Illinois Wineries: The Winery At Shale Lake

 So our final stop in our winery tours was The Winery at Shale Lake.  This was originally our first destination, but due to the hours we saved it for last.  It was a bit hard to find, due to the fact that the sign was extremely small.

I really enjoyed the John Wayne quote in the tasting area.  The staff was very friendly, which is always a plus.

Our server's name was Jaime, and she was loads of fun.  If she didn't know the answer to the question, she would try and find it out.  I really appreciated that.

I love that they put their wine corks in the landscaping to use as mulch. What a fun and quirky idea!

Okay on to the wines!

First wine, Eleventh Hour.  This is a 2011 with the varietal Cayuga and was done in a mild oak.  I'm not familiar with this grape.  It was a dry white and not totally offensive.

Second wine, Snake Eyes.  This is a 2011 White Traminette.  It was slightly sweet and smooth.  My brother liked it enough to get a glass of it for later in the evening.

Third wine, Seventh Heaven.  This is a Vignoles.  My brother normally loves this one, but this time it didn't tickle his fancy.  I liked it enough to get a glass for later in the evening.  It's a semi-sweet.  I got peach on the nose and grapefruit on the end.  I think that's what turned my brother off and made me like it.

Fourth wine, Triple Vine.  This is a 2011 blush.  It was a semi-sweet medium bodied wine.  But I'm so not a fan of blushes.

Fifth wine, Sixth Sense.  This is a sweet white that was made with the Cayuga grape.

Sixth wine, Spider Legs.  This was a 2010 blueberry fruit wine.  It is semi-sweet with a distinct blueberry aroma.

Eighth wine, Cloud Nine.  This was a white Chambourcin.  I got flavors of strawberry on this one.  A red, but not to my liking.  A bit too sweet.

Ninth wine, Decade.  Another 2010, this one is a dry blended red with oak highlights.

Tenth wine, Quarter Turn.  A 2011 Norton dry red.  It's a medium body and quite nice.  I could see having this with spaghetti or pizza.

Eleventh wine, Beginner's Luck.  This is a 2011 Chambourcin.  It's a semi-dry and was quite nice.

Twelfth wine, Fifth Dimension.  This was made with the Marechal Foch grape.  It's a sweet wine with an interesting smell to it.  It tastes very different when paired to chocolate.

Thirteenth wine, Apostle.  This is a 2011 Norton.  It's a sweet red and quite nice.


So after our tasting  we decided to have something to eat, a glass of wine and sit and chat.  We decided to order appetizers, but they also serve pizzas, sandwiches, desserts and cheese and bread.

The first picture is a photo of my glass of Vignoles and the appetizer they call 'Green Stamps'.  It's bruschetta with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes.  The tomatoes were a bit dry and burnt, but other than that it was very good.

The next appetizer was 'Arts of Fire'.

This was something my brother was not very interested, but after trying this he really enjoyed it.

It's a spicy bacon wrapped artichoke heart with a butter/garlic sauce.  YUM!  This was by far my favorite!  I got to figure out this one.  It shouldn't be too hard.

And the last one we had was garlic bread.  Not much else to describe this.  It was your basic garlic bread.

If you're in the area I could see this as a great place to meet up or have a relaxing evening with your someone special.

It's a relaxing atmosphere.

Illinois Wineries: Forsee Vineyards

After our visit to my very first winery we decided to try another.  We came upon a sign for Forsee Vineyards and decided to try our luck.  It was a drive, but well worth it.

It's nestled out in some lovely country and upon arrival you are greeted to the sight of the vines right near the tasting room.

The tasting room is lovely and the staff knowledgeable and friendly.  And they have plenty of space for you to buy a glass or bottle and sit and enjoy!

We were able to sample 14 of their 15 wines and have a glass of sangria afterwards.  They also sell beer and whiskey, bourbon and scotch.

First wine, Chardonel.  It was light and citrusy.  I did get a little bit of mineral on it, but it was not objectionable.  A nice summer wine.  This is a hybrid grape of Chardonnay.  It's like a Chardonnay but with less body.

Second wine, No. 76.  Soft and delicate white wine with hints of apricot.  Nice and smooth.  I have a big smiley face next to this.  My brother gave this one a check plus plus.  So that's a very high score.  We had bring a bottle of this home!

