As a fifth-generation vintner and artist, Darcie Kent has both paint and wine running through her veins.
Darcie’s great, great-grandfather, Fritz R. Ruegsegger, came to America with his family from Switzerland in 1875 to pursue a career in winemaking. In 1883, Fritz’s son and Darcie’s great-grandfather, Christian Ruegsegger started his own winery, the Alpine Winery, in St. Joseph, Missouri, which held bond #62 in the United States. Along with managing the vineyards and all winemaking tasks, Christian hand-painted his own wine labels. The Alpine Winery bottled its last wine in 1945 when hard times following the repeal of Prohibition forced the family to shut down operations.
