The best winemakers know that great wine is made in the vineyard. The quality of grapes being grown in Illinois is a part of the reason that the quality of Illinois wine is growing in excellence. Recently, Midwest Wine Press visited grape growers in Southern Illinois whose grapes are being made into award-winning wines by Northern Illinois wineries. Heimann Vineyards, Dix, … [Read more...]
Recently, Midwest Wine Press spent time with Clara Orban, the author of Wine Lessons: Ten Questions to Guide Your Appreciation of Wine. Clara not only chairs the Department of Modern Languages at DePaul University in Chicago, she's also a Certified Sommelier. Much of Clara's book examines the intersections of wine, geography and history. Your book is an interesting study of the … [Read more...]
When Acquaviva Winery in Maple Park, Illinois petitioned the Tax and Trade Bureau during 2007 to use the name Brianna for their wine labels, they found that only one other winery had petitioned for the name. From virtually anonymity just five years ago, Brianna is now growing in popularity all over the Midwest. Grape growers like this wine grape for its cold hardiness, surviving … [Read more...]
Illinois Sparking of Utica, Illinois will featured at Wine Riot Chicago in June. Seven "Wine Riots" (essentially a wine tasting party featuring 250 wines) will be held this year in the largest U.S markets. The events cater to young adults and the reported attendance at the 2011 Wine Riot Chicago was over 1,000. Although the stated "mission" of the "Wine Riot Team" is to "Drink … [Read more...]
Midwest Wine Press recently compiled current TTB data to arrive at the number of wineries in the Midwest. (This tabulation method entails acceptance of the TTB definition of a winery which is subject to debate.) The number of wineries in the Midwest as defined by the 11 states in the Midwest Wine Press market area is now 1,132. There are now also 43 organized wine trails in the Midwest. … [Read more...]
The old Niagara vines, planted in 1980 by Owl Creek Vineyard founder and Midwest wine pioneer Ted Wichmann, still produce wine in Southern Illinois' first post Prohibition vineyard. Owl Creek's current owner, Brad Genung, is carrying on the pioneering tradition as he develops the first hand crafted hard ciders on the Shawnee Wine Trail using local apples as the raw material. The new … [Read more...]
Evanston Cellars, LLC has started offering guided tours of the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail and the Illinois River Wine Trail. The nine-hour tours will leave from downtown Chicago and the North Shore suburbs. While large bus companies do currently offer regional wine excursions from Chicago, Evanston Cellars is the first Chicago company dedicated to providing smaller, educational wine … [Read more...]
Record-high gas prices this spring threatened to deflate plans for tasting rooms to welcome a steady stream of visitors coaxed by unusually mild temperatures. But, according to tourism officials in wine regions throughout the Midwest, wine lovers don’t mind paying current gas prices, as high as $4.25 a gallon in some areas. Midwest wine tourism officials interviewed last week reported no … [Read more...]
Midwest Wine Press reported on conditions in Midwest vineyards throughout April 2012. The information below was compiled from conversations with grape growers across the Midwest between April 11th and April 26th, 2012. Updates on recent growing conditions can be found in the News section on the homepage and a related story published May 2nd, 2012: Grape Freeze Damage Extensive in Ohio, New … [Read more...]
Midwestern wineries are increasingly taking advantage of the opportunity to use mobile bottling. Aside from avoiding the massive expense of purchasing bottling equipment, mobile bottling saves hours of labor compared to hand bottling. Still, mobile bottling requires a considerable amount of preparation on the part of the winery. Recently, Midwest Wine Press spoke with two relatively new … [Read more...]
Recently, Midwest Wine Press spent time with Clara Orban, the author of Wine Lessons: Ten Questions to Guide Your Appreciation of Wine. Clara not only chairs the Department of Modern Languages at … [Read More...]
Publisher's note: This is the second in a three part series on how wineries structure successful events Lacking the dramatic backdrop of vineyards, urban wineries, such as family owned Easley … [Read More...]
