Southern Illinois Wine at a Crossroads
George Majka, owner and winemaker at Pomona Winery, built the second post Prohibition winery in Southern Illinois in 1989 and was licensed in 1991. “We learned to make fruit wine because there were no...
Tagged: Southern Illinois wine
’12 Vintage Report and ’13 Midwest Growing Season Outlook
This is the first installment of a state-by-state report on the 2012 vintage in the Midwest along with assessments of the 2013 growing season. This article features Missouri, Nebraska, Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois....
A Memorial to Gary Orlandini, Southern Illinois Wine Pioneer
Sometimes people ask “Why did you start Midwest Wine Press?” The answer is because the story is so good. Our Midwest wine industry was left for dead after Prohibition and it stayed moribund for...
Wine Makers Love Southern Illinois Grape Growers
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...
Interview with Chicago Wine Author Clara Orban
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...
Owl Creek Vineyard Eyes Southern Illinois Apples
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,...