Almost a mile off the beaten path, just a stone's throw from the mighty Mississippi River (in what I'm told is the local wine country), I discovered Illinois' oldest winery. An in-law of Heather's was related to someone in the Baxter family, so we followed the one lane, meandering roads into the thick of midwestern history.
Founded in 1857 (you read that right) by Emile and Annette Baxter, the winery is run by the Baxter family to this day, along with more recent co-owners Kelly and Brenda Logan; Kelly being a 5th generation Baxter by blood. The family history alone would draw me to this location, not to mention its status as "oldest in Illinois".
Having grown up in the Napa Valley, I was eager to see what Nauvoo, Illinois (famed Mormon Church location, discussed in another post) had to offer the wine community in general.
We arrived at what looked more like an antiquated general store and barn than a winery, and parked in the gravel lot just off the road. Honestly, if there isn't a bit of gravel and a barn at your winery, you're probably doing it wrong.
As you can see by the pristine landscape above, it was fuggin' gorgeous! We scuttled to the entrance with thought bubbles of wine and cheese hovering over our heads.
Once inside, the tasting room/cheese shoppe/wine accessory outlet, it really did feel like an old general store. One wall was lined with wine and bottle displays with a tasting counter and cashier stand in front of it. The center of the room had various display stands covered in local themed magnets, corkscrews and wine stoppers of all shapes and styles. There were plenty of other wine accoutrements but my wine stuff drawer is already packed to the rafters...so my gaze then set upon the cheese.
In the back corner of the room, next to the doorway into what looked like a large prep kitchen, I found the cheese case. I guess it was more of an actual refrigerator than a case. It was about 4ft wide and 6ft tall...and stuffed with cheese.
Blue cheese, cheddar, goat, jack, curd and the list went on. I don't know why I don't have a photo of the cheese fridge because it was a thing of beauty. Not that it was more full or had more of a variety than some fancy cheese shoppe with corporate backing... It was the hand wrapped and occasional hand written packaging...the observable quality of the cheese itself, obviously not mass produced and possibly void of a few distracting federal regulations as well. In other words, this was cheese done right!
I had to keep telling myself, "this is Illinois, not a metropolis..." because the staggering amount of nature and the overall speed at which people and life moved was almost foreign to me. The inside of this quaint cheese shoppe and winery was no different. It was sizable but you could feel how just one person probably took care of most of it, and they took their time and didn't just toss it together like some popup shop looking to squeeze a few bucks out of the community for the sake of a trend.
“Y'all are actually tasting the wine. Most folks just knock it back and git.” (something like that) - Baxter Family Member Who Poured Our Tasting
MORE COMING....IN PROGRESS.....
The Breakdown:
This is absolutely a destination to mark off your list of roadside stops, if you're in the area. Not so much a "destination" as the Eiffel Tower or Great Pyramid, but a "destination" as in a cultural experience and a taste of a colloquial cornerstone. It's also just a few minutes from the famous Mormon church of Nauvoo and a few minutes further down the road is the U.S.'s longest swing-span bridge. Pretty cool, right? Hello...?
If you'r a wine snob or anything close, you may not find their wine up to your snuff. However, they are doing their own thing, and owning it, which is pretty damn impressive in my book.
Oh, and they have cheese, remember, and it's amazing. Bring me some.
Nauvoo Winery
www.nauvoowinery.com
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