Wooo-Weee!
We sure had a great time at the 2014 Winter Wine Walk in Utica, Illinois! The
Saturday shindig was on February 8th, and has been takin’ place for seven years
now. It definitely was a winter wine walk with temperatures dippin'
lower than a well and the snow a-fallin' and a-blowin' to beat the band! Takin'
lemons and makin' lemonade is somethin' we are good at. The
"passport" for the event meant you’d get a souvenir glass and 10
tickets to be used on wine or food along the 12-stop route. Nothin' was gonna
stop us from havin' a good time 'cuz there was plenty of wine to keep us warm!
And to make the day even better, one of our young’uns – who is ‘of age’ – was along
for the ride!
 |
| Mark Wenzel is the Illinois 2013 Winemaker of the Year |
Imagine our surprise when we met the "2013 Illinois
Winemaker of the Year", Mark Wenzel! He just happened to be at the Utica
Community Center where the tickets and glasses were passed out. We were in awe
to be in this hero's presence and were even more surprised that he knew who we
were! Yep, that fella said, “Thelma and Louise? We were talkin’ about you last
night at the Cave Dinner!” Now don’t that beat all?!
Mark and his wife, Teri, own August Hill Winery and
Illinois Sparkling Company. In addition to makin’ some of our favorite wines, he
took the traditional method France uses to make Champagne and brought it to
Illinois to finagle sparkling wine with Illinois grapes! Their motto is,
"Less CHAMPAGNE, More CHAMPAIGN", which we think is right clever! So,
it makes real good sense that Mark received that prestigious award at the
Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association Conference at the end of
January (Missin’ that event was the subject of one of our "WHINE of the
Week" blogs).
The first
stop was at the Mill Street Market to visit our friend, Jim Ewers, and his
staff from Blue Sky Vineyard (blueskyvineyard.com). Jim grinned like the
Cheshire cat when he saw us, and we were downright happy to see him, too! We
sampled Shawnee Cream Sherry
which was perfect for a cold, blustery day! We can’t wait to buy some
for the wine fridge at home.
 |
| chocolate-shoppe.com |
 |
| Louise tryin' out the chocolate-covered bacon |
The next
stop was The Chocolate Shoppe. That place smelled like pure heaven and had just
about anything anybody would want covered in chocolate, includin' bacon! We
decided to indulge in homemade fudge, chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some
of that chocolate-covered bacon before moving on out. (Note: This shop - which
started at a Winter Wine Walk a few years ago - moved out of Utica this week
and opened in a new location in Yorkville.
 |
| August Hill Winery Tasting Room was a-buzzin'! |
 |
| Our Alisa Michele enjoyin' warm AHW wine |
Next, we stopped at one of our favorite tasting rooms, August
Hill Winery. It was wall-to-wall people gettin' their wine on. The patio was
open with heaters goin' to keep folks warm. Like we said, Mark and Teri Wenzel are the owners; they were clever and smart to
have made a warm drink with their Caramel Apple wine and mulled spices to hit
the spot on a cold day - it was warm in the glass and goin' down! They also had Heiland Red
for tastings, and hot potato soup with bacon bits. The Wenzels and their staff
sure know how to throw a shindig!
 |
| We reckon these cottages look more beautiful in warm weather |
We tried
something we’d heard about but never sampled - mead from Wild Blossom Meadery,
Winery and Brewery (wildblossommeadery.com)! But, Thelma remembers her daddy makin' up a batch or two when she was knee-high to a grasshopper! Mead is an alcoholic
beverage made by fermenting honey with yeast. Louise was brave and tried the
Pirate's Blood Mead infused with 3 different chili peppers…she said it was
hotter than a two-dollar pistol! Thelma had a chocolate mead that tasted like a
tootsie pop in a glass! The location for the sampling was the lovely Landers
House, a Bed & Breakfast that also has four individual cottages on the
property (LandersHouse.com).
Illinois Cellars Winery was at Duffy's Tavern & Grill with
samples of their wine. It's a good location to sit and enjoy the folks you
meet, as well as enjoy the food and drink they have on their menu.
(illinoiscellars.com and duffystavernandgrill.com) We bellied up to a table and
dined on some juicy burgers and fries. The burgers hit the spot after so much
wine samplin’.
 |
| Thelma got a little snow on her roof! |
Clark's
Run Antiques (clarksrunantiques.com) was tryin' to put people in a good mood
after they went walkin' through the snowfall by passin' out Hawaiian leis. Once
inside, walkers wandered around the shop enjoyin' a bit of yesteryear lookin'
at the antiques while samplin’ wines from Prairie State Winery
(prairiestatewinery.com).
The Wine
Walk folks had shuttle service provided free of charge by Starved Rock Shuttle
and Tour Company (StarvedRockShuttle.com). Most places on the walk were really
within walking distance. On a warmer day, without piles of snow, this may not
have been necessary for most people. But in the cold and snow, it was a great
option! (And no danger of drinkin’ and drivin’ – the village po-po
looked like a friendly bunch, but we didn’t feel like havin’ an ‘up close and
personal meet-and-greet’!)
 |
| Chateau Amour from IRW |
The stop
farthest away (only about 3 blocks down the main drag) was Illinois River
Winery (illinoisriverwinery.com). It was a busy place, too, with people
samplin' whatever wines they had available. We have friends whose favorite is Chateau
Amour because it tastes like chocolate-covered
cherries! Our personal favorites from IRW is their Blackberry & Blueberry
blend and the Rasperry & Blueberry blend called 2 Fruits in a Bottle (ain't that name a hoot!).
Our last
stop at Nonie's Bakery & Cafe was a great place for satisfying a sweet
tooth. The smell of a bakery is a little bit of heaven, especially on a cold
day! Tickets could be used for cinnamon rolls or scones.
(www.facebook.com/pages/Nonies-Bakery-Cafe/390141894351056)
Yep, the 2014 Winter Wine Walk was one for the record
books! Now officially "Thelma and Louise Approved", you better plan a
road trip there for next year! We'll see you there!!
 |
| CHEERS! |
No comments:
Post a Comment