PEORIA MAGAZINE June 2023

Old Mill Vineyard outside Metamora

A BIT O’ BOURBON IN THAT BARREL

locations. At a 50-acre location on Cruger Road, the soil tested great for grape growing. The land sale closed in July 2019 and the Barrys went to work. In May 2020, with the help of 60 volunteers over a weekend, they put in 4,000 vines on about 7.5 acres. In December 2020, the Tres Rojas tasting room opened. Despite the pandemic, the support was overwhelming. Their first grape harvest of about six tons came in 2022. Estimates for 2023 go as high as 20 tons, depending on the impact April’s frost had on budding vines. Today, Tres Rojas grows 11 varieties, including some of the traditional Midwest grapes like Vignoles and Seyval, and offers 21 labels. They also buy fruit and juices to make some of their wines. Bob has continued to develop new recipes and has found the sweet spot during fermentation for when a wine is classified as “dry.” And, they keep winning recognition. In 2018, the Barrys won the top award in the commercial competition at the Illinois State Fair for their strawberry wine. The Traminette took gold and their Leon Millot and Seyval Blanc won silver medals. Last year, they received a double gold medal for their Rose’, which is designated as the state wine. “We’re just getting started here, really,” Bob said. “There’s not a day I don’t love working in the vineyard.”

on about 10 acres. They sell about 50% of their grapes to other wineries and keep 50% to produce their 14 dry and off-dry whites and reds, semi-sweet and sweet varieties. Two new labels will be introduced this year. Kurt isn’t into awards, but Donna secretly entered their Broken Barrel, the red that’s made using the bourbon barreling method, into a competition where it won bronze. Their tasting room, Bent Tree at OMV, opened in October 2016 when Donna retired early after 37 years in information technology at Illinois Mutual. The setting, with a pond to gaze upon, is serene and off the beaten path. Just how the couple likes it. “Some people have called it a hidden gem,” Donna said. A visit to an Illinois winery puts you on the same ground from which the product was produced. “Wine is not just the California and European markets and it’s not just about going to the liquor store,” Donna said. “The Heart of Illinois Wine Trail ties us all together and is an opportunity for people to have an experience and see and learn about how we grow grapes and make wine.”

Kurt Grohsmeyer worked more than 30 years growing sod and trees for Greenview Nurseries. He and Donna purchased homestead farmland off Coon Creek Road outside Metamora in 1990. After Kurt retired, the couple discussed what to do with the land. After ruling out Christmas and fruit trees, Kurt suggested grapes. He found the hardy Midwest varieties liked the clay ground. In 2005, they planted 400 vines and that was the start of Old Mill Vineyard (OMV). Growing grapes turned into learning to make wine, if for nothing else but to supply Donna and her friends with a flow of vino. Kurt started making wine using a container known as a carboy, and it was good, Donna said. They eventually acquired an old barrel used to age bourbon, making them the only unofficial manufacturer in the state to make bourbon-barreled wine, proclaimed Donna. The vineyard now produces about 40 tons of the fruit annually. Initially, the priority was growing grapes for other wineries to purchase. For many years, the couple sold all their grapes to the now defunct Kickapoo Winery. Then in 2014, they successfully launched their own wine. Today, they grow 10 varieties of cold climate American and French hybrid grapes

Lisa Coon is a Peoria native who had a long career in the newspaper industry before moving into marketing and communications

28 JUNE 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE