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THE NEW AUGUSTA WILL OFFER PLETHORA OF THINGS TO DO
by Craig Kaminer / Photography by Carmen Troesser
The town of Augusta, situated on the hills overlooking the Missouri River valley about 37 miles west of St. Louis, was founded in 1836 by Leonard Harold, one of the settlers who followed Daniel Boone to St. Charles County.
The town was originally named Mount Pleasant, with the riverboat landing known as Augusta Bend. Harold laid out the town on part of the government land he purchased in 1821 -- the site being chosen for its excellent river landing.
In 1855, the town was incorporated as the city of Augusta and by that time was a prosperous agricultural community producing grain, livestock, and wine grapes. A trading center, it supported numerous craftsmen, merchants, and hotels.
In 1859, Georg and Friedrich Muench founded one of the earliest wineries in the area, Mount Pleasant Winery. Flooding in the Missouri River valley caused the river to change course in 1872, drying up the area’s riverboat landing and leaving a unique soil type in the area between the town and the river. The area’s early vineyards were planted in the 1880s and the area began receiving recognition for the distinctive flavors and profile of the wine being produced there. With Prohibition, local wineries closed and vineyards were uprooted. A revival period occurred in the 1960s that led to the founding of many of the area’s current wineries.
Napa Valley of the Midwest? About That Wine...
The Augusta American Viticultural Area (AVA) was established on June 20, 1980, as the first federally approved American Viticultural Area, eight months before the Napa AVA in Northern California was established. An AVA is a delimited grape-growing region with specific geographic or climatic features that distinguish it from the surrounding regions and affect how grapes are grown. Using an AVA designation on a wine label allows vintners to describe more accurately the origin of their wines to consumers and helps consumers identify wines they may purchase.
The petition was submitted by Clayton W. Byers and Lucian W. Dressel, representing the local wine industry, to the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on October 16, 1978. The boundaries of this wine region encompass 15 sq. miles around the city of Augusta near the intersection of St. Charles, Warren, and Franklin counties.
At the turn of the 21st century, wines from the Augusta AVA were exported to Germany. In 2003, Augusta Winery’s 2001 Chardonel won “Best U.S. wine” from the German wine magazine Selection at their yearly competition in Mainz, Germany.
The Hoffmanns own four of the five vineyards which were in Augusta. “I think our wine is misunderstood on a national basis. We want to produce wine that people like and want to drink -- that has the same pizzazz as wine from other places but at price points that are a little bit more affordable and a better reach for people. We have the vintages to do so and already have been planting new vineyards -- about 50 acres a year which is a lot. The bones of greatness are here.”
“A lot of people in the wine industry struggle to make money. We will not struggle to make money. We’re making money now and we’re going to make more money in the future. For sure, Augusta has a history of great wine making. We have beautiful countryside here. We have exceptional and informed people to talk about our wines and to present them to our guests. And, we now have distribution channels for our wine that Missouri didn’t have before.” One example is Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla., owned by Hoffmann Commercial Real Estate, which only serves Missouri wine.
David expounds on why he thinks Augusta has a leg up on Napa. “One challenge of Napa is that people are drinking and then driving from vineyard to vineyard. We own transportation companies nationally and can mitigate the risk out of people driving themselves. We run the trolly systems in several cities including Naples and Jacksonville, Fla. We bought the bus company in Washington, Mo. We have limo and van sprint companies. That is a huge difference between Augusta and Napa.”
Beyond Wine
Like Walt Disney, David has a big vision, and his wife Jerri is about the details. She has restored cabins into luxury getaways, painted the various vineyards with bold colors to brand the countryside and make for easy identification from the roads, and is working with the chefs and other neighboring businesses to get ready for a new wave of tourists who will start to be attracted here. When I asked if Augusta would be entirely operated by the Hoffmanns, David was quick to say absolutely not. “Existing businesses are doing better because we are drawing more people to the area. There are opportunities for employment that did not exist before -- galleries, specialty shops, etc. to serve the greater number of people who will be coming to Augusta.”
