All fifty American states now produce some amount of table wine, so visiting wine country can be almost as close as your own backyard. In southern Illinois, most of the prominent local wineries are part of the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail which begins near Carbondale and winds through Alto Pass, Cobden and Markanda. The wineries feature local fruit wines made from the abundant fruit crops of the region as well as grape wines featuring chardonnel, concord and several other varietals.
Instructions
1. Begin in Carbondale with a visit to the Carbondale Convention Tourism Bureau. The bureau has a map to all the region's wineries as well as recommendations for great places to stay and information about the award-winning wines of southern Illinois.
2. Find your way to Kite Hill Vineyards as the first stop along the way. Kite Hill is technically in Carbondale, but you have to take some dusty back roads to get there. Kite Hill is one of the region's newer wineries and features a beautiful bed and breakfast as well. Feed the ducks at the winery's pond, spend the day on the veranda or come out for one of their special Wine and Chocolate affairs. They also have wine and music under the stars many weekends through the summer.
3. Seek out the granddaddy of southern Illinois wine by heading south on Illinois 127 to Alto Pass and Alto Vineyards. Along the way, a side trip to Pomona Winery will yield their Orchard Spice, an apple-based wine that is good warm or cold. You'll also pass Von Jakob, which models their fruit wines on the German wine tradition. The Jonathon apple wine is a great sweet wine for about $13 a bottle. Then, a few miles further south is Alto Vinteyards. Alto was founded in the mid-1980s and brought about the revival of southern Illinois wines.
4. Enjoy the Wiener Dog White, a semi-sweet white wine, or Rocko Red while you listen to the tails of Lucy and Rocko, the resident mutts that inspired winemaker and owner Paul Renzaglia to immortalized them in wine. Alto Vineyards also makes a great cherry wine.
5. Wander a bit farther south and try the port at Inheritance Valley and the fruit wines of Hedman Vineyards before turning east to visit the plethora of wineries in Cobden. At Starview, you can celebrate the local community and history and at Owl Creek they make some of Illinois' finest, award-winning wines. The Water Valley Red is definitely worth a taste.
6. Finish out the day in Makanda at southern Illinois' own slice of Tuscany--Blue Sky Vineyards. The villa at Blue Sky could have stepped right off the Mediterranean Sea and winery features snack plates of cheese and bread that will complement any wine. Several of the wines are worth sampling and the best seller is their Concord, made with the same varietal as most grape jelly. The difference is that this sweet grape juice packs a kick.
Tips Warnings
Most southern Illinois wineries offer at least some amount of free sampling, so it's a good idea to bring along lunch or grab one somewhere along the way. A designated driver is a must and most of the wineries offer a discount of case purchases, so make sure the trunk is empty before you plan the day.
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