Midwest Wine Press

Illinois State Fair Wine Experience Photos

by · August 20, 2012

The Illinois Wine Experience at the Illinois State Fair moved to a new indoor location this year.   Nearly 20 wineries served wine to visitors in the Twilight Ballroom on the Fairgrounds in Springfield.  Admission was free with sampling tickets available for $1 each. For a purchase of 10 tickets, guests received a complimentary glass.  Wine was also available for purchase by the glass, bottle and case.

 

The Illinois Wine Experience is sponsored by the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing viticulture and enology in Illinois.

Also at the Illinois State Fair,  Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka honored more than a dozen Illinois organizations and businesses for their work in promoting agritourism and noted the critical importance of the agritourism to the Illinois economy.   Lynfred Winery in Roselle, Baxter’s Vineyards & Nauvoo Winery in Nauvoo, and the East Central Illinois Wine Trail all won the Illinois Excellence in Agritourism Award from Comptroller Topinka.

Agriculture is the number one industry in Illinois, contributing more than $8.85 billion to the state’s economy annually. The state’s 72,500 farms utilize 75 percent of Illinois land, including some of the most fertile soil in the world.

 

Mark Ganchiff

Mark Ganchiff is the publisher of Midwest Wine Press, the leading source of news on the growing wine industry in the central United States. Mark has been a wine judge at the 2012 and 2014 INDY International Wine Competition, the 2014 Cold Climate Wine Competition, the 2013 Mid-American Wine Competition, the 2012 Illinois State Fair Wine Competition and the 2013 Michigan Wine Competition. He also enjoys speaking at wine events including the Cold Climate Wine Conference, the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association Annual Meeting, the Midwest Grape and Wine Conference and the Wisconsin Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Mark's articles about regional wine have appeared in Vineyard & Winery Management, WineMaker and several regional magazines. Mark is a Level One Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers. He lives in Louisville, but also has a residence in Chicago.

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