Located right in the middle of America, many might not expect a large exposure to fine wines. Well, Missouri is producing some exquisite wines and I'll share more of that in later posts.

Today I wanted to let you know about one of the places I visit when I want to discover a new grape or experience a new wine from around the world. Jennifer and Don Stanton created Wines by Jennifer® in Parkville, Missouri.

They describe their business as 'A Global Wine Boutique' and spend a few minutes in their shop and you'll enjoy how global it is. I'll describe more about that in a minute, let me first tell you about Don and Jennifer.

They are the type of people you meet and instantly like. The kind of people you want to invite to dinner and open that special bottle of wine you've set back to share.

My lovely wife bought me a Wine Club Membership to Wines by Jennifer® for Christmas one year. Club members pick up a bottle of red, white, or red and white wine once a month, but more about that later, I'm not done with Jennifer and Don.

My wife and I stopped by Wines By Jennifer® for our first visit and bottle of wine in February. We were greeted by Jennifer who made us welcome at once and described the layout of their wine boutique. Jennifer then introduced us to Don and he took us back to the tasting room where we exchanged the typical small talk and Don explored what kind of wines we had tried and what we enjoyed.

Typically Wines By Jennifer® offers a weekly wine theme and offers three whites and three reds that are hand picked and tasted by the staff. It's rare we go home without one, two or three bottles from a tasting, but let's get back to Don.

We finished our tastings, picked up our wine and left the shop feeling good about the experience looking forward to returning in March. Unfortunately it was April before we were able to make it back, but we were greeted by Don at the door with a big, "Tony and Lynn, glad you could make it back."

Two months had passed and Don and Jennifer remembered customers who had been in their shop once. This is the best way I can convey the type of business they run in Parkville.

The layout of Wines by Jennifer® makes you feel right at home, in large part because it's just that, a home they restored built in the earliest part of the 1900's. Located at 405 Main Street, it's just blocks from Historic Downtown Parkville.

On the main and upper levels, rooms are themed from around the world and you can choose from Spain and Portugal, Italy, France, Australia and New Zealand, Germany, Chile and Argentina. If you're not sure where to start, ask any of the staff of Wines by Jennifer® for some recommendations based on what you know you like. They all know their stuff and have given me some very good recommendations.

I love the lay out by country as I would have never shopped for wines from South Africa previously. Once you have your wine selected, step on down to the lower level and enjoy the art displayed by local artist, or enjoy your bottle of wine with friends or that someone special in the private alcoves.

If you visit, make sure you stop by the tasting room. Their weekly themed tastings are a fun way to discover new wines. Typically they feature three whites and three reds hand picked and tasted by the staff.

One of their clientele favorites is just around the corner: March Madness. Taste and vote for your favorite wines and see how they rank through the weekly progression.

There are also other special events throughout the year such as Champagne tastings and a fall grape stomp. If all this wasn't enough to make you stop in, there are the Wine Clubs.

In their words, 'We carefully hand-select our Featured Wines... with the goal of providing a broad range of quality wines from different grape varietals, areas, and vintages to help you quickly and affordably expand your wine horizons.' They have certainly done that for me.

Wines by Jennifer® is a great place to visit novice or expert, there is something for everyone. If you love to taste and discover some fabulous wines, from around the world or around the country, in a friendly and knowledgeable atmosphere, please stop by and tell them I sent you.

Originally published in Tony DiPlacito's

"Squashed Grape Technologies" Blog, February 2012