The rich soils of west-central Illinois have long been revered as some of the best in the world. This special soil brought about Nauvoo's first industry, agriculture, and chief among the agricultural products in the early days was grapes. Often when the word Nauvoo is mentioned, one of the first things thought of is wine.

Nauvoo today has the oldest winery in Illinois, dating back to 1857 with Emil Baxter. But before Baxter planted his first vineyards, there had been private production of wine in Nauvoo for at least a decade, to the Mormon period of Nauvoo's history. According to the then established beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they were to make their own wine for Sacramental purposes, not trusting that production to others, so we know that wine was being produced among them.

However, tradition states that even previous to the Mormon presence in Nauvoo, the Catholic Father, Johannes Alleman, brought grape roots to plant with him in the late 1830's. Even previous to Alleman, Native Americans gathered wild grapes that still grow throughout the area.

The first documented vineyard for commercial production was in 1851, when John Sillar and Alois Rheinberger both planted vineyards. Rheinberger's vineyard continues to grow today, and is one of the oldest continuously used vineyards in the United States.

The Icarian immigrant, Emile Baxter joined the growing league of commercial vintners in Nauvoo in 1857. By the time the Illinois Horticultural Society met in Nauvoo in 1863, there were more than half a dozen wineries in Nauvoo. At that time there were 63 different varieties of grapes exhibited from Nauvoo, and 180 acres of vineyards. In 1870 there were 65 people whose main occupation was "vine dressers".

The numbers began to decrease as technology began to make its way into the vineyards, and by 1886 there were only 35 people in Nauvoo who were full-time vintners. As the production was streamlined, the wine-makers were able to produce as never before, turning out 60,000 gallons of wine each year. In 1887 it was predicted that Nauvoo would become the grape growing center of America as every available piece of land was snatched up for grape production. By the end of the century there were more than 40 different wine cellars in Nauvoo to age the wine for local and national consumption.

The early years of the 20th Century brought more good times for the grape growers of Nauvoo. In 1906, 97 rail road cars were loaded with Nauvoo-grown grapes, and sent to wine makers and merchants across the country.

In 1913, the Nauvoo Fruit Growers and Shipping association was formed to help the number of vintners and other fruit producers get their merchandise distributed. From their office that first year they sent out more than 200 rail road carloads of grapes.

Then catastrophe began to come to the vintners. An epidemic of grape blight swept through Nauvoo, destroying hundreds of acres of product, pushing many of the vineyards to the breaking point. Just when the situation seemed as if it could be salvaged, the blight returned, and winery after winery closed their doors. To add to the troubles, in 1918, the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution outlawed the production of alcoholic beverages. With this, it did not seem as though things could get any worse for the vintners of Nauvoo. Although it was repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment, the damage had been done.

Then in the mid-1930's, a professor at Iowa State University named Oscar Rohde was experimenting with a new recipe for bleu cheese. Rohde needed a place to properly age his cheese, and Nauvoo's history with wine production quickly came to mind. He came to Nauvoo and made some initial attempts which were so successful that he purchased an abandoned brewery and converted it into the Nauvoo Blue Cheese Factory, opening for business in 1937.

To help Nauvoo's two industries, Mayor Lowell Horton organized a Grape Festival in 1938 to celebrate their impact on the town. Rohde and many others in Nauvoo became familiar with the history of bleu cheese in Roquefort, France, and it was decided that a pageant similar to one put on there, Nauvoo would have its own "Wedding of the Wine and Cheese." In 1941, the Wedding first took place with the Grape Festival. It developed into a pageant and beauty contest, with both a king and queen, as well as attendants.

Nauvoo's particular brand of cheese was known for its smooth, creamy texture and clean, fresh and slightly piquant flavor. The delicate blue-green veining provided a perfect, "one-of-a-kind" touch to many meals and snacks around the world. Nauvoo Blue was even awarded the Best Blue in several national and international competitions.

As years passed, the Nauvoo Blue Cheese Factory continued to be run by the Rohde family until it was purchased by other larger companies. It became the second largest producer of bleu cheese in the nation, and it was said that every third purchase of blue cheese in the US was of cheese made right here in Nauvoo.

In 2003 sad news came to Nauvoo. A new purchaser was interested in the factory, but wanted only the brand name that the cheese was sold under. On May 20, 2003 the factory was closed.