WINE AND MARRIAGE PROVE GOOD MIX IN STE. GENEVIEVE

Ste. Genevieve -- Wine and marriage have proved a good mix for Hope and Linus Hoffmeister.

The Hoffmeisters started out as amateur winemakers.

"We made our first batch of wine the first year we were married, in 1960," Hope Hoffmeister said.

Ten years ago, they opened a commercial winery, the Sainte Genevieve Winery.

"We put the vineyards in about 1978 and we got our commercial license in 1984," she recalled. "It takes a good five or six years to get a crop of grapes."

The winemaking takes place on a 400-acre farm in Weingarten, about 20 miles from Ste. Genevieve.

The winery has a retail store in a turn-of-the-century building at 245 Merchant St. in Ste. Genevieve.

"We do not encourage people to come to the farm at all," she said. "We are too busy out there."

Other than a little part-time help, the Hoffmeisters do the work themselves.

They have nearly 13 acres of vineyards. The winery produces 10 to 12 grape wines and another eight or nine fruit wines, including blueberry, blackberry and strawberry.

The winery produces between 6,000 and 8,000 gallons of wine.

"We have every tank and every barrel full," Hope Hoffmeister said.

Not surprisingly, the Hoffmeisters regularly enjoy a glass of wine with their evening meal.

But Hope Hoffmeister said wine making is hard work.

People think making wine is a romantic occupation, even glamorous, she said, adding: "They have no idea how hard we work, how dirty we get. It is very physical."

But what started as a hobby has grown into a solid business. Their youngest daughter wants to obtain a degree in enology or winemaking.

And the Hoffmeisters continue to enjoy the fruits of their labor.