Augusta (Missouri Wine Country) ★ 4.1
Augusta was named America's first federal wine district in 1980, and its bluff-top wineries like Montelle pour Norton and Vignoles above the Missouri River.
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Hermann (Missouri Wine Trail) ★ 4.2
A German-settled river town, Hermann anchors a wine trail of family wineries including Stone Hill, Missouri's oldest, founded 1847, plus sausage and strudel.
Defiance (Missouri Wine Country) ★ 4.0
A small river-bluff town, Defiance packs several wineries, a brewery and a distillery within a couple of miles, the closest wine country to St. Louis.
Kimmswick (Blue Owl pie) ★ 4.1
A tiny 19th-century river village south of the city, Kimmswick is home to the Blue Owl Bakery, famous for its Levee High Apple Pie stacked with 18 apples.
Ste. Genevieve ★ 4.0
Missouri's oldest town, Ste. Genevieve preserves 1700s French Creole architecture and sits in wine country, with more than a dozen wineries within its limits.
Edwardsville, Illinois ★ 3.8
A college town across the river in Illinois, Edwardsville is home to Goshen Coffee Roasters and a walkable Main Street that anchors the metro-east scene.