When people think of Kansas City, I’m sure many things come to mind before wine, but KC really does have it all, including some of the best wineries the U.S. has to offer, thanks to its proximity to Missouri’s wine-growing region.
If you’re visiting KC or simply looking for a fun night out, the wineries listed below are in-house approved and offer something unique. To keep things organized, the list is divided into two sections: Wineries in Kansas City and Wineries near Kansas City.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Best Wineries in Kansas City
1. Amigoni Urban Winery: Vibes and Experiences
A barrel room and a tasting room? Yes, please.
Located in the Daily Drover Telegram building, Amigoni’s vibe is more akin to an urban warehouse than a country vineyard. The tasting room is located in the Stockyards District of the West Bottoms, about 60 miles away from the winery’s Centerview vineyards. So while you won’t get to see the grapes in their natural habitat, you can enjoy them in their liquid state.
Amigoni offers several tasting experiences but our favorite is called “Art of the Sense.” It’s an interactive experience designed to teach the art of picking up subtle wine notes through smell and taste.
While Art of the Sense is a tasting meant for six people, Amigoni can accommodate smaller groups. Also, they have other tastings, including their aptly named “Wine Tasting,” which is a $10 solo experience.
Finally, Amigoni does offer small bites, including cheese from Green Dirt Farms and locally baked bread. And for those who want to skip the vino? The tasting room provides a local beer selection on tap.
2. Kansas City Wineworks: Creative Drinks and Crossroads
Second on our list is KC Wineworks. Like Amigoni, Kansas City Wineworks is considered an “urban winery,” which basically means no vineyard. However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t using locally grown grapes. In fact, their wine is made from 100% Missouri-born grapes. Once born, the bottled wine delivers a dry Midwest-style flavor.
If you prefer something sweeter, KC Wineworks offers slushies during the summer, mulled wine on the heated patio during the colder months, and other beautifully, Instagrammable drinks—think gold wine slushies for St. Patty’s Day and wine slushies served adult Capri Sun style. #MOWINE
Kansas City Wineworks is located in the Crossroads area of KC, which is an area well-suited for a sipping tour. After a wine flight, you can work your way through several local microbreweries including City Barrel Brewery and Double Shift Brewing Company, one of our favorite Kansas City breweries, and before topping the night off with a slice from Grinders.
Best Wineries Near Kansas City
1. KC Wine Co: Festivals and Live Music
If you’re ready to inhale fresh air while sipping wine in an actual vineyard, a short drive to Olathe, Kansas, should do the trick. From Kansas City, Olathe is a 35-minute drive. Worth it? Yes!
KC Wine Co keeps a packed event calendar. Saturday nights almost always include live music and food trucks. They even throw in the occasional seasonal event.
Keep in mind that while most events at the vineyard are free, festivals require a ticket. The family-friendly KC Pumpkin Patch, for example, is $13.99 and the adult-friendly (21+) KC Cider Fest is $35.00.
If you happen to be around during Cider Fest, it’s worth a visit. Think of it as a way to unleash your pumpkin-loving, inner child while sipping on hard cider and wine slushies. You can check out all of their creative vineyard ventures here.
Winery Combo: KC Wine Co is about 15 minutes away from our number #6 pick: Stone Pillar.
2. Nighthawk Vineyard and Winery: Peace and Jazz
A vineyard doesn’t always have to be jam-packed with noise and entertainment, does it? For those who prefer a peaceful, gorgeous setting, I highly recommend NightHawk. As one of the best wineries in Kansas City, it is magical, like a secret garden.
Located 45 minutes south of KC, Nighthawk requires a couvert or, as we like to say throughout the rest of Missouri, a cover charge. The charge includes a wine flight or a single glass and reserves a table for your party. You can spend the evening enjoying the grounds, playing bocce ball, and if it’s Saturday, live jazz and blues.
While you’re there, we recommend a glass of their house-made sangria.
