An Afternoon at the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail: Following the trail to a perfect day

Three friends walk into a winery: a chef, a wine and spirits sales consultant, and an English professor. They order flights of everything on the menu and spend the afternoon comparing tasting notes as they explore the flavors of the region, telling tales, laughing and enjoying the beautiful spring weather. They visit two more wineries and repeat.

There is no punchline at the end of this story, just a perfect afternoon with friends.

In early April, I invited Lisa Essmyer and Patrick Koetting to join me on a trip to the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail. Each of us had previously visited at least one winery along the trail, but this was an opportunity to intentionally experience Southern Illinois wineries. Since I’m a relative novice when it comes to wine, I knew Lisa’s and Patrick’s expertise would enhance the experience as we explored the wines of Southern Illinois and talked with winemakers along the trail.

Peach Barn Winery and Cafe in Alto Pass, Ill., is one of many wineries along the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail in Southern Illinois. The trail was started with three wineries in 1995 and has grown steadily since.Photo by Justin White

The Shawnee Hills Wine Trail originated in the summer of 1995 when the owners of Alto Vineyards, Pomona Winery and Owl Creek Vineyard — all regionally successful wineries — wanted to expand their market beyond Southern Illinois and become a destination. Ted Wichmann, original founder of Owl Creek Winery who now consults with Wichmann Vineyard, visited the Fingerlakes Wine District in northern New York and brought the idea back home. The Shawnee Hills Wine Trail became the first wine trail in the state of Illinois.

In 2006, the Shawnee Hills American Viticultural Area (AVA) was formed, establishing the region as a unique grape growing area in Southern Illinois. The Shawnee Hills Wine Trail has since grown to 11 wineries, with more wineries looking to join within the next few years. According to Wichmann, when the wine trail first started, the only lodging in Union County was in Anna, Ill., and now there are 80 bed and breakfasts in the region, clearly illustrating how the early dreams of those three winemakers have become reality.

Lisa, Patrick and I had the opportunity to sit down with Paul Renzaglia, the winemaker at Alto Vineyards. His father, a retired Southern Illinois University professor who immigrated from north central Italy, purchased the property where Alto Vineyards sits, predicting it would be a good place to grow grapes after seeing how well apples and peaches grew in the area. According to Renzaglia, they planted 10 acres in 1982, starting production as a vineyard in 1985.

“We quickly learned that you don’t make money growing grapes, so we started the winery in 1988 with our first release,” Renzaglia says.

Bottles of wine sit on a shelf at Alto Vineyards in Alto Pass, Ill. The vineyard began production in 1985.Photo by Justin White

At that time, Alto Vineyards was one of six wineries in the entire state of Illinois; today, there are more than 140.

As these wineries honed their craft, it became evident the soil, which Renzaglia described as “more sandy, glacier-formed and pushed up, lighter and more porous, loamy,” brings a flavor unique to the region. He said the grapes grown in the region prefer porous soils, and “vines need to suffer a little — they like a challenge.”

The winemakers at all the vineyards we visited emphasized that certain grape varieties do better in certain areas; climate, geology, soil, amount of sunlight and length of the season all impact the viability of the grapes. Wichmann referred to it as “what the French call ‘terroir,’ or taste of the earth,” and he said each wine has many unique flavors and aromas related to the particular growing conditions in Shawnee Hills.

“Our climate and soil give an intensity of character and balance to the grapes that you can’t find anywhere else in our state,” says Renzaglia.

A sign welcomes visitors to the Wichmann Vineyard Tasting Room in Cobden, Ill. The trail is comprised of 11 wineries.Photo by Justin White

According to Renzaglia, French-American hybrid grapes handle the climate best; these are hybrids developed in the 1850s, and they are much more tolerant of the region’s climate, more resistant to disease and fungus, and they don’t bud out as early, which helps when we have so many late spring frosts.

Chambourcin, chardonel, traminette, and vignoles are varieties typically grown in the Midwest, with chambourcin being the best grape for Southern Illinois. Renzaglia explained the process from picking the grape to bottling it is typically eight months. Some grapes are put into barrels for longer, with reds taking one and a half to two years’ rest after initial fermentation, as they need more time to soften. Because winemakers work with a natural product, they do what they need to do to keep it safe and stable, and then let the rest happen naturally.

“The main thing is keeping everything clean and keeping it true,” Wichmann says.

Vines grow in the vineyard at Peach Barn Winery and Cafe in Alto Pass, Ill. Today, there are more than 140 wineries in the state of Illinois.Photo by Justin White

While the Shawnee Hills wineries may never have the technology some of the larger wineries have, they use what Mother Nature provides.

“When we need to cold stabilize, we open the doors in the winter,” Renzaglia says.

The wineries on the trail don’t just focus on grapes for their wines; many offer wines made from locally-grown fruit. Pomona Winery, one of the original three that started the wine trail, specializes in fruit wines, while Peachbarn Winery specializes in grape wines and peach wines. The new Owl Creek Winery specializes in grape wines but has also been working on developing a line of ciders to appeal to a broader range of customer palates.

Visitors enjoy the setting at Wichmann Vineyard in Cobden, Ill. The focus of the trail is on producing good-quality, dry wines, although the wineries also make sweet wines and sangria.Photo by Justin White

Scott Schroder, owner of Peachbarn Winery, Renzaglia and Wichmann emphasized a primary goal of the wine trail members is to produce good-quality, dry wines. However, they do recognize the diversity of tastes, so the wineries may also offer a variety of sweet wines, as well as sangria.

After my friends and I spent time speaking with Renzaglia, Wichmann and Schroder, it became clear winemaking on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail is a community effort. Schroder, who purchased Peachbarn in 2019 and is new to winemaking, hired a wine consultant from Kite Hill Vineyards and a vineyard consultant and help from Blue Sky Vineyard. Renzaglia and Wichmann have been working together since the start of the trail, sharing expertise and mentoring others as the trail continues to grow.

Rather than compete with each other for business, the wine trail members support each other and work toward the success of all the wineries on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail.

“Our goal is to work together to bring the quality of wine at all the wineries to a higher level,” Wichmann says.

On that afternoon in early April, the passion for winemaking and supportive Shawnee Hills Wine Trail community came full circle for my friends and me as we spent the afternoon sharing our individual areas of expertise, comparing tasting notes, telling tales, laughing and enjoying the beautiful spring weather. We all agreed the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail led us to a perfect day where we were able to connect with the earth and explore the flavors offered by the Shawnee Hills region.

Wine is poured at Wichmann Vineyard in Cobden, Ill. The winery began production in Fall 2020.Photo by Justin White