Hi, We’re the hills
Hailing from northern Illinois, the Hill Family has had a connection to Johnson County since 1856 via their family farm. They always knew their roots would continue to grow deeper down here, which turned out to be in the form of vines!
From Colorado to Illinois, the Hill kids are scattered about. However, they always come back to Simpson, IL, to help out with the farm and the winery when they can. This place is their second home.
More about David and Lindsay…
Married in 1989 and having four kids shortly thereafter, David and Lindsay have been pedal to the metal ever since. Life was packed with sports, school, and everything else that four children could conjure up.
Once the kids graduated college, David and Lindsay found themselves phasing into the “empty nester” part of their life. It was definitely different than how they’d been living the last twenty-nine years, and in no time, they were ready to rework a little chaos back into it. So, in 2022 they decided to purchase the property we now call Clad & Cordon Vineyard.
What does Clad & Cordon mean?
After burning through hundreds of ideas, we decided on something that could really represent the family. C-L-A-D stands for the four children in our family: Caleigh, Lacey, Alexandra, and Duke. Clad also means to be well-dressed, and having well-dressed vines is important.
Cordon refers to the arms of a grapevine that extend from the trunk. Each arm is pruned to have 4 spurs. Think of the trunk as our parents, David and Lindsay, and the 4 spurs on each cordon as each of their children.
The illustration you see on our logo shows two interlocking grape vines that we've curved into very subtle C shapes for Clad & Cordon. You'll also see the 4 spurs on each arm.
The story of how this winery became Clad & Cordon Vineyard…
Formerly known as Bella T Winery, this operation was built in 2005 and remained operating until 2019 when it eventually shut down. When we visited the winery for the first time in 2021, the outdoor spaces (pictured above) were rotted, broken, and irreparable. We would need to rip everything out and start over. In the vineyard, the 13 acres of vines were dead. Every. Single. Vine. This too would all have to be ripped out and be replanted. But yet, we were still interested.
On the inside, the conditions we found were much more hopeful. For example, this building is extremely well built and needed almost zero repairs from its several years of abandonment. This was impressive. The main thing this building needed was some serious TLC in the cleaning department. We can handle cleaning!
After a few visits and several family discussions, we decided to take a leap of faith and purchase this once thriving winery in the hopes of reviving it! Since then, we have removed all 13 acres of dead vines, replanted 7 acres, removed all the rotted exterior structures, and are in the process of transforming the inside of the tasting room to something beautiful.
If you would like to follow along as we bring this winery back to life, we post project updates daily on our Facebook and Instagram pages. We look forward to bringing you along on this journey!
(2005) New construction, opening year
(2022) 13 acres of dead vines
(2023) 7 acres of vines replanted. 6 more acres will be planted in ‘24
(2022) Original design of tasting room
(2024) The main building with new landscaping and power washed
(2022) Rotted and broken Bocce Ball court
(2024) Bocce Ball court removed and ready for new landscaping
(2005) Bocce Ball Court
(2005) Original patio