Feast on pretty surroundings, farm-sourced ingredients, and creative flair at a dinner rivaling that of any big-city establishment. 

BURNING BARREL

Lecompton

Kick off your curated evening of agriculture and elegance with a glass of wine grown on-site and a stroll along prairie paths. On the patio, community tables made of hand-hewn elm connect guests with nature and one another during three-course alfresco meals (weekends from May to October). Starring farm ingredients, the menu exudes fine-dining panache with choices like autumn squash pelmeni, marjoram-plum chicken and rhubarb upside-down cake.

ELDERSLIE FARM

KECHI                        

Give a grateful nod to the goats as you arrive on the farm grounds; they’re responsible for the soft and firm cheese varieties available at the on-site creamery and grilled goat cheese sandwiches at the seasonal Bramble Cafe. Venture into the fields to pluck your own plump blackberries or treat yourself to blackberry lemonade and blackberry scones. Dinner at the farm’s upscale restaurant is built around an ever-evolving prix fixe menu, which might kick off with a compressed watermelon amuse-bouche followed by salads, seafood and meats adorned with local produce. Try a flight of inventive frozen yogurt for dessert.    

SALTWELL FARM KITCHEN

OVERBROOK                        

At an 1856 farmstead named for its early-day salty wells, savor an eight-course tasting menu foraged from nature and neighboring farmers. Served Friday and Saturday nights, the seasonally inspired menu changes weekly. Allow life to slow down as you sip craft cocktails and wine with plates such as broccoli soup with sprouts, heirloom purple mashed potatoes and pan-seared ribeye. Dine outdoors from May to October at reclaimed barnwood tables among walnut groves and resident chickens. As soon as winter’s chill arrives, dinner moves indoors to an antiques-appointed parlor that glows by candlelight.

Kansas winemakers totally crush it. Spacious country estates, family farms, and urban hideaways set the scene for fruitful tastings.        
 

GRACE HILL WINERY

Whitewater                        

Get intimate with what you’re sampling at staff-led wine tastings or on cellar and vineyard tours of these 15 acres. Lush vistas and beautifully assembled panini accompany 25 small-batch Kansas varietals, including El Gato Moscato. (Keep an eye out for the wine’s equally sweet namesake, Growltiger the cat, roaming the winery grounds.)

ISINGLASS ESTATE

La Cygne                        

Vino is at the heart of this 600-acre property, rich with vines and 18 estate wines. After sips of blackberry Cabernet in the tasting room or on the patio, get the full estate experience with horseback riding, riverfront hikes, horse-drawn wagon rides and wine-making demonstrations. You can spend the night in a guest house, Conestoga wagon or cottage.             

ROWE RIDGE VINEYARD AND WINERY

Kansas City                        

Just north of the roaring Kansas Speedway, retreat to a grape-growing and wine-making haven tucked in a residential area. Seven varieties of grapes (3,000 vines) produce the white, red and fruit wines. After a vineyard stroll, refresh with a summertime wine slushie or mulled wine in fall.      

SHILOH VINEYARD AND WINERY

WaKeeney                        

After traveling to Israel’s Shiloh wine region, a Kansas couple created their own Shiloh on the western Kansas plains. Join them at the gabled barn or chicken-coop patio for wines made from their own grapes, apples and other Kansas-grown fruits such as blackberries. Guided tours amble through the three-generation family farm.

SOMERSET RIDGE VINEYARD AND WINERY

Paola                    

Cabernet Franc grapes and around a dozen other varieties produce earthy red, crisp white and dessert wines in these rocky limestone hills. Sip the harvest in the tasting room, make it a picnic by purchasing provisions on-site, or toast summer with food trucks and live music on select weekends.