WINE GROWING HISTORY
In the 1770′s, French settlers first introduced wine making to small village in Illinois now called Peoria. Emile Baxter, along with his sons, opened a winery along the banks of the Mississippi River near Nauvoo in 1857. The Baxter Vineyard remains the oldest operating winery in Illinois. Before prohibition, Illinois laid claim to being the fourth largest wine producing state in America. Prohibition, as it did in many states, virtually caused the wine growing industry to disappear in Illinois until resurgence in the late 1970′s. By the year 2001, there were 27 wineries and, in the last nine years, another 63 have been added – a 330 percent increase in the past decade.
WINE GROWING ZONES
Illinois is divided into four major wine growing zones. Each zone approximately divides the state into quarters with the growing zone boundaries running east to west. The zones are aptly named the Northern, Central, South Central and Southern. Nearly one-half of the vineyards are located in Jackson, Union, Johnson and Jo Daviess Counties. About 55 percent of the wineries are located in Union, Jackson, Madison, Adams, De Kalb and Randolph Counties. Illinois has the capacity to produce approximately 850,000 gallons of wine per year but is currently operating at about 65 percent of capacity. Grapes are cultivated on approximately 1200 acres in the state.
WINE GRAPES CULTIVATED
Of the grape area harvested, twelve grape varieties comprise nearly ninety percent of the harvest. The following twelve varieties, listed from most produced to least are: Chardonel, Chambourcin, Vignoles, Traminette, Concord, Foch, Seyval, Norton, Vidal Blanc, Frontenac, Niagara and Cayuga White. The Northern and Southern zones account for 57 percent of the cultivated acres of grapes. Many of the grapes grown are considered hybrid varieties adapted to the cold climates of the state. Fruit wines from apples, peaches and berries are also recognized as a key category within the state’s wine industry.