Tip: Make a reservation before your visit. A wine flight is $7 with a reservation, $10 without.
Winery Combo: Nighthawk is just ten minutes away from our #7 pick: Somerset Ridge. It is also located on the Somerset Wine Trail, which includes Middle Creek and White Wind.
3. Jowler Creek: Sheep and Sustainability
Jowler Creek checks all of the right boxes: wine, wine slushies, vineyard yoga, food trucks, live music, but what really sets it apart is sustainability. Jowler is Missouri’s first “green” winery. It uses sheep to keep the grass in check and minimize soil erosion, while chickens help with pest control.
If you are looking for a unique experience, Jowler hosts an end-of-season barefoot grape stomp. Also, they have hayride tours in the fall that provide a chance to glimpse the grasscutting sheep in action.
If you want to truly submerge yourself in the farm experience, you can stay at the property’s very own Airbnb.
Winery Combo: Once you wrap up your visit at Jowlers, continue on to Riverwood Winery #9. It’s a 25 minute trip between the two stops.
4. Fence Stile Vineyards and Winery: Wine Cave and Firepits
The fourth spot on our list of best wineries in Kansas City belongs to Fence Stile, located in Excelsior Springs, MO, about 40 minutes from Kansas City. The atmosphere of this family-run winery feels comfortable, like home. It’s the type of place that you can bring your kids, dogs, a frisbee, and a blanket and enjoy the beautiful rolling hills. If you want to fly solo, you can tour the vineyard alongside their wine cave which, sadly, is not an actual cave but a manmade structure they use to store and age the wine.
Fence Stile often hosts outdoor movies, Friday night firepits, live music, and dinner under the stars. My favorite event is their annual Grape Stomp. The vineyard welcomes all who wish to use their toes to ceremonially step, jump, and smash grapes to close out the harvest. Of course, they don’t actually use the foot-smooshed fruit to make wine, but they do send it back out into the vineyards as compost.
Winery Combo: Fence Stile is a bit of a drive from Kansas City, but to break the trip up, you can swing by Belvoir and learn more about its alleged haunted history.
5. Aubrey Vineyards: Cookies and Charcuterie
Aubrey Vineyards offers two tasting locations including their Vineyard Tasting Room and their downtown Overland Park location.
The downtown location once sat inside of a record store which created a really unique experience. Sadly, the record store has moved. Happily, the Vineyard has a few advantages over the downtown location.
- It is an actual vineyard.
- It serves food and, on occasion, banana cookies with burnt sugar frosting that should NOT be missed.
In addition to sugar and alcohol, Aubrey Vineyards also sells a variety of charcuterie-style snacks. And while I can’t recommend a winery combo for Aubrey, I do recommend hitting up Overland Park’s Saturday morning Farmer’s Market.
6. Stone Pillar Vineyard: Taco Tuesdays and Cider Sundays
Like KC Wine Co, Stone Pillar is located in Olathe. It offers wines, ciders, wine slushies, and a packed event calendar. Cider Sunday, Taco Tuesday (in-season only), Wine Slushie Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, and Friday and Saturday night concerts prove that Stone Pillar has a penchant for alliterations and booze.
Winery Combo: Stone Pillar is about 15 minutes away from our number #1 pick: KC Wine Co.
7. Somerset Ridge Vineyard and Winery: Food Trucks and Dogs
I hate that Somerset Ridge landed in 7th place. The only reason it landed here is that it is about an hour’s drive from KC. However, it is a fantastic vineyard that is worth the drive.
Like many on this list, they serve up nightly entertainment, including food trucks, live music, and wine slushies. And while several of the vineyards on our list are dog-friendly—we will get to that in a moment—Somerset is dog-inclusive. They welcome leashed dogs year-round and even have their own winery dog ambassador, Fluffy, who walks around and makes sure guests enjoy their visit.
Winery Combo: Somerset is just ten minutes away from our #2 pick: Nighthawk Ridge.
