The East Central Illinois Wine Trail is a part of the Shawnee Wine Trail. This particular portion of the trail (Sub-region #4) consists of three wineries along Interstate 74. These wineries include Sleepy Creek Vineyards in Fairmount, Wyldewood Cellars in St. Joseph, and Alto Vineyards in Champaign, Illinois.
All three of these wineries are located within 30 miles of one another.
A coworker and I started the trail on Friday evening and ended on Saturday afternoon. We spent several hours on Friday evening at Sleepy Creek and spent Saturday afternoon enjoying Wyldewood followed by Alto Vineyards.
Sleepy Creek Vineyards in Fairmount, Illinois
Sleepy Creek Vineyards has a 10 acre vineyard, produces over 35,000 bottles of wine annually and is a local and tourist destination. It’s known for good wine, a friendly atmosphere, quirky entertainment, and a rustic venue for weddings and other private events.
Sleepy Creek offers a tasting of three wines for free or six for $3.
My advice would be to pay for the six. For a nominal fee you’ll have the pleasure of experiencing more of their wines.
Wyldewood Cellars in St. Joseph, Illinois
Wyldewood is a family-owned winery located in Saint Joseph, Illinois, that started in Mulvane, Kansas. Their winery utilizes the latest in scientific advances and old world wine techniques.
Wyldewood Cellars offers a tasting of three for free, after that it’s just $5.
Although, Wyldewood is rather small and quaint, you have the option to either sit outdoors and enjoy downtown life in St. Joseph or relax in their lounge room.
Alto Vineyards in Champaign, Illinois
The Renzaglia Family of Alto Vineyards welcomes customers to taste some of the finest wines produced in the US with a tasting of seven for $5 which also includes a souvenir wine glass.
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This definitely made my day because I had recently purchased one of the souvenir wine glasses from Wyldewood and felt that I needed another to make it complete. And, this in fact made it complete.
The actual winery and vineyard itself is located in the foothills of the beautiful Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois. However, the second tasting room is located in Champaign, Illinois – which is where we enjoyed our tasting.
In Summary
If you are a wine enthusiast and looking for a wonderful way to spend your weekend, why not check out the Shawnee Wine Trail – in particular the East Central Illinois Wine Trail – like us! Each winery has award winning wines that can be purchased by the bottle.
Within the coming days and weeks, I’ll be breaking this trip up, so that you can see more of the photos and more of what each winery has to offer.
