CARBONDALE: A PLACE TO UNWIND
L
isa Ellis, executive director for the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance, didn’t know the organization’s annual conference in late February would be one of the last large events she would host. In the months that followed, the novel coronavirus spread through Illinois, canceling events and closing businesses. Ellis and the IGGVA staff continue to push their project to make rosé Illinois’ official state wine, and “unite” the industry with a common product. They are doing so in unique ways in the era of COVID-19 — including a virtual wine tasting recently hosted for hospitality industry professionals and media from across the state. For the tasting, I received four local wines from a friendly delivery driver who handed me a hefty box at my home. Inside were four wines sent by the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance, including a Chambourcin Rosé from August Hill Winery in Utica, a Flyaway Rosé from Kite Hill Vineyards in Carbondale, an Estate Rosé from Walker’s Bluff in Carterville and a Rosato from Alto Vineyards in Alto Pass. Attached was a note from Ellis and Brad Beam, the enology specialist for the IGGVA, welcoming participants to the organization’s first virtual wine tasting, along with some
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Shawnee Hills Wine Trail
simple instructions on chilling the wines and suggestions for pairing. “Should you desire to pair your wines with food, we have the following recommendations: shellfish, especially shrimp (...) barbecue, burgers and pizza; or spicy Asian and Mexican cuisine,” the note said. I didn’t have to look further than the first line. I decided to make a fresh shrimp ceviche — a Latin seafood dish that is said to have originated in Peru, typically made from fresh raw fish cured in fresh citrus juice. I followed a recipe from food blog “Dinner at the Zoo” with some slight modifications. I split the recipe in half after questioning if I could eat 2 pounds of shrimp on my own. After logging into Zoom — a video conferencing platform that has gained traction during the pandemic — I was greeted by Ellis and Beam. The pair explained their push to popularize rosé, the history of wine in Illinois and the impact of the industry before dividing the group into smaller rooms for the wine tasting. Beam said there has been a winery boom through the state, with the number of wineries roughly doubling in the last 10 to 15 years and now racking up to about 165 tasting rooms in Illinois. But, in speaking about the beginnings of the rosé project,
Beam noted the grapes grown in northern Illinois and Southern Illinois are unique. “One of the challenges we have as an industry in Illinois is trying to find something that everybody can do and do really really well,” Beam said. He said the group talked about different wine styles about five years ago and the organization ended up picking rosé because Illinois’ grapes “make amazing rosé wine” no matter where in Illinois the winemaker is located. After picking a style of wine, the IGGVA began accepting entries into a rosé staterecognition program through a series of meetings in which there are tastings among peers and professionals to assess each submission, according to Beam. Each subsequent year since the program’s inception, there have been roughly 20 wines submitted with the majority being accepted into the program. To be accepted into the program, a wine can’t be too dark in color, must have fresh fruit and floral aromas, have no faults in the wine, must be 100% Illinois-grown, more than 75% of the wine has to come from red or gray grapes, and it must be crisp and refreshing. Illinois rosé wine has won accolades from across the country, including recognitions in the “Experience Rosé” contest — an