8. Belvoir Winery: Ghosts and Secret Societies
To be fair, I haven’t seen a ghost at Belvoir Winery. Still, for those who want to seek paranormal activity, this is the spot. Belvoir was even the subject of an episode of the Syfy Channel’s Ghost Hunters.
The Belvoir Winery was completed in 1900. It was built for the Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal order partially known for their bizarre initiation ritual that included candlelight and a human skeleton. And yes, there is still a skeleton left inside Belvoir that you can view, if you’re into that sort of thing.
The winery certainly doesn’t shy away from capitalizing on its bizarre history. They allow you to walk by the old hospital, morgue, and cemetery. They also occasionally host a Murder Mystery Dinner and sell a specialty bottle of wine they call “Boo’s.”
If you just want to wine and dash, head to the bar at the Inn for a free tasting.
Winery Combo: Fence Stile and Belvoir make a good combination. Belvoir sits closer to Kansas City, while Fence Stile (#4) is located 30 minutes beyond Belvoir.
9. Riverwood Winery: Yoga and Whiskey Tastings
Perhaps one of the most unique things about Riverwood Winery is that it’s not just a winery. While they, of course, serve their own small-batch, handcrafted wines, they also have whiskey, plenty of it. Their “Whiskey Wall” is for those who want to try a sip of something stronger than vino, and they serve up tastings as a single pour or a flight with over 300 whiskeys and 12 brandies to choose from.
That said, there is a reason why this little winery took 10th place: distance. Riverwood Winery is located in Rushville, Mo, about an hour’s drive from Kansas City. The drive, however, will take you straight into the heart of the Missouri River Bluff wine country. While you are there, Riverwood will entertain you with events and live music and they’ll feed you (the flatbread pizza is a local favorite). You can also choose a day adventure and join one of their morning yoga classes that start with sun salutations and end with, you guessed it, wine.
Winery Combo: To break up the trip to Riverwood, swing by Jowler Creek Winery on the way.
Are There Any Dog-Friendly Wineries Near Kansas City?
Several of the wineries listed above allow leashed fur friends. Amigoni Urban Winery and KC Wineworks both offer dog-friendly outdoor patios.
Fence Stile welcomes leashed dogs to its vineyard.
KC Wine Co doesn’t always welcome dogs but they host the occasional pet-friendly wine event like “Mutts & Merlot” and “Dog Day Celebration.”
As far as a truly dog-friendly vineyard, I would say that Somerset Ridge Vineyard takes the cake. They even have a hard cider named “Lucky Dog,” a drink that honors the vineyard’s love of dogs and drink.
Kansas City Wine Tours
Of course, why try just one winery when you can try many. Kansas City is home to several winery tours. Three options for you:
- The Miami County Trolley
- Barley Bus
- Follow the Wine Road
If Nighthawk and Somerset sound like your cup of wine, try the Miami County Trolley. It runs through Isinglass Estate, Nighthawk, Somerset Ridge, and New Lancaster General Store and Winery (Middle Creek Winery.) Reservations for wine tours can be made online.
The Barley Bus offers brewery and distillery tours in addition to their winery tour. The downside to using Barley is that the itinerary is up in the air until tour week. They often visit many of the wineries on our list, including Fence Stile, Jowler, Amigoni, as well as non-listed wineries like Crooked Post, Haven Pointe, and Odessa.
If you can’t stand a surprise, you can always try to call the week of and try to get more information. The people at Barley Bus are accommodating, and work hard to make their tours a great time.
Third, you can always rent a private car or assign a designated driver and make your own tour. Choose one of our combo options above or buy a Wine Road map from KC Wine Road and explore all of the wineries in Kansas City.
Finally, if you want to try other Kansas City tours, check out our list of a few favorites here.
Photo Credit:
Photo 1: KC Wineworks: Photo KC
Photo Two: Nighthawk Vineyard and Winery: Nighthawk Vineyard and Winery
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