President
Jon Held
Also Known As
"Mr. Sensible"
Years with Stone Hill
since 1965
Favorite Wine
Favorite Way to Spend Freetime
Cooking the world's cuisine for family
About Jon
Only 7 years old when his parents moved to Hermann to restore the winery, Jon has been a part of the business since the start. Before moving to the winery, his family lived on their farmstead in Pershing, without indoor plumbing. After moving to the Hermann, he would participate with the new business anyway he could. Though his three siblings were too young to help much the first few years, Jon tried his best to turn the old heirloom grape press crank and work through the first harvest.
Working through middle school and high school, he decided to continue his education in wine formally.
Jon Held graduated summa cum laude from California State University, Fresno with a degree in Enology–the science of winemaking. While attending CSUF, he was a two-time recipient of American Society for Enology and Viticulture scholarships and was also awarded the Alpha Zeta Agriculture Honor Fraternity Outstanding Senior Award.
My biggest goal is to see Stone Hill repositioned to the grand stature it held in the years prior to Prohibition.”
-Jon Held
After graduation, Jon honed his winemaking skills with an apprenticeship at the Hans Schlatter Weinbau Kellerei in Hallau, Switzerland. This was followed with a position as assistant winemaker for Andres Wines Ltd., one of the largest and most successful wineries in Ontario, Canada.
In 1983, Jon returned to his family’s Stone Hill Winery as Vineyard Manager. Today, Jon serves as the winery’s President and Owner and directly oversees the production and operations aspects of the company. In 1994 Jon’s expertise at vineyard management was recognized at the Wineries Unlimited Symposium where he was named Winegrower of the Year.
In 1995, Jon met his wife and my mom, Karen, marrying in 1996. They have two sons, Nathan and Eric.
Jon is actively involved in several industry and civic boards and organizations. He has served multiple terms on the Missouri Grape and Wine Advisory Board and has served as the Midwestern representative on the Eastern Viticulture Consortium Regional Guidance Committee. He served on the National Clean Plant Network Tier II Grape Committee as well as the chairman of the Missouri River Bridge Transportation Committee.