Jon Held's parents, Jim and Betty Held, bought Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, Mo., in 1965. Founded in 1847, the old winery had fallen into disrepair after Prohibition destroyed Missouri's wine industry, and the family spent years restoring the facility and its vaulted underground cellars.

Jon Held studied enology at California State University, Fresno, graduating in 1980. He worked in Switzerland and Ontario, Canada, before returning to Stone Hill as vineyard manager in 1983. Today, Held is vice president and general manager of the winery, overseeing all production and operations aspects of the company. But viticulture remains a big focus. Stone Hill maintains 157 acres of vineyard, where the family grows a variety of native American and hybrid grape varieties ranging from Seyval and Chardonel to Concord and Norton. Held currently serves as vice chair of the Missouri Wine & Grape Board.