Best Day Trip

With four picturesque wineries close to each other and two more in adjacent towns, Hermann, Missouri, offers that beautiful type of day trip during which you can get drunk and still feel as though you've done something worthwhile. The midnineteenth-century town has German roots and rolling hills, looking as though it was carved straight out of Bavaria -- the perfect setting for an autumn day of blankets, picnic baskets and more wine than you could possibly drink to stand. We recommend bypassing billboardy I-70 at Columbia, heading south to Jefferson City and onward through Holt Summit to Hermann. The drive is more than three hours, but it takes you through some scenic sections of Missouri. And for those understandably concerned about the drive back, there's always the option of ditching the gas guzzler altogether and catching Amtrak service to and from Hermann.