Wine Growing History 

In the 1770’s, French settlers first introduced wine making to small village in Illinois now called Peoria.  Emile Baxter, along with his sons, opened a winery along the banks of the Mississippi River near Nauvoo in 1857.  The Baxter Vineyard remains the oldest operating winery in Illinois.  Before prohibition, Illinois laid claim to being the fourth largest wine producing state in America.  Prohibition, as it did in many states, virtually caused the wine growing industry to disappear in Illinois until resurgence in the late 1970’s.  By the year 2001, there were 27 wineries and, in the last nine years, another 63 have been added – a 330 percent increase in the past decade. 

  Wine Growing Zones

Illinois is divided into four major wine growing zones.  Each zone approximately divides the state into quarters with the growing zone boundaries running east to west.  The zones are aptly named the Northern, Central, South Central and Southern.  Nearly one-half of the vineyards are located in Jackson, Union, Johnson and Jo Daviess Counties.  About 55 percent of the wineries are located in Union, Jackson, Madison, Adams, De Kalb and Randolph Counties.  Illinois has the capacity to produce approximately 850,000 gallons of wine per year but is currently operating at about 65 percent of capacity.  Grapes are cultivated on approximately 1200 acres in the state. 

  Wine Grapes Cultivated 

Of the grape area harvested, twelve wine grape varieties comprise nearly ninety percent of the harvest.  The following twelve varieties, listed from most produced to least are: Chardonel, Chambourcin, Vignoles, Traminette, Concord, Foch, Seyval, Norton, Vidal Blanc, Frontenac, Niagara and Cayuga White.  The Northern and Southern zones account for 57 percent of the cultivated acres of grapes.  Many of the grapes grown are considered hybrid varieties adapted to the cold climates of the state.  Fruit wines from apples, peaches and berries are also recognized as a key category within the state’s wine industry. 

 Wine Tours

The wine producing community of Illinois has four designated wine trails that are ideal to tour.  The wine trails are Shawnee Hills (Southern Zone), Northern Illinois, Illinois River and Heartland Rivers.  Any of these trails are worth the effort to explore and enjoy.  There are established bus tour companies that will allow you to taste as much wine as you want and leave the driving to them.  Interstate highways abound and make traveling to one of the wine trail tours easy.  Award winning wineries like the 2010 State Fair entry from Prairie State Winery will surely reward your palette.  Other notable wineries winning awards at the 2010 Fair were Lynfred, Spirit Knot, Hickory Ridge, Hill Prairie and August Hill Wineries. 

Illinois offers a great selection of tasty wines you should try.  It will still boil down in the end to what wine suits your palette.  As I always say, buy the wine you like, store wine properly in a wine cooler, serve it at the proper temperature and enjoy it immensely. 

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, July 2010

One of Lisa’s Golden Rules involve serving your wine at the proper temperature.  Check out my post article that has wine serving temperatures discussed.  She also empahized the proper use of wine stemware.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, August 2010.

American Wine Production

Wine production in the United States has been going on for well over 400 years.  Every state in the union has some wine production actively occurring.  The states of California and Washington are the undisputed leaders in American wine production.  California can brag that 90 percent of all wine consumed in the country is produced in that state.  As it turns out, the U.S. is the fourth leading wine producer in the world with France, Italy and Spain taking the top three ranking spots.

I reviewed several sources to discover who the top U.S. wine producers are.  All the sources I found had the same top four listed, but there were some differences in the “Top Ten” list after that.  Near as I could tell, the lists represented data compiled during different years, which may be the primary factor that caused the lists to vary.  Based on 2004 information, the top producer of wine in the country produces 300 percent more that the second producer on the list.  The next two top producers produce over 200 percent more than the fifth highest wine producer does.

Largest U.S. Wine Producer  

The largest producer of wine in the U.S. is E. & J. Gallo. In 2010, this privately owned wine company is celebrating its 77^th birthday.  This company has annual revenues of $1.7 billion, employs around 5000 people, has an annual American sales volume of 66 million cases and sells wine in more than 90 countries.  The company founded by the Gallo brothers still has many second and third generation family members with roles in the business (source: Wine Business Monthly, Review of the Industry: The Top 30 U.S. Wine Company Profiles, February 15, 2008). 

