Illinois wine refers to any

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

that is produced in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. In 2006, Shawnee Hills, in southern Illinois, was named the state's first

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...

. As of 2008, there were 79 wineries in Illinois, utilizing approximately of vines. As of 2024 there are more than 130 tasting rooms in the state of Illinois.

History

Grapes have been growing in Illinois for over 150 years. One of the first areas to begin growing grapes was on the banks of the

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

in Nauvoo. The oldest recorded Concord vineyard in Illinois was planted in 1851 and is located in Nauvoo State Park; the vineyard is still producing fruit. By 1880 there were over of grapes and 40 wine cellars in Nauvoo, and the town was known for its fine wines. The oldest surviving family-owned vineyard in Illinois is also located in Nauvoo. Emile Baxter came to Nauvoo in 1855 to join an Icarian commune and remained after the breakup of the group. Learning about grape culture from his Icarian friends, Emile planted of vineyards. After

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

in 1936, the Baxter family winery became Illinois' first bonded winery. In a sharply different region of Illinois, the Shawnee Hills, Guy Renzaglia founded Alto Vineyards in 1982. He planted new varieties such as

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

, Chambourcin,

Vidal blanc Vidal blanc (or simply Vidal) is a white Hybrid grapes, hybrid grape variety produced from the ''Vitis vinifera'' variety Ugni blanc (also known as Trebbiano Toscano) and another hybrid variety, Rayon d'Or (grape), Rayon d'Or (Seibel 4986). It is ...

, and Villard blanc. Renzaglia and two other growers founded the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail in the 1990s. As of 2004, 63 Illinois wineries, working with 193 grape arbors, produced 451,079 U.S. gallons (1.7 million liters) of wine annually with an annual total positive economic impact estimated at $20 million. Winemaking expanded rapidly in Illinois from about 1990 onward. The number of operating Illinois wineries increased in the state from 3 in 1985, to 12 in 1997, to 63 in 2004, and 79 in 2008. In 2016, Southern Illinois University — Carbondale announced plans to create a degree-granting program in fermentation sciences, including winemaking.

Varieties

In 2004, twelve grape varieties accounted for 89% of grape area harvested in Illinois. The favorite varieties, in descending order by area devoted to production, were Chardonel, Chambourcin, Vignoles, Traminette, Concord, Foch, Seyval, Norton, Vidal blanc, Frontenac, Niagara, and Cayuga White. Many of these varieties are "hybrid" varieties. These hybrids, which are adapted to the cold climates of central and northern Illinois, are grapes grown from vines that are hybridized descendants of both European vinifera grapes and native American grape varieties. The Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association informed wine critics for the

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

in 2008 that hybrid wines were the state's "strong suit."

American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)

Shawnee Hills AVA

One of the foremost grape-growing regions of Illinois is the Shawnee Hills, in Jackson County and Union County near

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,083, making it the most po ...

in far southern Illinois. This region was designated the Shawnee Hills AVA in December 2006, becoming the first

within Illinois. Besides the benefits of appellation recognition, this designation allows wineries to use the term “Estate Bottled” for wines produced on the same premises on which the grapes are grown. As of 2006, the Shawnee Hills AVA included 15 wineries and 55 vineyards. Jackson and Union Counties were the two foremost wine-producing counties in Illinois. Characteristics that contributed to this decision are the lack of glaciation, as well as the bordering rivers. The heightened elevation (400 ft above neighboring land) in concert with

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

and

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

subsoil offers satisfactory drainage, and summer breezes reduce fungal infestation. The climate of the Shawnee Hills AVA, within the Illinois Ozarks region, resembles several areas in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

known for their wine (see

Missouri wine Missouri wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in Missouri. German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century founded the wine industry in Missouri, resulting in its wine corridor being called the Missouri "Rhineland". Later Italian immigr ...

). The climate also resembles certain regions in Spain and Italy.

Upper Mississippi Valley AVA

The Upper Mississippi Valley AVA, which primarily covers

Driftless Area The Driftless Area, also known as Bluff Country and the Paleozoic Plateau, is a topographic and cultural region in the Midwestern United States that comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme ...

regions in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, also covers the

Galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...

region of Illinois.

Wine trails

As of 2025, there are four wine trails in Illinois. Part of Illinois Route 127 south of Carbondale, which passes through the Shawnee Hills AVA, has been designated by the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in ...

as the ''Shawnee Hills Wine Trail''. The Northern Illinois Wine Trail passes through the Galena subdistrict of the Upper Mississippi Valley AVA. The Illinois River Wine Trail centers on wineries in the upper drainage of the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

, and the Heartland Rivers Wine Trail centers on wineries in and around the mouth of the same river.*

Promotion

In addition to the Illinois State Fair, the Illinois wine industry has developed independent promotional pathways. The first Chicago & Midwest Wine Show was scheduled to be held in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in September 2008.

References

External links

Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association

"Normal Daily Mean Temperature- Selected Cities"History of Wine in Southern Illinois (video)
{{Agriculture in the United States

Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

Wine regions of the United States by state or territory