Riverwood Winery

About Us:

We are located north of Kansas City in the peaceful setting of the scenic Missouri River Bluff wine country. We take pride in our handcrafted wines, friendly hospitality, gourmet foods, and entertaining and enlightening events. Our wines are fermented, barreled, aged, blended and bottled at our tasting room location or at our vineyard location. Truly local wines, with a genuine "Taste of Place"! Relax, enjoy, expand your horizons!

Sustainability: 

At Riverwood Winery we are firmly committed to sustainability and environmental preservation. While we always strive to make a big impact on those who visit us, we leave as little impact as we can on our planet. Producing wines, even on a smaller scale, provides abundant opportunities to take responsible action, from how we grow our grapes to maintaining our facilities year-round. We are proud of the steps we have taken and look forward to taking more as we grow. Here are just a few examples of the things we do to foster sustainability and environmental preservation.

•    The Tasting Room and Gift Shop

o   The first thing that many guests of Riverwood notice is that our winery building is a repurposed schoolhouse. Built in 1954 as part of the Weston School District, the building has been saved and modernized. We use natural sunlight as a light source in many rooms, as well as energy-efficient LEDs throughout and motion sensors in the bathrooms to reduce electricity consumption.

o   We use natural wood and marble serving trays and vintage china and plates for our food service – no plastic or Styrofoam plates! We also use paper straws for our slushies and other drinks, and have eliminated single-use plastic straws. We also use metal silverware – no plastic knives, forks or spoons!

o   We reduce paper waste with our paperless receipt policy. All receipts for purchases at the winery are offered through text or email, unless specifically requested.

o   The property surrounding the schoolhouse is also quietly contributing to conservation. Riverwood is officially listed as a Monarch Waystation by the University of Kansas Monarch Watch organization. This means that the native wildflowers (especially milkweed) which we have planted around the Winery provide a haven for these endangered butterflies (and many other native pollinators) as they make their annual migration to Mexico.

o   Riverwood is not only a popular destination for humans, we are visited by a wide variety of native and migratory birds including bald eagles, snow geese, trumpeter swans, bluebirds, meadowlarks, and many more! Indeed our Tasting Room location and Vineyard location are both situated squarely within the Iatan/Weston River Corridor Important Bird Area, as designated by the National Audubon Society. This Important Bird Area encompasses 100,000 acres of restored marshes and bottomland forests located along a key corridor for migratory birds. The Area also supports significant wetland species such as Least Bittern, Common Moorhen, Marsh Wren, and Virginia and King Rails. The Area is one of the most critical migratory flyways in the country and contains the largest surviving tract of old-growth bottomland forest on the entire length of the Missouri River, known as the Weston Bend Bottomlands. Learn more about this important area at mo.audubon.org/important-bird-areas-5 and at www.audubon.org/important-bird-areas/iatan-weston-river-corridor-27.   

•       The Vineyard

o   Our Vineyard is located three miles from the Tasting Room in the bluffs above the Missouri River. Our grapes and Asian pears do not grow there alone; they are joined by over one hundred undisturbed acres of meadows, native wildflowers and grasses, and second-growth woodland. This allows the ecological diversity of the Missouri bluffs to continue to thrive while we use just a small piece for cultivating fruits.

o   At our Vineyard location we currently have five acres of ground devoted to native grasses and wildflowers to provide habitat, nectar, nesting area and insects for a variety of birds, butterflies, bees and native pollinators. We are in the process of establishing an additional twelve acres of native grasses and wildflowers, with an emphasis on grasses and wildflowers to benefit Monarch butterflies as well as other butterflies, insects and pollinators.

o   In our vineyard we grow only grape varietals that are uniquely suited to the Missouri climate, such as Norton, Frontenac, and Marechal Foch. Given our emphasis on providing healthy habitat for native butterflies, bees and pollinators, we use no synthetic insecticides on our grapes. Japanese Beetles can be somewhat of a problem during the summer and leave the vines looking pretty ragged, but the bugs typically do not kill the vines.

o   Between our vine rows we maintain grass strips which we mow and which prevent erosion on the sloped vineyards. In the past we have used herbicides beneath the grape trellis wires to control the grasses and weeds which, uncontrolled, can grow up quickly and interfere with the vines. This year, however, we are working to eliminate the use of herbicides beneath the trellises. We are keeping the grasses mowed close to the vine trunk, and are using a flamer to burn down the grasses and plants which the mower cannot reach. This accomplishes several things: it eliminates our exposure, and birds’ and insects’ exposure, to harsh, synthetic chemicals; it returns the nutrients contained in the burned grasses back to the soil and the grape vines; by maintaining more plant growth beneath the trellises rather than a bare strip of dirt it moderates the aggressive growth of the vines resulting in better fruit quality.

o   The vineyard is also home to our owners, who live in the restored ante-bellum farmhouse in the heart of the hills – like the winery building another example of the ultimate in recycling. The enterprising builders of the house utilized old-fashioned energy saving techniques, such as “two bricks thick” walls which keep cool air in during the summer and warm air in during winter. The owners have taken advantage of modern green technologies as well, such as geothermal heating and cooling, Energy Star appliances, and a hybrid car.

