Description
In 1865, John H. Bardenheier came to the United States from Germany, where he had become versed in the wine and liquor distribution business. In 1873, he founded The John Bardenheier Wine and Liquor Company, later known as Bardenheier Wine Cellars, at 212 Market Street in St. Louis, Mo. Prohibition meant an end to the company in 1920, but the founder’s son resurrected the company in 1933 when Prohibition was repealed. At its peak, Bardenheier’s was one of the oldest and largest family-owned and operated wineries in the U.S. The company was sold in 1983, operating under new ownership until it closed about a decade later.
In 2004, Wayne and Kim Bardenheier-Evans, daughter of John E. Bardenheier, Jr., reacquired the family name and opened a small winery in Richwoods, Mo.
