It has been quite a journey over the past 3½ years for Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery, and Mike and I are incredibly grateful for the love, support, and encouragement we have received from our community along the way. As we look back on how far we’ve come, we are excited for the future and all that is still ahead for Shamrock Hills.
Over the past few years, we’ve received many questions about how this all began, along with a few misconceptions about our story. We thought it was time to share the journey behind Shamrock Hills—the twists, turns, unexpected opportunities, and the passion that brought us here. So, we’re answering some of the questions we hear most often and clearing up a few misconceptions we’ve encountered along the way.
How did we end up with a Winery?
I always tell guests, “Be careful what questions you ask on a wine tour…you just might end up with a winery!” It’s only half a joke.
In 2019, Mike found this beautiful 323-acre property while sitting in a duck blind looking for hunting land closer to home. The property featured rolling fields, beautiful timber, creeks, bluffs, a century-old Quonset barn, and a cabin—all full of potential. While Mike saw a hunter’s paradise, Denise saw something more—a place where people could gather and enjoy the beauty of the land. That vision became Shamrock Ranch, our event venue.
At the time, our fields were being sharecropped for corn and soybeans, but because we both love wine, Mike thought it would be fun to grow grapes. To learn more, we booked a local trolley wine tour. At every winery, Mike asked questions about vineyards, grape varieties, and winemaking.
One stop, Four Horses and a Dog Winery, changed everything. The owners generously answered all of Mike’s questions and, a few weeks later, attended the grand opening of Shamrock Ranch. After seeing our property, they envisioned something we hadn’t even considered.
Over breakfast shortly afterward, they shared that after ten years of making wine, they were ready to pass the torch. They believed we had the passion, the property, and the vision to carry on what they had built.
And that’s how one trolley wine tour, a lot of questions, and a little bit of fate led us to become the owners of Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery.
Misconception: You are located on the Four Horses Property
This is one of the questions we hear most often, and the answer is no.
Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery has always been located at 12300 Shoemaker Road in Excelsior Springs. We are not on the former Four Horses property, and we never have been.
When we started the winery, we completed an asset purchase, meaning we purchased the winery equipment, tasting room furnishings, production equipment, and their remaining wine inventory. Everything but the vines was moved from their location to ours. As Mike began crafting Shamrock Hills wines, we gradually phased out the remaining Four Horses wines during our first year. Today, every wine we serve is proudly made by Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery.
We are incredibly grateful to Four Horses and a Dog Winery for helping us get started and for the friendships and loyal customers who followed us on this journey. Their support gave us a wonderful foundation, but our goal has always been to create something uniquely our own.
Today, Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery reflects our vision, our winemaking, and our passion for sharing this beautiful property with our guests.
Do You Grow Your Own Grapes?
Yes, we do! Our vineyard was planted around the same time we opened our tasting room, so we are still in the early stages of establishing our estate vines. Growing grapes is a long-term investment—it takes 5–6 years for vines to reach full production. During those first years, the vines are focused on building strong root systems and trunks so they can eventually support the larger grape yields they are capable of producing.
We started with 11 acres and approximately 4,000 vines, with plans to add additional acreage on the north side of the driveway in the coming years. Our goal is to create estate wines featuring grapes that are unique to our property and not widely available throughout Missouri.
While we grow many of our own grapes, some varieties are more readily available from other Missouri vineyards. We partner with trusted growers across the state to supplement our estate fruit and create the best wines possible.
Many of the grapes we are growing are hybrid varieties—grapes that may thrive in other regions of the country or Europe but need to be grafted with Norton, Missouri’s state grape, to better handle our climate and growing conditions.
Our estate vineyard includes:
- Crimson Cabernet – a Norton and Cabernet Sauvignon hybrid
- Zinthiana – a Zinfandel and Norton hybrid
- Cabernet Doré – a Cabernet Sauvignon and Seyval Blanc hybrid
- St. Vincent – a grape from the Pinot family
- Corot Noir – another Pinot family grape
- Vidal Blanc
Every year our vineyard gets stronger, and we look forward to the day when more of the wines in your glass come directly from the vines growing right here at Shamrock Hills.
Are You Still Affiliated with Four Horses and a Dog?
No, we are not. Four Horses and a Dog Winery was an important part of our beginning and helped provide the foundation for us to get started, but Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery is its own story.
Like horses running through the fields toward a beautiful sunset, Four Horses had their moment and created a wonderful legacy. The Jennings and the Stubs are incredible people who made a lasting impact on the Missouri wine industry and built a loyal following of customers who loved what they created.
We are grateful for the role they played in our journey, but their chapter has closed, and ours is being written. Four Horses and a Dog is part of our history, while Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery represents the present and the future.
Did Mike Always Make Wine?
Not exactly! Mike has always enjoyed wine, and one of our favorite pastimes has been exploring wineries and vineyards throughout the United States and Europe. We love experiencing different terroirs, meeting winemakers and owners of small family wineries, and learning about the craft and passion behind what they do.
By trade, Mike is an engineer and business owner, and while he had experience making home brews, he didn’t make his first wine until 2023. True to his personality, Mike took on winemaking like any good challenge—he dove in headfirst. He completed courses through the Missouri Wine and Grape Institute, spent time learning from winemakers in Missouri, Oregon, and throughout Europe and asked a lot (and we mean a lot!) of questions along the way.
That first year was filled with learning, experimenting, and plenty of trial and error—but it was also a success. Mike made 10 wines in our first vintage and entered six of them into the Missouri Governor’s Cup Competition. Our 2023 wines earned three medals in 2024, and the feedback from the competition helped guide improvements for future vintages.