Third wine, Traminette.  I honestly got the floral aromas on this one.  It's has Gewurztraminer parentage, so it produces a nice German-style wine.

Stainless Steel Tanks

Fourth wine, Okaw White.  This was a semi-sweet white.  There's a bit of a pear and apple flavor to this one.  I could see this as a summer sipping wine.  Okaw is an Indian tribe that was from the area.  Bit of a history lesson there for you.

Fifth wine, Vignoles.  This is a sweet wine that was their newest release.  It has a delicate aroma and taste of orange.  This is probably my brother's favorite varietal.  He thought it was excellent.  So good in fact that we drank a bottle of it that night.  He thought it was one of the best ones he's had.  I had never encountered this grape before (to my knowledge) and was truly pleased with it.

Sixth wine, Niagara.  This is a sweet wine form their 2011 harvest.  It's a white version of the concord and truly does remind you of your Grandma's grape arbor in the aroma.  I found it to taste a lot like grape juice.

Seventh wine, Winter Blush.  This is a sweet wine that has a bold sweet cherry flavor.  I found it to be nice and had almost a pop to it.  Quite refreshing!  They say that it's a perfect wine for making into spritzers.  Not something I would normally advertise, but I can see doing that.

Eighth wine, Endless Summer.  This sweet wine is made with the Norton grape.  It was sweet, fruity and quite smooth.  Something you would like chilled.  And I'm not a big fan of the Norton wines.

Ninth wine, Corot Noir Blush.  This is a semi-sweet lighter blush version of the Corot Noir.  They lost me however when they say to think white Zin.  Yuck!  That yuck was to the white Zin comment.  Over all, I wasn't impressed.  I could see this being used in a sangria though.  I think they might, but don't quote me on it.

Sitting Area

Tenth wine, Norton.  This is a dry red that has a spice in the aroma.  This is Lincoln's favorite (or so they say).  I, personally, can't stand Norton so this was not one that I liked.

Eleventh wine, Corot Noir.  This is a full bodied red aged in American Oak.  So it's dry, which I like.  It was a bit harder on the palate, but not in an objectionable kind of way.  While discussing this we thought it would go very well with Caprese salad.  YUM!

Twelfth wine, Okaw Red.  This is a semi sweet red.  Also named for the Okaw Indian tribe from the area.  It did have hints of light plum on the nose and was smooth.  I don't recall the names of the varietals in this one, but it was quite pleasant and I definitely had to take one of these home with me.  I do remember that the Corot Noir was mentioned though.  This would be great with pizza.

Old wine press

Thirteenth wine, Starboard Black.  This is a semi-sweet Norton.  It was VERY strong.  20 proof in fact.  So think something like a port.  Not my thing.

Fourteenth wine, Starboard Red.  This is a semi-sweet Corot Noir, finished without oak.  This was much smoother, but still 20 proof.  So sipper beware.

Afterwards we were able to go upstairs to a sitting area and look out into the wine making area.

Definitely a place to go back!  We got to speak with the owners and learned quite a bit.

Illinois Wineries: Grafton Winery

So on Friday my brother and I decided to try some Illinois wineries.  I'm in the area and we had some time to do this.  The first one we went to was Grafton Winery in Grafton, IL.

It was a beautiful scenic drive and we even caught a glimpse of the Piasa Bird.  Caw caw!  Caw caw!  (Inserting some whimsy there!)

Also located here is their brewhouse and restaurant.  They have a very nice deck for you to hang out on if you are so inclined.  I can imagine on a nice fall day looking out over the river that it's a wonderful time.  The area is big on eagle watching.  In fact we saw a couple on our drive there.

The tasting was complimentary, but you don't get to keep the glass.  You are only supposed to sample 6, but we were lucky enough to get to try 9.

Sadly they were out of the Pinot Gris (Which was a disappointment.  I like Pinots) and the Cabernet Sauvignon (Yet again another I like and would love to have tried.).

The first one we tried was the Harbor Red.  It's "a blend of Cabernet, Red Zinfandel and Syrah." sic  I just copied that directly from their tasting sheet.  So please don't correct me on how the varietals are listed.  All we tasted was the Syrah.  I like Syrah, but I found this to be dry and harsh.

Second wine.  Captains Blush, which is made from the Catawaba grape.  This is a varietal I'm not familiar with.  It's slightly pink with a sweet finish.  I got a strawberry taste from it.

