These 4 Wineries Near Wichita Are Worth the Drive

6 Kansas Wineries to Visit In and Near Wichita, KS

A Quick Wine History

According to Wheat State Winery Co (which is no longer in business), by the late nineteenth-century, Kansas and Missouri made up one of the largest wine growing regions in the country. Of course all of that changed when Kansas was the first state to pass Prohibition laws in 1881, 38 years before the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment. While many wineries continued to sell across state lines or bootleg their wine, it took until 1985 for our state to pass the Farm Winery Act, establishing rules for legal wine-making in Kansas once again.  

Today, Kansas is home to more than 30 wineries, six of them within the greater Wichita area. Most are kid-friendly and offer visitors a transporting experience, as well as some mighty fine wine. Kansas specializes in not only the traditional vitis vinifera vines but native species of vitis labrusca and hybrids as well, many of which have exciting histories of their own.  So load up the kids, expect to see a unique side of Kansas, and prepare your taste buds for an adventurous wine experience.  

Here are Kansas wineries in the Wichita area open to the public:  

Grace Hill Winery

Located just off K196 highway in Whitewater, KS at 6310 S Grace Hill Rd, Grace Hill’s tasting room is just steps from their vineyard allowing visitors to take it all in. Free tours, $5 wine tastings, and lawn games keep the entire family entertained. If you’re already a fan of their wine, you might recognize the family cat (their bulldog Georgia has to share fame with her predecessor, Chloe) from their labels, wandering into the tasting room or observation deck. In a typical year, Grace Hill hosts many special events throughout the year, including yoga in the vineyard, painting parties, music concerts, blend your own wine events, food and wine pairings, and dog-friendly birthday parties. See their website or sign up for their monthly email to see everything that’s happening at Grace Hill Winery. 

Wyldewood Cellars

This local gem has three different locations throughout the area open every day of the week. Depending on the type of experience you’re looking for, you can stop by and try the wine or tour the facilities. They specialize in wine made from fruit besides grapes, and are most famously known for Elderberry wine. Wyldewood hosts many different kinds of special events which they list on their website including holiday events, special wine tastings, and participation in the Tallgrass Film Festival. Check out their website for more specific information and to see their latest calendar of events. 

For further area wine country adventures, check out:

  • Windswept Winery, 1227 92nd Rd, Udall, KS. Phone number: 620-782-3952
  • Mabel’s Homestead Vineyards, 112B S Summit Road, Arkansas City, KS

For more information on Kansas wine availability, wine country tours, and local events, contact your local wine store!

 


If you aren’t sure of your wine tests, check out these 3 simple steps to discovering your wine preferences! And be sure to add these 5 new wines to your shopping list this spring and here aretips on how to break your wine rut

Kristina Haahr
Kristina is an El Dorado native who spent a lot of years trying to live "anywhere else.” She returned to El Dorado with husband Chuck (m. 1994) and their children Isaac (b. 1998) and Isabelle (b. 2003). A SAHM for 16 years, Kristina is now a wine rep for Demo Sales Inc., living her dream of a wine-saturated life. Kristina is a Geographer (BS K-State), Historian (MA WSU), and wrangler of two tiny dogs. She loves to travel, shop for shoes, and spend time with her teenagers, though she’s probably on her back porch saying “there’s no place like home.”