In 2024, Mike created 14 wines and entered 12 into the Missouri Governor’s Cup Competition, earning 14 medals. Along with gold, silver, and bronze medals, we were honored with Best of Show Off-Dry Red for our 2024 Sweet Hadley Jo (named after our first granddaughter—the name is sweeter than the wine!) and Best Varietal for our 2024 Chardonel.
This past year, Mike has continued pushing the limits, creating more than 10 wines, including recent releases of our 2024 Norton Reserve, 2024 Chambourcin Reserve, Vidal Blanc, Sweet Vignoles, St. Vincent Rosé, and Spicy Hadley Jo made with Chambourcin. We’ll be releasing even more wines in the fall, so the story is still being written.
While Mike may not have started as a winemaker, his curiosity, dedication, and love of the craft have quickly turned him into one—and we can’t wait to see what he creates next.
Do You Only Make the Traditional Missouri Sweet Wines?
No! While we do make a couple of sweeter wines because we know everyone’s palate is different, our goal is to offer a variety of wines that appeal to many different tastes. Most of our wines fall into the off-dry or semi-dry categories, and our oak-aged Reserve Collection wines are typically in the dry category.
Mike’s winemaking style is inspired more by European traditions, which aligns with the heritage of many of the grape varieties grown in Missouri. We focus on letting the grapes shine and creating wines that showcase their unique characteristics.
We also do not make Midwest fruit wines—we only use grapes to create our wines. However, wine is fascinating because the aromas and flavors you experience can remind you of your favorite fruits. For example, our 2025 St. Vincent Rosé has notes of strawberries, cranberries, and cherries, but none of those fruits were added. Those flavors come naturally from the grapes and the winemaking process.
Our goal is to create wines that offer something for everyone—from those who enjoy a sweeter glass to those who prefer a dry, complex wine.
Misconception: Missouri Wines Aren’t the Same Caliber as Other Wine Regions. What Makes You Different?
This is a misconception we love to help change because Missouri has a rich and fascinating wine history. In fact, Missouri was home to the first federally recognized American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the United States. German immigrants brought grapevine cuttings with them and established some of the earliest vineyards in the state, especially in the Hermann area.
Like many things, old stigmas can be hard to shake, but Missouri wine has evolved tremendously. Today, there are many talented winemakers across the state creating high-quality wines, and each winemaker’s style is what makes their wines unique.
The Missouri Wine and Grape Board and the Missouri Wine and Grape Institute continue to work to showcase and elevate the quality of Missouri wines. One of the newest efforts is the W.I.S.E. Choice Program (Wine Industry Standard of Excellence), which provides an additional standard of quality for Missouri wines.
W.I.S.E. Choice is a voluntary program where winemakers submit their wines for a two-part evaluation. The first step is a blind tasting by a trained panel of Missouri winemakers who evaluate the wine for quality and potential faults. The second step is laboratory analysis to review wine chemistry, including factors such as pH and acidity. Wines that meet the standards receive a W.I.S.E. Choice designation that can be displayed on their label.
Mike is proud to serve on the W.I.S.E. Choice evaluation team, which has helped expand his knowledge and continue to refine his own winemaking process. He also submits many of our Shamrock Hills wines for evaluation—not because he has to, but because he believes in continuous improvement and values feedback from other winemakers.
What makes Shamrock Hills different is our approach. We focus on crafting wines that highlight the grapes, the land, and Mike’s winemaking style. We believe great wine can be made anywhere grapes can grow—and we are proud to be part of Missouri’s growing wine story.
What’s in the Future for Shamrock Hills Vineyard & Winery?
The future of Shamrock Hills is about continuing to make quality wine, growing our presence in the Missouri tourism and wine industries, and becoming a destination that people seek out throughout the Kansas City region. We also look forward to expanding our partnerships with local restaurants and sharing Shamrock Hills wines beyond our property.
One of our biggest goals is to help change the way people view Missouri wine. We want people to walk into a restaurant and think, “What great Missouri wine would pair with this meal?” instead of assuming the best wines only come from California or Europe. Missouri wines have come a long way, and there are incredible winemakers throughout our state creating wines worth discovering. The next step is helping people let go of old perceptions and experience what Missouri wine is today.
Currently, you can find Shamrock Hills wines at Willow Springs Mercantile and The Springs Restaurant in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and The Landing in Liberty, Missouri. We’ve also enjoyed sharing our wines at local farmers markets, including the Lee’s Summit Farmers Market and the Kansas City River Market Saturday Farmers Market. For a small Missouri winery, each new opportunity is a big step—not just for us, but for the Missouri wine industry as a whole.
Beyond the wine, our vision for Shamrock Hills has always been about creating a destination and building community. We often compare it to an Irish pub—not just a place to grab a drink, but a place where people gather. In Ireland, a pub on a Saturday afternoon is about conversation, connection, and community. You’ll find generations of families and friends sitting together, sharing stories, laughing, and making memories.
That is what we want Shamrock Hills to be—a place where families gather, neighbors reconnect, and guests slow down and enjoy the beauty of our property. Yes, it’s about the wine, but it’s also about the conversations around the table, the stories shared, and the memories created.
Maybe it sounds a little sentimental, but we believe it’s something we need more of today: a place to unplug, unwind, and simply talk.
And because we are Shamrock Hills, we don’t stop at wine. We also offer beer, including a few microbrews made by Mike, and Irish whiskey—because what would a little Irish spirit be without Irish whiskey?
The future of Shamrock Hills is simple: great wine, good company, and a place where people feel like they belong.