First woman in Illinois making wine

Holding the title of the first bonded and licensed winery in Illinois, Baxter’s Vineyard is a small family winery situated in the historic Nauvoo, Illinois. Emile and Annette Baxter had established the winery in 1857. The property underwent several changes in the names and ownership as it passed down from one generation to the next. Kelly and Brenda Logan reopened this winery in 1989. Kelly is the fifth generation of Baxter’s who grows fruits and Brenda was one of the first females in Illinois who made wine.

A real family winery

The work has been well divided amongst the two; Brenda is the general manager while Kelly handles the off-site work and maintains the vineyards and orchard. The entire system is smoothly run exclusively by the family along with extra help from the locals.
The property yields grapes in 17 acres of its land while it also has orchard of peach and apples. The American varieties of grapes are planted in this vineyard like Concord, Niagra, Catawba and Norton which are handpicked to produce red, white, dessert and sparkling wines.

Visit and taste the wines of Baxter’s winery

An estimate of 3000 to 5000 gallons of wine is crafted per year with annual sales of about 1200 to 1300 cases. Some of the most popular wines from this winery are Classic Norton Wine, Captain’s White Wine, Baxter’s Bubbly, Brenda’s Blush Wine, Classic Niagara Wine, Nauvoo Red Wine to name a few.

The family passed tradition and skills make the wines exemplary and stand out from the rest

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