A Sisters' Passion: Edg Clif Vineyard & Winery's Award-Winning Legacy
- Thomas Smugala
- Jul 31
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 8
Over the years, we have featured many wineries in 573 magazine—most produced good wines and wonderful views. With so many wineries closing their doors of late, we decided to see who’s doing great wine work now—and who has the best backstory. Recently, we found the new leader of the pack, a sister team who have been producing award-winning wines with a super nice tasting room overlooking their beautiful vineyards and a killer back story. What sets this winery apart is a true family legacy, where the universe seems to have aligned the moon and stars to create the perfect recipe for an extraordinary winery. Meet Steffie and Cyndy, the passion behind the award-winning Edg-Clif wines.
Meet the sisters. Cyndy Keesee and Steffie Littlefield.
The sisters have won dozens of wine awards—an amazing acheivement.
Steffie Littlefield has an A.S. in Horticulture and B.S. in Agriculture/Horticulture and a BA in Economics. She has served as President of Gateway Greening, Vice President/Treasurer of Gateway Professional Horticulturist Association (GPHA), and  President of the Horticulture Co-op of Metro St. Louis. She has been a landscape designer for over 25 years and has given workshops on gardening, writes a monthly article for the Gateway Gardener Magazine, a frequent speaker, and serves on the Members Board of the Missouri Botanical Garden as President and the Board of the Troutlodge YMCA of the Ozarks. She has designed award-winning garden displays for the St. Louis Flower Show and the St. Louis Post Dispatch Garden Contest. She is now serving as Vice President of the Missouri Grape Growers Association.
Steffie uses her botanical superpowers to grow the perfect award-winning grape.
Cyndy Keesee has been in the wine-making industry since 2008, when Edg-Clif planted their first four acres of grapes and now turns up to 2500 gallons of juice into award-winning wines. She is involved in the Grape and Wine Institute at the University of Missouri and the Missouri Wine Technical Group. She finds "the crush" to be the most exciting part of wine-making, but the fermentation is still her favorite, getting to smell the fruit character mixed with yeast bubbling away and the changes it undergoes as it becomes wine. One of her creations, Twilight, a sweet white Chambourcin, was recognized as Best of Class in the rosé category and has been featured in several wine publications.
Cyndy uses her vintner superpowers to ferment the prefect award-winning wine.
The Legacy of Edg-Clif. Long before grape vines grew or laughter echoed down to the valley, Edg-Clif Farms was one man’s vision and now two women’s passion. In the early 1920s, Andrew Knapp, a St. Louis entrepreneur with a longing for open spaces, stood on a limestone cliff in the Ozark Mountains. He saw beyond the rugged beauty—rolling pastures, ancient pines, and hidden caves—and envisioned a sanctuary for his family.
With his wife, Hazel, he purchased a stone hunting lodge built in 1862, perched against an 80-foot cliff, and in 1926, they founded Edg-Clif Farms. What started as a hunting retreat grew into one of the Midwest’s largest cattle ranches, raising purebred Herefords.
Sparkling, award-winning white wines
Enjoy this photo gallery.
For Andrew and Hazel’s grandchildren, Steffie Littlefield and Cyndy Keesee, the farm was home. The massive Herefords were companions, the sprawling pastures a playground. Steffie, with degrees in Horticulture, Agriculture, and Economics, developed a deep connection to the soil. Her landscape designs earned accolades at the St. Louis Flower Show and the St. Louis Post Dispatch Garden Contest. As a leader in Gateway Greening, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Missouri Grape Growers Association, she nurtured growth, her hands always dusted with earth. Cyndy found her passion in winemaking. Since 2008, she crafted award-winning vintages at Edg-Clif, cherishing the fermentation process—when fruit and yeast blend into something magical. Her Twilight, a sweet white Chambourcin, won Best of Class in the rosé category, celebrated in wine journals.
The sisters and family planted the first field in 2008 and never looked back.
In 2008, Steffie and her husband Stephen, alongside Cyndy and her husband Girard, planted 2,000 Chambourcin vines, rooting their grandparents’ legacy deeper. Those initial four acres expanded to seven, and by 2011, the historic Showbarn, once a livestock haven, transformed into a winery. Its doors opened to visitors, offering five wines and a new chapter for Edg-Clif. The winery became a gathering place for weddings, reunions, and picnics. By 2015, a brewery joined the estate, serving craft beers brewed on-site, and three historic cottages—Vineyard, Clover, and York—were restored for guests seeking respite. The Stone Cottage, with its two-foot-thick native rock walls, was renovated in 2021, its wide porch framing views of the namesake cliff.
The new tasting room makes for a wonderful way to enjoy great wine.
Today, Edg-Clif Vineyard, Winery & Brewery thrives as a living tapestry of past and present. The new tasting room, crafted from reclaimed pen railings and fallen trees, overlooks vineyards producing 20 wines, including three Port-style vintages and Perry, a pear wine from the orchard’s fruit. The farm remains a haven, blending history, craft, and the enduring spirit of the land. We hope the best for Edg-Clif as our wineries are so crucial to our tourism industry in the 573.
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