Whether you're looking to wine and dine in an elegant setting or to do a little vino tasting in a casual bar-like atmosphere, wine lovers in the Metro East have options with local wineries in Maryville and Edwardsville.

Villa Marie Winery and Piasa Winery

Owner Judy Drost Wiemann said Villa Marie Winery is a tribute to her parent's relationship. John Drost returned home after traveling the world playing semi-pro basketball to marry Mary Grizio and raise a family. He never left his hometown again. And his commitment to the village — he was mayor for 13 years — and his family is what inspired Wiemann to open a winery where she was born and raised.

Wiemann bought Piasa Winery in 2007 when it was based in Godfrey. She kept the label name and the wine maker, Linda Unnerstall, and moved all the equipment to Maryville. In 2008, Wiemann opened Villa Marie Winery at the same location, a 60-acre site at 6633 East Main.

"I owned the property here and planted grapes," said the University of Illinois master gardener of her 10-acre vineyard. "And then I decided I would like to learn how to make wine. I kind of had it in the back of my mind because my family made wine when I was a little girl."

Since both wineries opened just a few years ago, they have won more than 75 state, national and international awards for their varieties of red and white wines. Wiemann said the wineries' most popular wines are the Fuzzy Fusion, a sweet white wine, and Illini Red, a sweet red wine. Wiemann said the wineries uses Illinois-grown grapes from Madison, Macoupin and Jersey counties and produce 30 varieties of wines, including wines with names like Judy's Delight, River Road Red and Dancing Spirits.

But the Maryville business offers more than the wine that is made in huge stainless steel vats in the lower level of the building. It also boasts a 10,000-square-foot restaurant and banquet hall. With Italian marble lining the walls and soft swatches of fabric draping the ceilings, Villa Marie offers lunch daily and caters events for up to 300 people.

Wiemann, a retired information technology director, said in addition to bringing a winery to Maryville, she also wanted to bring jobs to her hometown. The winery employs 12 permanent employees and about 15 seasonal employees.

"My ideas was to bring something back to Maryville and for people to be able to work — and I think we've done that," she said.

Springers Creek Winery

On the outside Springers Creek Winery may look like a corner bar, but the two-building winery has received state and national attention. Last year, the Edwardsville winery was inducted into the Route 66 Illinois Hall of Fame, a designation that recognizes people or places that have made significant contributions to the character or history of the Illinois portion of Route 66.

"It's worked very well because we're right on Route 66 and the Madison County bike trail," said co-owner Colette Andre of her 817 Hillsboro location. "It brings us a lot of traffic. We get tourists from all over the world."

Springers Creek was opened by Andre and partner Sam Makler in 2007. Wine is served at the Hillsboro location and made at a separate site just outside of Edwardsville in unincorporated Madison County. Andre, who is the wine maker, said Springers Creek uses imported grapes to produce its 10 varieties of red and white wines including its most popular wine: Mother Road Red.

Andre said she and Makler, who are business partners as well as life partners, started the winery because there weren't any local ones.

"We started making wines as a hobby in our basement and kitchen and it just blossomed out from there," Andre said. "We took a couple of trips to Europe and it gave us an appreciation of wine and we always loved to go to wineries. At that time there were only ones in Missouri and down in southern Illinois. So one day I said, 'Let's do this,' and he took me seriously."

The serving location is housed in two historical buildings — one built in 1844 and the other in 1910. Connected by an outdoor patio area, the winery has an eclectic atmosphere with an original tin ceiling and antiques, collectibles and original artwork throughout the buildings.

Makler, who owns Makler Insurance Agency in Edwardsville, said the impromptu venture has been a success.

"As soon as the weather gets warmer, we're packed," said Makler of the 80-person capacity indoor area. "We're very happy about that."

Contact reporter Ramona C. Sanders at 618-344-0264, ext. 136