Wine is certainly the last thing on our minds as we leave Little Rock, Arkansas, heading for Weatherford, Oklahoma. So imagine our surprise when, by chance, while looking up the town of Altus, Arkansas, on the iPad, we find out that it is home to Arkansas wine trail. Just east of Fort Smith, the road winds through rolling, green hills. A few miles ahead, we come across vineyards surrounding a beautiful house with stone pillars and a wrap-around porch. A carefully crafted rock garden, accented with large boulders and rocks draws you into the property that seems strikingly out-of-place — it would look more at home in France or Italy. This is Chateau Aux Arc Winery (no it is not a play on words, it is the original French spelling of Ozarks)

Inside the 5,000 square foot tasting room and gift shop, bottles of wine are tastefully arranged around the wide counter. Behind the desk is a display bearing ribbons and medals, attesting to the success of the vineyard. The story behind this venture is an interesting one. In the late nineties, having just graduated from college, Audrey House (the owner) visited Europe and fell in love with viticulture. Upon her return to Arkansas, she purchased 20 acres of Chardonnay grapes which had fallen into disrepair near Altus. With the help of some college friends, Audrey spent the summer camping in the vineyard and restoring the vines. Soon the grapes were growing, and Audrey was able to open her vineyard. Additional acres were purchased so that there are now 50 acres at Chateau Aux Arc, producing 13 different types of grapes which are used to make the wine.  In addition to growing the most Chardonnay grapes outside California, Audrey is the world’s largest producer of Cynthiana grapes, which were first discovered in Arkansas and are the official state grape.

Chateau Aux Arc is the first and youngest vineyard you find on the Wine Trail in Arkus, Arkansas. There are three others, established in the late 1800s when two Swiss-German families settled in the Arkansas River Valley between the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains. Today 4th and 5th generations of these two families are still making some of the oldest wine in the southern US.

We stop at the Post Familie Winery in the town of Altus. In addition to selling wine, including from the muscadine grape which is native to the US Southwest, this winery also produces a non-alcoholic drink made from the grapes. You can sample either white or red grape juice which is very refreshing and very high in antioxidants.

Further up the road are the Mount Bethel Vineyards and the Wiederkehr Winery, the oldest in mid-America, where there is also a restaurant serving Swiss/German specialties such as fondue.

We are certainly not wine connoisseurs and will leave it up to others to critique the quality of the wines; however, a visit to the Arkansas wine trail is another unexpected discovery that permits us to go off the beaten track and see a part of America that we know nothing about.

IF YOU GO
To get to the Arkansas Wine Trail from I-40, take exit 41. Go south on Highway 186 for 2.3 miles to Chateau Aux Arc. The Mount Bethel and Wiederkehr wine cellars are further down the road and the Post Familie Winery is in Altus.

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