Wenwood Bay Winery destroyed by fire, owner plans to rebuild

By Taylor James, Republican Staff Writer

Posted 2/4/26

Wenwood Bay Winery & Restaurant in Bay was destroyed in a early-morning four-alarm fire on Feb. 1.

There were no injuries at the scene and the cause of the fire is undetermined as 17 …

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Wenwood Bay Winery destroyed by fire, owner plans to rebuild

FLAMES ENGULF the Wenwood Bay Winery building early Sunday morning. Firemen from 20 area agencies battled sub-freezing weather conditions to extinguish the blaze of unknown origin from 1:40 to almost 4 a.m. with mop up operations continuing until nearly 7 a.m. Feb. 1. No one was in the building and no injuries to firemen were reported.

Photo courtesy Owensville Fire Protection District

PATIO TABLES and chairs in the 1857 carriage house at Wenwood Winery in Bay (above) sit relatively undisturbed during a fire early Sunday morning which destroyed the historic structure owned by John Paul and Nancy Quick. STEAM RISES (top right) as firemen pump water from portable ponds in sub-freezing conditions Feb. 1 while fighting a four-alarm fire at Wenwood Winery. FIREMEN (below) are pictured on the deck at the outside patio of the winery during firefighting operations early Sunday morning. SMOKE AND FLAMES billow (below, right) as firemen from 20 agencies battled the blaze.

PHOTOS BY JACOB WARDEN and courtesy Owensville Fire Protection District

Posted Wednesday, February 4, 2026 11:29 am

By Taylor James, Republican Staff Writer

Wenwood Bay Winery & Restaurant in Bay was destroyed in a early-morning four-alarm fire on Feb. 1.

There were no injuries at the scene and the cause of the fire is undetermined as 17 agencies across the East Central Missouri region were there to help.

Owner John Paul Quick was contacted by the Republican about the aftermath of the fire.

“Thank God, the fire department was there and that no one was hurt and thanks for the community support,” said Quick. “It’s heartbreaking. We put our blood, sweat and tears into it.”

Mike O’Connell, communications director at the Missouri Department of Public Safety talked about the undetermined cause of the fire.

“There’s nothing left, the cause of the fire is listed as undetermined,” said O’Connell. “It’s not common for a fire to be listed as undetermined when there is the extent of damage that there was in this case.”

According to the press release sent out from the Owensville Fire Protection District, they received a call at 1:20 a.m. for a commercial structure fire of a 15,000 square foot, two-story commercial building. The fire was automatically upgraded to a second alarm due to the extreme cold.

The Hermann Area Volunteer Fire Department arrived first on the scene at 1:39 a.m. with a tanker.

Owensville Fire Chief Jeff Arnold arrived along with two other trucks from the Mt. Sterling station at around 1:40 a.m. and found the building 50-percent involved.

According to a release from the Owensville Fire Protection District, within 20 minutes of the crew’s arrival and finding the structure engulfed in flames, and due to the extreme cold and travel time to a reliable fire hydrant, the call was upgraded to a fourth alarm. The building was considered a total loss.

The Gasconade County Sheriff’s Office sent a deputy to do traffic control.

“We will rebuild bigger and better, we’d like to have a timeline on the winery, maybe eight months, get the winery ready to go by Oktoberfest,” said Quick about plans to rebuild. “The fire marshal said they don’t know the cause yet.”

There is an on-going investigation from the Missouri Department of Public Safety, according to O’Connell, and reports from the Owensville Fire Protection District are not yet completed.

Owensville Fire Protection District firemen received mutual aid assistance at the scene from firemen from the Beaufort-Leslie Fire Protection District, Belle Fire Protection District, Bland Fire Protection District, Chamois Fire Protection District, Cuba Fire Protection District, Gerald-Rosebud Fire Protection District, the Hermann Area Volunteer Fire Department, Hermann Area Ambulance District, Linn Fire Protection District, the Morrison Volunteer Fire Department, New Haven-Berger Fire Protection District, St. Clair Fire Protection District, Sullivan Fire Protection District, Steelville Fire Protection District, Union Fire Protection District, Vienna Fire Protection District, the Washington Fire Department, Westphalia Fire Protection District, the Mt. Sterling Community Firehouse Auxiliary, Heather Schlottach, Jessi Arnold, the Missouri Department of Transportation, the city of Owensville, and Derek Gruenloh.