TOAST OF THE TOWN: VINEYARDS NEAR COMMERCE AND ALTO PASS, iLL., CREATE FINE WINES

Labels were applied to the wine bottles after caps were put on them at River Ridge Winery.

Smith took a wine sample from one of the native Missouri oak barrels that he uses to finish aging the wine.

A winding ridge connects a bit of Arkansas with the Missouri hills and valleys Jerry Smith now calls home.

The road from the Arkansas cattle farm where he was reared to the place he and his wife, Joannie, call River Ridge was every bit as winding.

A 101-year-old house with a cozy porch shaded by ancient limbs houses the couple's River Ridge Winery near Commerce. A four-acre vineyard produces eight varieties of French hybrid grapes on the gently rolling hills behind the house.

"I've wanted to have a winery most of my adult life," Jerry Smith said, seated beside a glowing stove in the front room of the winery. The Smiths call the room -- brimming with gift items carrying the grape theme -- the ballroom.

"We want to reflect the personality of this region, this 101-year-old-house," he said. The lore of the place and of the history of winemaking in Missouri runs deep at aptly named River Ridge. Smith's wines age in Missouri white-oak barrels. As long as five years may be needed from harvest until wines are ready to serve.

"Missouri wines enjoyed great popularity in the U.S. and overseas up until prohibition -- that led to the demise of most of the grape vineyards in Missouri," Smith explained.

However, the state is regaining recognition for its quality vineyards.

Plus, he noted, "Missouri is beginning to establish its style." Wines made in Southeast Missouri have a certain characteristic Smith described as a "cleanness."

Wineries began their comeback in Missouri in 1965, said Larry Knipp, coordinator of the Missouri Grape and Wine Program administered through the State Department of Agriculture.

"Since then, Missouri wine sales have built up to about 300,000 gallons a year," he said. That quantity is produced by 37 registered winery locations.

This is the second year for commercial wine production at River Ridge Winery. Each of the seven to 10 varieties of table wines Smith makes is intended to accompany meals. "We feel that not only does wine go with food, but wine is a food," he said.

Smith, who studied math and physics in college, served as a Navy fighter pilot. He has resided in New Orleans, California and Greece, and it was during those years that the idea for planting a vineyard and opening a winery took hold.

The Renzaglia family in Southern Illinois knows the passion for a chosen way of life that a vineyard can inspire. Guy Renzaglia more than 10 years ago made his first hybrid grape plantings, and Alto Vineyards was born.

"Guy was the man with the dream," said Paul Renzaglia, one of Guy Renzaglia's sons and winemaker in the family business, which also includes another of Guy's sons, Mark.

The vineyard was a natural endeavor for Guy Renzaglia, who launched the project as he neared retirement from Southern Illinois University. "He's a full-blooded Italian, he couldn't help himself," Paul Renzaglia said, chuckling warmly.

The retirement project was destined to become a family endeavor, and the Renzaglias opened their winery in 1988.

About 10 acres of French-American hybrid grapes yield about 35 tons of grapes a year at Alto Vineyards. That harvest results in some 4,500 gallons of fine wine. Expansion is in the works. A production rate of nearly double that quantity is planned for the coming year.

"We're wanting to encourage people in Illinois to grow more grapes," Renzaglia said. While vineyards and wineries are enjoying a resurgence in neighboring Missouri, Illinois is yet to see such a revival of its once flourishing vineyard enterprise.

Renzaglia said Alto Vineyards is one of nine wineries in the state.

The availability of grapes for wine production is also a challenge for the winemaking industry in Missouri, Knipp noted. Because of strong marketing and the growth of the industry, "we're to the point that we're running out of grapes." Incentives for grape growing may soon be announced.

Both Renzaglia and Smith note the warm receptions they have received in their respective communities.

River Ridge wines are sold at the River Ridge Winery. Likewise, Alto Vineyards wines are available primarily at the winery, which rests in the heart of the vineyard. About 10 percent of the wines produced at Alto Vineyards are available in the Southern Illinois area, Paul Renzaglia explained. The vineyard has already received national attention, its wines having won more than 100 awards.

Some 29 wineries are listed in the 1995 Missouri Getaway Travel Guide, noted Mary Stucker, bureau coordinator at the Cape Girardeau Convention and Tourism Bureau.

The travel guide, which has a section devoted to Missouri wineries, is available free of charge at the local tourism bureau.

Tourism is an important ingredient in the success of both the area wineries. Both welcome visitors and provide tours. People may call for specific information.

Wines are available at both wineries, though both are currently sold out of some labels.

For the Smiths and the Renzaglias, the vineyards and wineries are much more than a way to make a living. Paul Renzaglia reflected: "It's rare to have the opportunity to start with the soil and end with this handcrafted bottle of wine."

Smith enjoys the pleasant surprise that often crosses visitors' faces when they sip the fruits of his labor.

Fittingly, he calls his signature wine Serendipity.