The history of the Adam Puchta Winery begins back in the 1840’s when John Henry Puchta purchased the land and 40 adjoining acres in Hermann Missouri. In that time, he built a one-room log cabin approximately 320 square feet for his family of seven. With the small farm house, he also built a wine cellar with a press over the top.
Adam Puchta left the family farm in Hermann in search of gold in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Apparently, he was successful because in 1855, Adam returned to Hermann Missouri and the family farm. Upon arriving he purchased 40 acres of land from his father, built a log cabin, and began clearing the land. His goal was to plant crops and a vineyard to sustain himself. In that same year, Adam Puchta was able to produce his first wine by using some of the grapes from his father’s vineyard and also some wild grapes.
Adam’s success can be attributed to several different aspects. Some of which are the gold he acquired when he left Hermann and the family farm. The other attributes include the fact that Adam continued the production of his farming operation. In addition to his winery, Adam Puchta produced wheat, corn, oats and barley. The first years of wine production took place in the cellar under the residence, but Adam soon learned that he needed to expand his operation. Instead of bringing in and paying for outside materials, he found his property had enough limestone to build the new wine cellar and the press house and fermentation were built directly on top of the foundation.
After Prohibition, Adam Puchta Winery went back into business. Luckily, there was still some equipment left from before Prohibition including the dual stone hand operated grape crusher, the two-man screw-type press and one large fermenting vat. Today, all the equipment is stainless steel including the hoppers, augers, crusher and destemmer. Adam Puchta Winery operated slightly different in previous years as well. Many times they would take large barrels of wine to markets in downtown Hermann, Missouri and also New Haven, Washington, and even St. Louis. Local customers would bring bottles or jugs to refill since many of the early wineries did not bottle their own wine.
Today, Adam Puchta winery produces over 62,000 gallons of wine every year and has won numerous awards both nationally and internationally. They are open 7 days a week and only closed on New Year’s, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas. Adam Puchta Winery is a great attraction for those visiting our beautiful town of Hermann, Missouri
