WINE, FOOD FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND

ALTO PASS, Ill. -- When Guy Renzaglia retired from Southern Illinois University, he decided to pursue a dream he'd had since childhood -- to start a winery.

But people at the university's agriculture department told him a winery wasn't feasible in Southern Illinois.

That's how Renzaglia and his children became the owners of Alto Vineyards, host this weekend to the third annual Shawnee Hills Wine and Food Festival.

"Anytime somebody tells me I can't do it I just go ahead," he said.

Following Renzaglia's example as the first vintner in Southern Illinois were three other wineries: Owl Creek Vineyard in Cobden, the Pomona Winery and the Von Jakob Winery in Pomona.

All four will participate in the festival, to be held from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the winery, located on Highway 127 in Alto Pass.

Food will be provided by the 17th Street Bar and Grill and Seafood Specialties. Ferrel Webber will play acoustic guitar on Saturday, and The Dorians will perform on Sunday.

Renzaglia, former head of the psychological rehabilitation institute at SIU and afterward of the Touch of Nature environmental center, opened the winery in Alto Pass in 1982 after scouting land from Mount Vernon to Paducah, Ky. "I liked the location, I liked the hills and the terrain," he says.

The first thing he had to do was convince Alto Pass, dry since Prohibition, to grant him a liquor license. His license is the only once the community has ever issued.

Then he and his son Paul had to teach themselves about making wine. "We knew nothing. We had to learn everything by trial and error," Renzaglia said.

A third partner, Ted Wichmann, left before the winery opened and now is the owner of Owl Creek Vineyard.

The agricultural experts at SIU turned out to be right about the difficulty of growing wine grapes in the Southern Illinois climate. "We had to work ... to get things started and growing," Renzaglia said. "But I think they were overly cautious.

Alto Vineyards grows French-American hybrid grapes on its 10 1/2 acres because of the problem of raising the grapes that make a classic cabernet, riesling and pinot noir. Most of the vineyard's wines are labeled according to the name of the grape.

It's a small winery, employing four people full time and producing 9,000 gallons of wine per year. Most of the product is sold from the vineyard's own shop.

Paul is the winemaker. He has won more than 180 medals in competitions. Renzaglia is 80 now but says he still gets from the vineyard what he got into it for.

"I'm being an artist, a surgeon and a psychologist. Every time you look at a plant you have to decide what you're going to do with it," he says.

"It's making decisions and being outdoors. It's being alive and vibrant."