Phoenix Winery and Vineyards

Hours:

Monday - Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Sundays: 12:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m.

Welcome:

My name is Guenther Heeb.  I am the winemaker and owner of the Phoenix Winery & Vineyards which is set in the beautiful countryside of the Missouri Ozark Region. I am German by birth; born and raised in one of the finest wine regions in Germany.   Our wines are deeply influenced by my German heritage and love of wine.  I've created this site so that I can share that love of wine with you. 

About Us:

Born and raised in Germany's finest vineyards along the Rhine River, the Heeb family boasts a history which includes over two hundred years of family tradition in the making of premium wines.  After a hiatus from the enduring lure of the grape, Guenther Heeb, winemaker, has returned to doing what he loves best…creating fine wines for all to enjoy.  As the millennium dawned, so did his desire to return to his family's craft. To fulfill that dream, the Phoenix Winery and Vineyards was established. The goal being to continue that tradition of creating some of the finest wines Missouri has to offer. The Phoenix Winery and Vineyards is proud of its growing selection of natural wines produced in the old fashioned method, as they are still produced in many fine wine cellars of Europe.

History:

The earliest evidence is found in the fossils of some sixty million years ago; though it is improbable that this grape could have been used for making wine. Coming somewhat nearer to our times, a vine is found in the relics of the quaternary period of the Upper Paleolithic Age. About 100,000 years ago; it was a vine whose fruit was capable of producing wine. It is probably the original source of the many species of vines and varieties of wine which successive civilizations have developed all over the world.

However, fable gives us a clue as to the discovery of wine. A lady of the King Jamshid’s court in Persia is reported to have been so driven to desperation by the loss of royal favor that she decided to end her life by draining the juice of eating grapes which had gone bad in a storing jar. She succumbed to the fermented juice, and awoke to find that the stresses and strains which had made life intolerable had disappeared. She returned to the source of her relief and presumably her conduct became so remarkable that she was noticed again by King Jamshid. His court then also enjoyed, and made full use of, this new drink.

It is certain that viticulture and wine drinking started by 4000 B.C.  The first development was in the Middle East around the Caspian Sea and in Mesopotamia about 6000- 4000 B.C. in Asia Minor and Phoenicia about 3000 B.C.  Texts from the tombs of the 5th, 6th, and 7th dynasties of Egypt prove conclusively that wine was in general use throughout Egypt in 2750- 2500 B.C.