Kuenzel Valley Winery Opens For The Season

Kuenzel Valley Winery is one of New Haven’s local wineries that might not be as well known as some others on the Hermann Wine Trail, but it is a unique gem worth visiting for the specialty wines they produce. The winery is off Kohl City Road and owned by Tony and Rene Kuenzel. They are gracious hosts and love swapping stories with their visitors.

Over their opening weekend, they got a visit from Bill Horn and Pat Swann, and Bill’s restored vintage VW love bug. Nicole and Jeff Kuhlman received the farthest traveled award for their journey from Springfield, IL. Among Kuenzel’s featured vintages, you will find the wine that Tony made and named after himself and Rene. It was made from a grape he found growing on the property that could not be identified by any of the vineyard experts they consulted with. It is known as the “Torenzel” and is a semi-sweet White Wine.

Another unique flavor is Tony’s “Mint Tea Wine” which is 45% grape, 14% Tea, and 14% Mint; it has 13% alcohol content.

All their wines are grown from grapes on their property surrounding the winery. They have been scaling back and are making smaller batches that previous years, but the quality and innovation has remained high. The pace is a little slower than the bigger wineries, but the experience is more memorable.