Stone Hill Winery is proud to partner with the Saint Louis Zoo to bring awareness to the endangered hellbender. A portion of the proceeds from every bottle of Stone Hill Winery’s Ozark Hellbender wine sold will be donated to the Saint Louis Zoo and hellbender conservation.

“The Ozark hellbender – a veritable ‘aquatic canary in the coal mine’ – can tell us much about animal and human health; it is critical that we protect it,” said Lauren Augustine, Curator of Herpetology and Director of the Ron Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation at the Saint Louis Zoo. “Thanks to generous donations and support from our partners like Stone Hill Winery, we can help make a difference for this unique amphibian right in our own backyard of Missouri.”

Hellbenders are the largest aquatic salamanders in North America. The Ozark hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi) is a subspecies found only in the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. For the past couple of decades, hellbender numbers have suffered drastic declines and the Ozark hellbender is now classified as state and federally endangered.

“Our family has always cherished the memories made over the years at the Saint Louis Zoo. Everyone at Stone Hill is excited to be a part of the zoo’s efforts to conserve the Ozark hellbender, who, like us, are Missouri natives,” said Jon Held, President and Owner of Stone Hill Winery.