Where the Arkansas River winds below the Ouachita and Ozark mountains, wine lovers will find a weekend getaway in one of the most beautiful and friendly places on Earth. A pleasant ride will deliver travelers to the Arkansas River Valley, where the road snakes below hardwood shade trees and past hayfields and pasturelands that smell of sweet alfalfa and are kissed in the spring with the yellow of buttercups. Five wineries open to the public for tastings and tours operate in Altus and Paris. Each has a special personality, but all are steeped in the deep tradition of the oldest and largest winemaking state in the southern United States. The responsibility of this tradition is due to the region's rich sandy soil, large Catholic population that enabled wine production to continue during prohibition, and to the efforts of two men: Jacob Post and Johann Wiederkehr, who settled the region in the late 1800s. Three of the area's five wineries are fifth- and sixth-generation descendants of these men, and a fourth began her winery with vineyard land bought from the family. Arkansas wine is a natural byproduct. Two European families settled in the Arkansas River Valley, attracted by its fertile sandy soil and moderate climate. These pioneers of the American wine industry were Jacob Post, who came to America in 1872, and Johann Wiederkehr, who immigrated to Altus from Switzerland in 1880. Area conditions reminded them so much of the fine wine-making regions of Germany and Switzerland that they each established vineyards, the beginning of viticulture in Arkansas.

Cowie Wine Cellars & Vineyards Paris Operating winery, vineyard and wine museum. Private chapel located on the grounds houses a bell collection and bell towers. Two suites are available for lodging. Weddings can be held on the property (but not in the chapel).

Post Winery Altus Post Winery & gift store is located in Altus, Arkansas, which is part of the Altus Viticultural Area. A commercial kitchen allows the property to host tea room style lunches and small events.

Chateau Aux Arc Vineyards & Winery Altus Located in Arkansas's Wine Country, this winery is the world's largest planter of Cynthiana grapes, the largest U.S. Chardonnay vineyard outside California and the largest Zinfandel planter in Arkansas; wine tasting room; available for weddings and special events. Bus tours should call in advance. Wedding packages, RV camping available; Project Sustainability includes recycling program, use of sustainable products, eco-friendly cleaners; water runoff used in the vineyards

Mount Bethel Winery Altus Historic cellar offers over 100-year-old tradition of wine making, bottling and tasting, plus tours; several traditional grape wine varieties as well as several specialty wines made from Arkansas grown fruit such as blueberry and strawberry; gift shop

Wiederkehr Wine Cellars, Inc. Wiederkehr Village Family owned and operated since 1880. Swiss heritage, vineyard tours, free wine tasting cellar tours, gift shop, Wiederkehr Village Wine & Spirits store, all open year round, seven days a week. Wiederkehr Weinkeller Restaurant housed in original hand-dug 1880 wine cellar features award-winning continental cuisine and on National Register of Historic Places.