By Morgan Guyer
Just a few miles south of Maryville at 30484 Icon Road lies Backyard Vine and Wine, a family owned-and-operated winery that has become a beloved community staple since opening in 2016.
Stephanie Christensen, the general manager and jack of all trades around the winery, has welcomed and is appreciative of the community support.
“We appreciate the help from everybody. It’s a tremendous help to have those extra hands around harvest,” Christensen said. “When we first opened, we were serving in the production area, and we had so much support we had to build the tasting room. The community has been great.”
Carl Christensen, Stephanie’s father, is the owner of Backyard Vine and Wine and began the business in part due to his love for the outdoors, planting the first grape vines way back in 2008. Three of Stephanie’s daughters also help around the vineyard and with the social media postings, which update their followers on upcoming events.
The winery consists of five acres of natural vines and approximately 2,600 plants. The offerings are both sweet and dry wines that can be bought on location in the tasting room, or at multiple retail stores around the area, including Hy-Vee in Maryville.
The local business offers volunteers the chance to go out and join in on the wine-making process, and several people come every year to help with the labor-intensive harvest. It starts with harvesting the grapes from the vine, putting it through a crusher and press creating juice before starting the fermentation process.
Private events can also be booked at the business, which have included wedding ceremonies, bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties and more. The winery also hosted live musicians in concert over the summer.
With harvest coming to an end for the year, attention now turns to Missouri’s Great Northwest Winefest October 11 in Mound City, where Backyard Vine and Wine will have a booth and offer wine sampling and purchases to attendees.
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