Robller Winery Celebrates 30th And 200th Anniversary

This past week marked the 30th anniversary of the start of Robller Vineyard & Winery. Bob and Lois Mueller and their kids would come out from Glendale to work over the weekends to get things started. Bob, being retired from metal stamping in St. Louis, found that his engineering skills were a valuable asset to constructing the winery and tasting room, maintaining all the tanks and wine production equipment, and getting their harvester to keep running.

Another anniversary is the 200th anniversary of the farmhouse and the plot of farmland where the winery is located. An English immigrant, George Patton bought the 85 acre parcel of land back in 1821. The old farmhouse was constructed at that time and is now covered with siding and a few additions. Inside, you can view the original log cabin construction of the 200 year old home.

The Muellers are the 4th owners and have been making their mark in the wine world. Back in 1989, Robller’s Norton wine won the Missouri Governor’s cup their first year in production. Since then, they have won numerous additional awards and garnered the attention of Feast Magazine for their innovative vintages and excellent quality wines.

Looking to the future, winemaker and Bob’s son, Gerry Mueller, is looking to the future by capturing some of winemaking’s famous past by acquiring some cuttings from the 150 year old vines planted by George Hussmann on his farm near Hermann. Hussmann is the undisputed father of American Wine Making and started in Hermann, helped to save the European wine industry from being wiped out in the 19th century from a parasite brought from America, and finally by moving out to California and getting the California wine industry started there. Gerry hopes to get some fruit from the vines in 3 to 4 years and will, no doubt, make something that continues Robller’s innovative vintage production for many more years.