, Montana 59804
(406) 549-1111
www.lolopeak.com

Tastings: Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm.

Lolo Peak Winery is on the corner of Reserve Street and Mount Avenue, next to Chapman's Homebrewing, which is owned by the Judy Chapman, who also owns Lolo Peak Winery. The wines of Lolo Peak Winery are all fruit wines, rather than grape wines and include Blackberry, Rhubarb, Montana Cherry, Montana Warmer (apple and honey-spiced wine), Plum and Raspberry wine. Judy learned winemaking from her father and has since carried on the tradition making wine from Montana fruits.

Ten Spoon Winery

4175 Rattlesnake Drive
Missoula, MT 59802
(406) 549-8703
Toll-free: ( 877) 549-8703
www.tenspoon.com

Tastings: Thursdays and Fridays, 5 to 8 pm, beginning February 11. 2010.

It's hard to imagine a vineyard located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, but there you go. Ten Spoon sits in the Upper Rattlesnake in Missoula with 4.5 acres of vineyards. Their wines have won awards for some of the best wines in the biz and are certified organic. And with great names such as Farm Dog, Range Rider, Prairie Thunder and Yellowstone Roadblock, you can see why Ten Spoon is popular in Montana.

The co-owner, Connie Poten, has this to say about their newest wine that will be released at the end of February: "[We're introducing] Getaway, a blend of Pinot Gris (60%) and Gewurztraminer (40%), that starts with floral kiwi and 'the manic perfume of buffalo willow,' (poet Richard Hugo) opens on the tongue to a rich, rolling finish. Pinot Gris grapes are from Pheasant Valley Vineyard in Hood River, OR and the Gewurztraminer grapes are from Harold Pleasant's vines in Prosser, WA."