Illnois Trivia (Chicago, Peoria, Springfield: house, construction, live)

[linicx]

I like trivia. When I read this little blurb I thought it might be something our members might enjoy for a change. In 1998 there were 15 wineries in Illinois. Today there are more than 90 that generate $250 million annually. Grapes don't winter well and they are subject to the evils of weather. As a result every year local grapes produce a one-of-a-kind wine for each vintner. Many of our wineries are small and in out of the way locations. The 8 wineries are in located in Mason County(2), Menard County, McLean County, Peoria County, Tazewell County, and Woodford County.

Willett's at Manito, Mackinaw Valley at Mackinaw, Kickapoo Creek at Edwards, Hill Prairie at Oakford, Ratio at Kilbourne, White Oak at Carlock, Old Mill at Metamora, and Clark Family at Princeville.

I only know of one Brewery - Brewpub not in Chicago:
John S. Rhodell at Peoria.

I always thought Maple syrup was made in Vermont until I discovered one South of Bloomington on old 66: Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup.

[Maintainschaos]

There are so many more wineries in Illinois, at least 100 to-date! Some of the more beautiful ones are up near Galena You can search for one near you using this link:

Illinois Wineries | Illinois Wine

I am sure there are many breweries outside of Chicago. A couple that I can think of include:

Obed & Isaac's in Springfield: Obed and Isaacs :: Springfield, IL: Home
Rolling Meadows outside of Springfield: R O L L I N G * M E A D O W S** B R E W E R Y - HOME
And a new one under construction in Springfield called Engrained Brewery: Engrained Brewing Company ‹ craft beer | natural food | Springfield, IL

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

There are so many more wineries in Illinois, at least 100 to-date! Some of the more beautiful ones are up near Galena You can search for one near you using this link:

Illinois Wineries | Illinois Wine

I am sure there are many breweries outside of Chicago. A couple that I can think of include:

Obed & Isaac's in Springfield: Obed and Isaacs :: Springfield, IL: Home
Rolling Meadows outside of Springfield: R O L L I N G * M E A D O W S** B R E W E R Y - HOME
And a new one under construction in Springfield called Engrained Brewery: Engrained Brewing Company ‹ craft beer | natural food | Springfield, IL

Have you tried any of the wine? Curious to your thoughts on it.

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Have you tried any of the wine? Curious to your thoughts on it.

As a general note, I think that Midwest wines tend to be very sweet, which is not really my cup of tea.
The Illinois wines are good because I feel they tend to be less sweet than their counterparts grown in Wisconsin (Wollersheim is practically grape juice!) or Michigan. Too sweet for me. Iowa has some good, less sweet wines, too.

I've tried several of the wines made from grapes grown in the Galena area. Many of their wines are also sweet, but they make some really good wines that are made from a blend of grapes from CA and from IL. They also have a couple standard white and red whites from grapes grown in S. IL that are good (not spectacular, but I'm a pinot noir fan). I've also been to Prairie Hills winery in Menard co (a lot of my family lives right nearby in Springfield), and they have good wines, albeit pretty sweet in general. Some of them make really good dessert wines, though. Prairie Hills does have this Autumn Spice wine that is basically a mulled wine and is delicious in October/November when heated through and served in a mug.

[linicx]

Interesting that you mentioned sweetness. One vintner said Illinois residents generally preferred a wine that is less dry.

[Maintainschaos]

Yeah, I think the Midwestern palate in general prefers sweeter wines, but I am not among them...There are some good dry wines to be found in the Midwest, but there are a lot more sweeter wines overall.

[linicx]

Two Buck Chucks is too dry. Have you ever tried St. James Winery? It's in MO., not too far from Ft. Leonard Wood. Medium priced and a wide range from very dry to dessert. wines. The house red is one of the more popular. We were in Door County one year and stopped at a couple of the wineries but did not care for them.