“We know what it takes to bring people in from all over the world. Our resorts in Naples and in Beaver Creek, Co., are great examples of our expertise in that area. We think the playbook for Augusta is the same. We’ve already had international guests here. They said, ‘we’re coming back every year.’ There’s more diversity in what we have to offer in Missouri. Missouri has the goods. There’s all kinds of cool stuff being built so there’s going to be a lot to do when you get to Augusta -- we got wine, we have biking, we will have golf, great food, beautiful terrain, we have other activities.”
Place(s) to Spend the Night(s)
“In the past, there were 700 weddings held per year in Augusta but no hotel stays,” says David. “Building a five-star hotel was a no brainer but we’re not building something simple; we’re going to build a top-tier flag hotel with restaurants -- the Hoffmann Lodge & Spa. We’re also converting homes into small hotels and B&Bs, providing a variety of options. We’re building a little hostel hotel for bikers along the Katy Trail. We have a little hunt club. It is currently booked with five guys from Chicago for hunting season. We plan to open a boutique hotel, Chateau Hoffmann, on the campus of the former Emmaus Home in Marthasville, about 12 minutes from Augusta. The reception from guests now is good so we can only imagine it will be great by the time we are finished. The results of our current beta testing are sky-high. We’re thrilled. And I think that’s going to continue.”
A Destination for Good Food
The Hoffmanns aren’t messing around when it comes to providing good food for those coming to Augusta. Currently there is food at Montelle Winery, Balducci Winery, Augusta Winery, and in the Appellation Café at Mount Pleasant Winery. There are plans to open a five-star Italian restaurant, a deli and cheese store featuring cheese from the Hoffmann Farms, Augusta Bistro & Fine Dining (more of a pub) as well as the dining options at the Hoffmann Lodge & Spa and Chateau Hoffmann Winery & Resort. The Miss Augusta also provides catering and offers daily dinner cruises.
David told me that one of his favorite restaurants in the country is Root Food + Wine, which opened in April 2021 in Augusta. “It is a great restaurant,” he said. “Their sous chef, Braiden Dowell, contacted us and is with us now. Our food was subpar but now it is very very good. People are raving about our lunches.”
The Hoffmanns have begun to host private wine dinners in the 160-year-old wine cellar at Mt. Pleasant, which is a cave where the wine was originally stored. For their first dinner, they hosted Rees Jones, the architect of the soon-to-be-built 12-hole championship public golf course on the grounds of the Balducci Winery. “We served him a steak dinner,” David said. “He told us the food was fabulous. He’s not a big drinker but he loved the wine we served. He took pictures and said he was bringing his wife back here. He’s a New Yorker -- been around the world -- and he was very excited about it.”
Twelve Holes of Championship Golf
“We’re pretty enthused about the construction of the golf course,” says David. “The design is for championship golf. Each tee will have several tee boxes to accommodate all ages and skill levels.”
Construction is set to begin this spring on the course, followed by a clubhouse later. The course will be named the Balducci Golf Club & Vineyards.
Jones, the course’s architect, redesigned Bellerive Country Club in 2007 and 2011 and is credited with redesigning Torrey Pines in California for the 2021 U.S. Open. His father, renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr., designed Augusta National Golf Club coincidentally.
The idea behind a 12-hole course, according to David, is to make playing a round less of a time commitment. He said that golfers can always play one of the six-hole loops again if they want to play 18, but that he’s expecting many to spend that extra time enjoying the wineries.
The Hoffmanns also own the Tom Fazio-designed Old Collier Golf Club in Naples and Old Corkscrew Golf Course in Estero, designed by Jack Nicklaus.
Cycling the Katy Trail
“Jerri and I, as a couple, have bicycled around the world, taking trips for 15 or 16 years with a group of friends,” David recalls. “Each year we’d take a trip somewhere different and new to us. Our bike group went to Sicily last year. The Katy Trail is an attraction that we can leverage. Our cycling group is coming to Augusta this year to bike the Katy Trail. No one in the group said no to the trip! These are 10 well-known CEOs of big American corporations and they’re excited to come here.”
