Below is a view from St. Mary’s Church in Altus, the heart of Arkansas’ wine country. This image — poorly taken in trying out the iPhone’s panorama function — is looking south.
In the 19th century, German, Swiss and Italian Catholics immigrated to Arkansas, spurred by religious persecution at home, and encouraged by the acres of rich farmland being offered by railroad companies serving the Arkansas River Valley. The railroads figured if they could bring in farmers, the farmers would need a way to get their crops to market, and their friendly, neighborhood railroad would be the way to go.
Arkansas’ wine industry grew out of the immigrants’ need for sacramental wine for Mass. Today there are commercial wineries, not only in the Ouachitas, but also north in the Ozark mountains.