Third wine.  Riverbend Red is a sweet red blend.  I got no information on this.  Sadly, our 'server' didn't seem to know much about the wine or care.  It was kind of nice though.  This is one we took with us because we felt our family would like it.

Fourth wine.  Harbor White, not even on their tasting menu.  So I'm guessing it was new.  Again no information, but it was a semi-dry white that would have gone nicely with risotto.  That's all I got for you.

Fifth wine.  Apple Crisp, had a nice soft acidity and was sweet but not overpowering.  One of their best sellers and I can see why.  This was one we really wanted to try.  And we did get a bottle of it.

Sixth wine.  Springberry, they had seasonal wines there.  You can only get them during certain times of the year.  This was a blueberry/blackberry mix.  The blackberry overpowered it.  I got no blueberry what so ever.  It was sweet, but not something I was overly thrilled with.

The one we wanted to try was Winterberry which is made with cranberry, but it's out of season.  Luckily they had a few bottles left and we snagged one to take with us.  I'll be trying that tonight.

Seventh wine.  Blackberry.  While we were sampling the Springberry we commented how the blackberry was SO overpowering and the girl slightly overheard and assumed we wanted to try this one.  Not one I was impressed with.

Eighth wine.  Strawberry, wasn't even on the list.  So I guess it's new and we thought we'd try it.  This was WAY too sweet!  And had a sort of had an artificial flavor to it.  I had a strong and instant dislike to it.  Different strokes for different folks.

Ninth and final wine.  Chardonnay.  I don't like heavily oaked Chardonnays.  As I tell friends I don't want to feel like I'm chewing on a wood chip, but this one said just enough oak.  Hm.  It wasn't objectionable.  The oak was light which did make me happy.

I feel this is more geared to your sweet wine drinkers, which is fine.  I just wish they had a few for those who liked something else.  I also noticed that they put what medal had been won, but no year on it.  Hm...

Tree Planting

Can you dig it?

So we were a little early with our Earth Day celebration.  On April 13th, which was a Friday, we received the delivery of our Weeping Cherry Tree!

Hooray!

We've been wanting to put a tree in our front yard since day one, but couldn't agree on what type.

Drinks on me!

We purchased our tree from McDonald Garden Center.  For a little extra they will deliver and plant it.  They took care of almost everything.  I had to get our water and sewer lines marked.  It's so worth it though!

After the gentleman dug the hole and replanted the tree (And yes we marked where we wanted it) he gave it a nice drink.

So now you see how it sits in our front yard.

There sits our Weeping Cherry Tree and I shall call him George.

Home at last!

Food Quest: Press 626

So on the  30th of March I was able to go out with a group of my fellow Navy wives and try a new place for dinner.

We went to Press 626 in Norfolk.  I'm glad I got there early as parking was a BEAR!  They do have a tiny parking lot, but it was already full and I had to find street parking.

My pal, Deborah, and I had the Petit Fillet Provencal.  It came with rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes and seasonal vegetables.  Which were asparagus!  My favorite!!  The steak was AWESOME!  It was like butter.  Melted in my mouth good.  I'm drooling now as I write about it.

Their grilled cheese looked really good too.  Maybe another time.  It's made with 4 (yes you read that right) different cheeses.  Vermont cheddar, Swiss, pepper jack and goat cheese on sourdough bread.  And to make it even more yummy?  They added bacon.  Drool!

Deborah and I split a bottle of Llama 2010 Malbec, which was very nice.  My buddy, Stacey recommended another wine but I don't recall the name.  Only that it was 76 on the wine list and they don't number it on their website, so I have no idea which one it is.  Sigh.

Our server, Brock (I hope that's the spelling), was knowledgeable and extremely helpful.  A good server definitely helps make for a good evening.  And ours was wonderful!

I ended the meal with a peanut butter bread pudding.  That was quite big, but huge.  I was unable to finish it.

Pros

Fabulous Food

Wonderful Wine List

Great Staff - Very Friendly & Willing To Help

Seasonal Foods (So it seems fresher)

Did I mention the wine?

Good Selection

Casual to Dressy Code (I saw dresses & jeans)

Cons

Parking!!

Lighting (It was a bit dark & I really don't like that)

Small (I recommend making reservations)

Did I mention Parking?

All in all I had a wonderful time and will be going there again!