Ingram's June 2022

nearly to statehood itself. The first vines were believed to have been set in 1843. Just four years later, what is Stone Hill Winery in Hermann

by Dennis Boone

was established and is still going strong as it cele brates its 175th anniver- sary this month. “The industry has al

ready been influencing ag ritourism for many years,” says JimAnderson, executive director of the Missouri Wine & Grape Board. “Missouri win eries offer a very unique experi ence for the 875,000 wine-related tourists who visit our wineries annu ally. Visitors can see the grapes being grown, taste the end product, and many wineries offer tours that enable guests to capture a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the full winemaking process.” Agritourism comes with a broad definition, including everything from hunting and fishing attractions to work ing farms and ranches and horseback riding. Still, the adult-beverage indus try is among the fastest-growing com ponents of that sector. And in Missouri alone, state figures show, agritourism revenues more than tripled between 2002 and 2017, approaching $1 billion. The Kansas Department of Com merce maintains a registry of 420 companies that bill themselves as agri tourism destinations; in Missouri, agri tourism is part of a considerably higher and broader count of ag-related attrac tions, including farms: 2,200. The brewing/distilling subset of those companies is indeed robust: various in dustry associations put the numbers for Missouri at 165 wineries, 150 craft brew ers, and 52 distilleries in the state’s uni verse of alcoholic-beverage producers. In Kansas, those figures include 66 brewers (up from 17 just a decade ago), about a dozen distillers, and two dozen vintners. For each state—and more so for Kansas, with 82,000 square miles—a particular challenge in bolstering the economic impact of agritourism are the sheer volumes of land. A combination of relatively few major population cen ters and the comparative lack of density within any given sub-sector preclude the kind of clustering that can drive higher tourism interest.

A Salina or a Kirksville may sport a boutique brewery or distillery, but if the closest related producer is an hour down the highway, it’s tough for the lo cals to market themselves as a destina tion for product “tours” the way Kansas City, for example, can with a roster of more than three dozen breweries. Still, there is enough critical mass in agro-tourism to make it a focus of each state’s efforts to bring in vacationers and their dollars. And tourism overall is a big business; Missouri pegs its share of GDP at $17.7 billion, while Kansas says the direct and indirect benefits top $7.3 billion. The numbers of people attracted are also impressive, as well: 42.9 million a year to Missouri and 36.5 million to Kansas, officials in the two states say. Those numbers, industry execs be lieve, suggest plenty of room for growth. At Olathe-based Good Spirits Dis tilling, co-founder Chad Fordham has witnessed the boomlet in distilleries since his team rolled out its first batch of Clear 10 vodka and immediately turned heads, winning a Gold Medal from the coveted Beverage Tasting In stitute in Chicago in 2009. TURNING POINT | John McDonald re-intro duced craft brewing at scale to the Kansas City area with the founding of Boulevard Brewing Co. in 1989. Today, it’s one of the nation’s largest regional brewers.

attract agritourism dollars is one that industry executives here believe could create huge economic growth. That doesn’t stop with vineyards. Across Missouri and Kansas, entrepre neurs bolstered super-premium craft adult beverages across the spectrum— beer, wine, and distilled spirits. They are capitalizing on changes in consumer tastes over the past generation with niche products that aren’t seen as mass-pro duced drinks meant to appeal to the broadest possible audience. Microbrew eries, brewpub/restaurants, distilleries, and vineyards are driving not just tour ism but helping generate additional tax revenues through their operations. The growth is nice, but it’s hardly new—especially with Missouri wines, which have a history that goes back

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Kansas City’s Business Media

June 2022