So many, Illinois is to wine what Nevada is to tuna — the connection doesn’t
seem natural. But as Illinois farmers, especially families who can’t compete
with corporate-owned agribusiness, seek alternative land use options, grape
and wine production grows more popular by the year. Road warriors in search
of a great two-day getaway will discover adventure and good taste a-plenty by
visiting Illinois wineries.
Illinois today boasts more than 40 wineries from Galena in the northwest to Jonesboro in the south. Most welcome visitors.
The best concentration is located in southern Illinois. Many, but not all, are part of the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, on either side of Route 127, south of Murphysboro and Carbondale. Guy Renzaglia, a retired SIU professor, considered the hilly territory near the Carbondale campus similar to his native Italy and in 1984, he established Alto Vineyards. It became the first of several new wineries that led to the formal establishment of the wine trail.
We recommend a route that begins in the southeast corner of this concentrated area of wineries, and wends, in the main, north by northwest working ever closer to Route 127 (which you will have probably taken south from just east of Litchfield).
The first destination is Monte Alegre Vineyard, just east of Carbondale on
473 Ponce Trail. Owners David and Beth Ponce are known for their whites and
reds and their unique Monte Alegre Sangria. They supply wine to area restaurants
and other wineries, and offer tours — by appointment — of their wine production
and wine sales establishment. For more information, call 618-549-3952 or e-mail
mavine@neondsl.com.
Your next stop, Owl Creek Vineyard, is a straight shot south on Highway 51
then east on Water Valley Road, east of Cobden. Owl Creek’s wine-tasting room
and small gift shop are open noon to 5 p.m., Wed.-Sun. The winery’s annual Grape
Stomp takes place in June. Other activities include Octoberfest, during the
second week of October. All grapes used in their wines are grown in southern
Illinois. The winery offers picnic tables on site for visitors who want to bring
food. Wine can be sampled on the shop’s back deck. Wine is sold by the bottle
or glass. For more information, call 618-893-2557 or go to shawneewinetrail.com/owlcreek.htm.
Winghill Vineyard and Winery is located a few minutes south of Owl Creek Vineyard
(go south on Bethel Church Road and east on Wing Hill Road). All wines offered
are made from grapes grown in Winghill’s 6.25-acre vineyard. The tasting room,
which includes an art gallery and gift shop, is open noon to 5 p.m. Fri.-Sun.
During July, “Picnic in the Vineyard” evenings offer live entertainment (bring
your own picnic food and lawn blanket), combined with an annual sale of in-stock
wines to make room for the new harvest. For more information, call 618-893-9463
or go to winghillwinery.com.
(South of Cobden, there are a couple of wineries that might be worth a side
trip. Limestone Creek Winery, on Route 146 in Jonesboro, is a smaller enterprise
that offers better-quality unfiltered red, white, and blush table wines from
Illinois-grown grapes. This winery is open for tours and retail sales on Fridays
and Saturdays by appointment only. For more information, call 618-534-9049 or
e-mail adillard@midwest.net. A longer
drive southeast will take you to the Cache River Basin Vineyard and Winery in
Belknap, population 133. The establishment is less than a mile from the largest
remaining tupelo-cypress swamp in Illinois. Winery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thu.-Sat. and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sun. Though 14 varieties of French-hybrid grapes
are grown there, the most popular seller is the Cache River Swamp Water, a white
blend, they say. The gift shop includes local crafts, and monthly events are
scheduled. For more information or to arrange tours, call 618-659-2274. )
West of Cobden, your tour takes you to Inheritance Valley Vineyards at 5490
Route 127 North. There, Tim and Kendall Waller produce seven varieties of wine
grapes, three seedless table grapes, and many varieties of fruits and berries.
Hours are noon-5 Wed.-Sun. For more information, call 618-893-6141 or go to
shawneewinetrail.com/inheritance.htm.
Two miles north of Inheritance on Route 127 is the winery that started all
the hoopla. Alto Vineyards, located in Alto Pass, grows French-hybrid and American
grapes and produces a great variety of reds, whites, roses and even a fortified
port (a rarity among southern Illinois vintners). The winery produces about
25,000 gallons a year. Premium wines and ports are aged in oak barrels up to
18 months prior to bottling. Alto’s wines have won more than 375 medals in various
competitions and are sold throughout southern and central Illinois. Hours are
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. and noon-5 p.m. Sun. For information and to arrange
a tour, call 618-893-4898, or go to shawneewinetrail.com/alto.htm
Von Jakob Vineyard requires a departure from 127 north — just follow the Wine
Trail signs. Paul and Rhoda Jacobs have built the new winery around their own
Tudor-style home. They produce a variety of white, blush, red, and ports, including
the first white port bottled in Illinois. Von Jakob also offers unique fruit
and mead wines, including its Estate Bottled Jonathan Apple wine, Estate Bottled
Honey Peach and Honey Raspberry, a honey mead with raspberries. Von Jakob welcomes
picnickers. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. and noon-5 p.m. Sun. For more
information, call 618-893-4500 or go to shawneewinetrail.com/vonjakob.htm
Last, but not least, at the northwest gate to the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail
is Pomona Winery, 2865 Hickory Ridge Rd. in Pomona. Located in the heart of
apple country, its Orchard Spice wine received the 2002 and 2003 Governor’s
Cup for Best Fruit Wine Made with Illinois Fruit. The winery is a short hop
from the Little Grand Canyon, the river to river trail, and Pomona Natural Bridge.
Their nine premium wines include a semi-dry Jonathan Oak-Aged Reserve and three
fruity strawberry, peach and blueberry dessert wines. Their wine tasting room
is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. and noon-5 p.m. Sun. For more information,
call 618-893-2623 or go to shawneewinetrail.com/pomona.htm
From Pomona, it’s a short jog back to Route 127, the road that leads back to Litchfield and Interstate 55.
A tour of southern Illinois wine country should fit the bill for summer cruisers
with grape expectations and a thirst for terrific scenery.
This article appears in Jun 3-9, 2004.
