King David’s brings homemade mead, wine, craft beer and Cajun food to Poplar Bluff, Missouri

From darnews.com

Poplar Bluff is getting a new wine and dine destination this Thursday with the opening of King David’s Winery, Meadery & Brewery, a bar and Cajun restaurant near scenic Wolf Creek.

Proprietor David Peluso, a long-time brewer and chef, said opening day has been a long time coming.

“There were a good few years that went by, five or six. It took me a while ... It’s one thing to say you’re going to do something and it’s another to back that up, and go and get funding.”

Peluso began working toward opening a winery in 2016 but had to wait until 2019 to get a loan. The next year, COVID-19 created setbacks both economic and mental as he watched the winery and restaurant industries go from boom to bust within months. As time progressed though, he was encouraged to see recovery.

“I have friends with restaurants and wineries and breweries, they’re all doing great, so it really encouraged me to finish things up and get rolling,” he said.

Peluso has also been in contact with the Butler County Health Department and is making indoor and outdoor dining as safe as possible with hand sanitizer stations and touchless restroom features.

Peluso began brewing in 2012 and was “instantly addicted” to the process. He got started in the restaurant business at Eagle Pass Winery after years working with software.

“After college, I did software testing for years and just got tired of it. When they were opening Eagle Pass Winery, I went to talk to them about the beers they were going to carry — it was my friend’s family — and by the end of the night, I ended up being their head chef,” he said.

Today, he makes and all kinds of wines, beers and meads onsite at King David’s, selling by the bottle and soon by the glass. He opted not to grow grapevines, since operating a vineyard and winery simultaneously is often overwhelming, so he instead buys juice or takes his friends on grape-picking excursions to vineyards.

He orders shipments of hops and other grains for beers from St. Louis and beyond.

For mead, which is honey-based, he buys from local beekeepers as well as importing exotic varieties from India, Mexico and South America.

David Peluso stands at the bar of his new winery and Cajun restaurant, King David’s Winery, Meadery & Brewery, which opens Jan. 5. Peluso got his start brewing almost a decade ago and was instantly hooked. His cooking background began in the kitchen with his mother and grandmother in Louisiana, and he embraced his love of cuisine later by quitting his job as a software tester to become a chef at Eagle Pass Winery.   DAR/Samantha Tucker

Mead is an ancient drink made by fermenting and flavouring honey with fruit, spices and more, and it is experiencing a craft brewery resurgence in the modern era. The basic recipe of honey, water and yeast can be adapted into virtually any flavour, proof and carbonation.

“It’s a blank slate,” Peluso said.

He recently made a ‘peanut butter and jelly’ mead, and at the time of this article he was maturing a batch of mead with cherry juice and cacao nibs. The entrees at King David’s will include crawfish éttoufée, shrimp creole, jambalaya and alligator sauce piquante, all dishes Peluso was first exposed to in his home state of Louisiana. Sharp-eyed patrons will notice homages to Louisiana culture in his logo, including Mardi Gras colours and fleur-de-lis. He credits a childhood of cooking with his family for giving him a passion for cuisine.

“I grew up in the kitchen with my mom and my grandma, (they) really encouraged me,” he said.

Naming the new establishment was unexpectedly challenging. Originally, Peluso wanted to name it Wolf Creek Winery due to proximity to Wolf Creek, but that name was already taken — as were all the others he thought of. Then he hit on using an old nickname.

“When I was part of a few homebrew clubs, I always made really strong beer, like 9%, 10% at least, sometimes higher. And so they often would call me Imperial Dave. And then somehow Imperial Dave eventually switched to King Dave. And when I couldn’t find a suitable name, I was like, you know what, I’m just gonna go with King David’s,” he said.

Peluso is excited for opening day and the chance to bring something unique to the table in Poplar Bluff.

“I’m offering something very unique in this town. It’s hard to get the Cajun food around here, it’s impossible to find mead. And although this town isn’t a huge craft beer town, they are getting used to it,” he said.

King David’s Winery, Meadery & Brewery is holding its soft opening hours from 4-10 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6, at 1844 County Road 448 outside Poplar Bluff. More information is available at the King David’s Winery, Meadery & Brewery page on Facebook.

https://www.darnews.com/story/2926440.html