Sleepy Creek Vineyards

Sleepy Creek Vineyards – Fairmount, IL

We have been wanting to visit Sleepy Creek Vineyards for a couple years now.  One of our favorite bands has played there twice and will be appearing again in August.  Hopefully, we can make it out to see them this time! 

Sleepy Creek starting growing their vines in 2002 and will be celebrating it’s fifth year of business on May 17^th.  This beautiful establishment feels quiet and secluded, sitting on a pond surrounded by trees and vines, but is easy to find and not too far off the highway. 

During our visit Joe Taylor expertly led us through the wines.  Joe and his wife are the owners of the winery and are both incredibly knowledgable about their products as well as other wines.   Joe told us that he may be the only person to go into wine making because he wanted to design the labels.  Joe is graphic designer and created all of the unique animal themed wine labels.  The label for their Sour Puss wine is even fashioned after one of the cats you may see at the winery.  One an interesting note, the Scapegoat label is designed to look like William Taft with a goat head. 

The Wine 

We had the opportunity to try all of the wines and wine products at Sleepy Creek . 

Here are the descriptions and our thoughts on a couple of our favorites.  (Sleepy Creek’s descriptions in italics)

Sour Puss – An aromatic, citrusy semi-sweet white wine made from Sleepy Creek’s LaCrescent grapes.  Serve chilled.  This is an intense, flavorful wine that leaves your tongue tingling and your mouth watering.  Not as sour as the name might sound as it has that sweetness to it as well… much like their cat.

Bull Headed – An unfiltered dry red wine, made from Chambourcin, it’s our only barrel aged wine.  Try with a hearty meal.  Great for grilling!  Best served at room temperature.  We could really see this wine being paired with some red meats like steak, lamb, and pot roast. This wine really stood out for Chad.  He isn’t usually a fan of Chambourcin wines, but found this one to be quite delectable.   We won’t share the secrets to the success of this wine, but you can certainly ask the owners. 

Little Woody – A semi-dry wine aged with oak, made from Sleepy Creek’s Leon Millot and Marcheal Foch grapes.   We had the pleasure of being the first people to try the new release of this wine.  It has been missing from their wine list for about a year.  Though not completely mellowed yet, Little Woody already stands out as a superb wine.  At first taste it seems rather simple but as it sits on the pallet, it’s complex layers appear, making it a wine you will not soon forget.  We were the first to buy a bottle of this delicious wine and cannot wait for it to be ready. 

Both the lemon and grape wine slushies are incredibly tasty and would be wonderful on a hot summer day. 

Wapatulli, their version of Sangria, is made with their Plonk wine.  Plonk is Dutch for cheap wine. This is made to be a mixing wine and not generally served on it’s own.  We bought a bottle of this wine to mix with our wine smoothies we make at home out of frozen fruit and wine. 

Sleepy Creek hosts several events and concerts throughout the year including weekly events such as Wieners & Wine every Friday from 5-8 pm.  They also recently opened a beautiful B&W (BED & WINE) above their tasting room. It is a gorgeous 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen, living room, and deck, as well as a lofted area with two small beds.  You can find information about booking this suite on their website!

We highly recommend you visit this vineyard!

For more information please visit 

http://www.sleepycreekvineyards.com/

or follow them on Facebook at 

http://www.facebook.com/sleepycreek

(one of the cats you may find on your visit)

Alto Vineyards

Chad and I have hit the road for a week!   This isn't the first time we have hit the trail in search of wine, but this time we're taking the jeep for a spin, heading wherever the wind blows, and documenting our travels.  Along the way we are visiting some amazing wineries and vineyards, tasting some fantastic wines, and meeting a bunch of wonderful people.

Our first stop was...

Alto Vineyards in Champaign, IL

This was our second time tasting alto wines.   Our first visit was last summer on the Shawnee Wine Trail when we visited their vineyard in Alto Pass, Il.  Both locations carry the same delicious wines, are family owned, and have incredibly friendly and helpful individuals serving their wines.

This time, Ryan led us on the tour of alto wines.  Ryan took his time, carefully describing the unique characteristic of each wine, answering all of our questions, and letting his knowledge of wine truly shine through.  His English degree and love for the language were apparent with each incredibly descriptive phrase he used.   We appreciate all of the time Ryan spent guiding us through the grapes.

 - The Wine -

Alto Vineyards has been around for over 20 years.  They first planted their vines in 1982, selling their first bottles of wine in 1988.  Alto boasts a very large, well-rounded wine list.  There is a wine to meet anyones' tastes.  From dry to sweet, white to red, Alto seems to have it all.

What I have previously found, is that some wineries with a larger wine lists seem to sacrifice quality for quantity.  Alto, on the other hand, maintains a magnificent quality through all of their wines.  I would certainly recommend visiting either of their locations.

-Our Picks- 

(The description from the winery will be in italics and our comments will be in normal type)

Because of their vast list, we have not yet tried all of the Alto wines, but we have not been disappointed by anything we have tried. 

On our previous trip, Chad and I purchased all four of the Heartland wines and the Shawnee Gold.

Heartland White - semi-sweet - Medium-bodied with a nice balance of fruit, acid, & sweetness, with hints of green apple & grapefruit.  An excellent all-around table wine.

Heartland Blush - sweet - a fruity Concord blush reminiscent of fresh grape jelly.  Chad thought that this one had some hints of strawberry.  Wines like this are dangerous for me because they are so easy to drink.

Heartland Red - sweet - A medium-bodied Concord red with fruity aroma & hints of strawberry & cherry flavors with the natural grape flavor.   Great table wine, especially if you like the sweet stuff.  A little too sweet for us.

Heartland Port - sweet- Concord grapes produce a lighter-bodied, Midwestern-style  Port wine with loads of grape flavor.  A great after-dinner sipping wine.  Enjoy with some dark chocolate.

Shawnee Gold - sweet - a light, German-style wine with the apricot & peach aromas & flavors.  This wine is so smooth it is almost buttery. Excellent aroma

Wine we bought on this trip includes:

Villard Blanc - dry - light-bodied with hints of lemon & Granny Smith apple with a crisp finish.   I love this finish on this wine.  It is well balanced and sits on the pallet nicely.

Wiener Dog White - semi-sweet - a proprietor's blend of Vignoles, Villard Blanc & Chardonel grapes.  Marked by a soft melon aroma with light mango, melon, & pear flavors.  What can we say... we love the wiener.

A special thanks to Ryan for recommending and for allowing us the pleasure of buying their special, limited Chambourcin.  It is truly amazing!!!

For more information on Alto Vineyards, please visit their website:

http://altovineyards.net/

and like them on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AltoVineyardsChampaign

https://www.facebook.com/AltoVineyards