Les Bourgeois Vineyards sits on the Missouri River bluffs just west of Rocheport, and for a lot of people it’s the reason they find this town at all. Curtis “Doc” and Martha Bourgeois bought the land in 1974, lived in a small A-frame on the bluff while they built their house, and opened the winery in 1985. Forty years later it’s Missouri’s third-largest winery — but the view from the top of that bluff is still the first thing anyone mentions.
In 2019 their son, also named Curtis, retired after 32 years running the place, and Jacob and Rachel Holman took over ownership, with Rachel as CEO. The family framing didn’t change much — it’s still a winery that feels run by people who live down the road.
The wines
Norton is the one to know. It’s Missouri’s official state grape — sometimes called the “Cabernet of the Midwest” — an inky, full-bodied red with earthy tannins that isn’t trying to be a California Cab and is the better for it. Les Bourgeois has built its name on it: in 2022 its 2020 Norton shared the C.V. Riley Award for the state’s best Norton with Stone Hill Winery at the Missouri Wine Competition, a tie that almost never happens. Beyond the Norton you’ll find a crisp Vignoles, the easy-drinking Riverboat Red blend, and the Jeunette Rouge, a dry red built on Chambourcin. The winery makes over 120,000 gallons a year and distributes across several states, and everything is produced on-site at the bluff — what’s in your glass was grown on the hillside you’re looking at.
The A-Frame and the Blufftop Bistro
The A-Frame Winegarden — the same little structure Doc Bourgeois once lived in — is now an open-air spot at the top of the bluff. You can reach it by the spur trail that climbs from the Katy Trail below, or by car off Highway BB (14020 W Hwy BB, Rocheport). It pours seasonally, roughly spring through fall, often with live music on weekends. A short walk away, the Blufftop Bistro serves lunch and dinner behind tall windows that frame the Missouri River and its bottomland forest. Hours shift with the season, so check the winery’s own site, missouriwine.com, before you drive out.
Staying over
If you want to make a night of it, Les Bourgeois runs three guesthouses on the property — Founders Point, The 1912, and the Trailside Suites at the base of the bluff, right on the Katy Trail. Between the trail, the wine, and the river, most people end up staying longer than they planned.
See hours, contact information, and current events on our Les Bourgeois Vineyards listing, then go see the bluff for yourself.