•     Wine Production

o   Since 2007, Riverwood Winery has been producing delicious premium wines and ciders. In 2016  we expanded our wine production capabilities with a 2400 square foot facility which was built around sustainability.

o   The production facility was simply and sturdily constructed and uses safe, high-efficiency insulation to keep heating and cooling impacts to an absolute minimum. All overhead lighting is provided by LEDs to further reduce our carbon footprint.

o   The production facility includes a rooftop grid solar array which silently and without emissions produces from sunlight well over thirty percent of all energy used to operate both the Tasting Room building and the production building.

o   Recycling is a foundational element of sustainability. All spent bottles are taken to local recycling facilities, so our guests can enjoy themselves, knowing that their fun will not lead to pollution.

o   For wine closures we use natural cork rather than artificial closures. Natural cork is 100% renewable, recyclable and biodegradable. Cork production is eco-friendly and sustainable, as the cork is punched from the renewable, responsibly harvested bark of the cork oak -- no trees are cut down in the process. Corks have the smallest carbon footprint of any standard wine closure, and the forests their use preserves provide our planet critical ecological services, reducing CO2 greenhouse gasses from our atmosphere while sustaining an abundance of fragile habitat and wildlife.

We at Riverwood believe that even small businesses can be leaders in the sustainability movement. Part of our business model is promoting and practicing responsible stewardship of our environment and to do what we can to contribute to a healthier planet for future generations to explore and enjoy!

We Feature:

• Tastings of our wines (including the port-style wines) from the tasting room and gift shop, and have available a wide range of wine-related gifts and products. 
• The Winery offers gourmet food items which complement our wines, such as cheeses, crackers, sausages and chocolates. 
• We also offer international wine tastings, live music, and a variety of other events and activities throughout the year. See our Events page for more information.
• Over 150 different Whiskies
• Event Space for Bridal Showers, Graduation Parties, Birthdays and more!

Location:

The Winery Tasting Room is located on Missouri Highway 45, a major arterial highway for travelers to and from St. Joseph, Missouri; Atchison, Kansas; Leavenworth, Kansas; Weston, Missouri; Platte City, Missouri; and the Greater Kansas City Metro Area.

It is  located 2.5 miles from Snow Creek Ski Area,  set among agricultural fields; between the wooded bluffs which parallel the Missouri River, approximately one mile due east of the July 3, 1804 camp site of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

The Winery's location offers visitors wonderful views of the surrounding riverbluff hills as they change from season to season and the adjacent agricultural fields as the crops grow, ripen and are harvested.

Historic Building:

Riverwood Winery's Tasting Room and Giftshop is based in a 1950's era renovated school building located along the east bank of the Missouri River. The building is an example of classic 1950’s style architecture –- single level, flat roof, lots of windows.

The building was designed by Joseph Radotinsky, a noted architect in the Kansas City and western Kansas areas. Radotinsky designed several well known buildings, and served as the State Architect for the state of Kansas.

From the 1950’s through the early 1980’s the building housed Lakeview Elementary School. After the school closed its doors in the early eighties, the building was purchased by a local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, (VFW) and used as the VFW meeting hall. An Atchison couple purchased the building from the VFW in the mid-1990’s and it was used as a consignment and antique shop.

In 2005, David and Ginah purchased the building for conversion into Riverwood Winery.

Scenery:

The Winery is set among agricultural fields and between the wooded bluffs which parallel the Missouri River. It is located approximately one mile due east of the July 3, 1804 camp site of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The Winery's location offers visitors wonderful views of the surrounding riverbluff hills as they change from season to season and the adjacent agricultural fields as the crops grow, ripen and are harvested.

The Winery is situated at the foot of the scenic Missouri River bluffs. The bluffs were formed millions of years ago as glaciers moved into the area. As the glaciers slowly advanced, the ground was pushed aside, forming the hills along the river. Those hills contain fine soil which is ideal for tree-fruit production, as well as for establishing vineyards. Along the entire length of the Missouri River as it passes through the state can be found orchards, vineyards and wineries. Indeed, prior to Prohibition, Missouri was one of the largest wine producing states in the nation.

Seasons at Riverwood:

Late fall and winter visitors to the Winery have an opportunity to witness spectacular flights of thousands of snow geese as they fly from open water to their feeding areas, which, depending upon the crops planted the previous season, may be in the fields surrounding the Winery. Bald eagles cruising along the riverbluff ridgelines are a common winter sight.

In the spring and summer visitors can watch for bluebirds which nest in the boxes placed around the Winery property, or turkey vultures circling over the riverbluffs.

Weston, Missouri:

Weston, Missouri is a delightful town with numerous charming gift and antique shops, restaurants, and bed and breakfasts. Numerous ante-bellum homes that have been restored and decorated are available for tour. Many of the downtown Weston shops and restaurants are housed in original commercial buildings which date from the early to mid-1800s. Among other festivals and celebrations, Weston holds the “Apple Fest” in October and several Homes Tours during the year.

So much to do:

• Tastings of our wines (including port-style wines) in our tasting room.

• A gift shop brimming with wine tools and the latest trends!

• Gourmet foods to please even the most jaded palate - cheeses, crackers, deli meats, sausages and chocolates!

• Fun and exciting activities throughout the year such as international wine tastings, live music, wine classes.  

See our Events page, check us out on Facebook and sign up for our Newsletter to keep up with all the new events and happenings!