St. James Winery Chief Executive Officer Peter Hofherr is the newly elected chairman of the Missouri Wine & Grape Board. The Missouri Wine & Grape Board directs and funds the marketing and research efforts of the Missouri wine and grape-growing industries. As chairman, Hofherr will oversee these efforts.     

I'm honored to be able to serve our industry," said Hofherr. "My family has been involved since the inception of the Board in the early 1980s. I'm proud to carry on the family tradition of working with other industry members to further the growth and development of Missouri's grape and wine industry."  

Governor Jay Nixon appointed Hofherr to the Missouri Wine & Grape Board for a four year term in early 2009. No stranger to the Board, Hofherr served as its chairman in the late 1990s. He is a former Director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture and besides his duties at St. James Winery, he currently serves as Assistant Director of the McQuinn Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Missouri, Columbia.  

The mandate of the 11 member Missouri Wine & Grape Board is to increase awareness, interest and patronage of the state's grape, grape juice and wine industries and further the economic development of these industries.  

St. James Winery is the largest and most awarded winery in Missouri. Celebrating 39 years of business, St. James Winery wines are sold throughout the Midwest.