Second Place Wine Producer

Constellation Brands is the second leading producer of wine in the U.S.  Annual American sales volume is 59 million cases with another 53 million cases sold on the world market outside the U.S.  The strength of Constellation Brands is its widely diversified portfolio of wineries and brands.  In the United States, Constellation Brands employs about 3,200 people of which 500 previously worked for Beam Wine Estates of Jim Beam Whiskey fame.  This company is the leading seller of wine in Canada and lays claim to be the biggest producer of “premium wines” in the U.S. 

The Rest of the Top Five Wine Producers

The number three producer, The Wine Group is a San Francisco based company that has an annual sales volume of 44 million cases.  It once was a part of The Coca-Cola Company.  Bronco Wine Company is the number four wine producer with a U.S. sales volume of 20 million cases.  Foster’s Wine Estates with a U.S. sales volume of 20 million cases holds the fifth position. 

While it is interesting to understand who the top wine producers are, there are great numbers of lesser companies that produce great wines.  It still boils down in the end to what wine suits your palette.  As I always say, buy the wine you like, store it properly in a wine cooler, serve it at the proper temperature and enjoy it immensely. 

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, July 2010

Washington’s Two Wine Growing Areas

Washington can be generally divided into two  grape growing zones with approximately 34 to 36 thousand acres under cultivation.  One zone is defined as the Interstate 5 corridor on the west side of the Cascade Range.  This zone receives adequate rainfall to grow grapes (average of 48 inches per year).  The other zone is defined as the plains on the east side of the Cascade Range.  Storms in Washington generally arrive from the northwest Pacific Ocean coastal area and move to the east.  As these storms push through the Cascade Range, abundant rainfall occurs on the west side of the mountains.  Later, these same air masses push over the Cascades much drier than when they arrived.  This produces a rain-shadow effect (average of 8 inches per year) because of the topographic lifting of the air mass over the coastal mountains.  Because of the rain shadow effects of the Cascade Range, this area often must use various irrigation techniques to maximize grape production.

Washington Wine Production Facts

The grape growing season in Washington is generally from March to September each year.  Harvesting starts in August and can run as late as November.  Washington is the second largest wine-producing state with only California out doing them.  Washington’s grape annual production is approximately 160 to 170 tons of grapes, which is only a fraction of California’s production of 3.6 to 3.8 million tons.  Prohibition arrived in 1920 banning alcohol-based beverages, and, as in other states, set the wine producing industry back.  The industry is building rapidly based on the availability of reasonably affordable land, but because most of the vineyards are small operations, the per bottle production costs are higher than most other areas in the country.  Washington wines are generally more expensive than wines produced elsewhere.  It remains to be seen if this will be restrictive and problematic as    Washington’s wine industry  grows.  Meanwhile, one article I reviewed stated a new winery opens about every other week with the current total around 650 wineries.

Washington Wine Types

The quality of Washington wines cannot be disputed.  The wines from this region have won numerous awards and are currently marketed in every U.S. state and 40 other countries.  Some of the leading red grapes found are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet France, Malbec, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir and Lemberger.  Some of the leading white varietals are Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Semillon and Chenin Blanc.  White wine production is 54 percent of the total, while red wine is 46 percent of the total.  The  wine producing industry economic impact to Washington State is estimated to be in the neighborhood of 3 billion dollars a year.

Washington Wine Tour Planning

Touring wineries and vineyards is an excellent way to pass the time.  Cities in the Interstate 5 corridor that could serve as a tour base are Vancouver, Longview, Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, Mt. Vernon, Bellingham and Fern Dale.  Wine production in the more arid eastern side of the Cascade Range is more scattered across the area.  Cities that could serve as a tour base are Spokane, Brewster, Chelan, Wenatchee, Yakima, Moses Lake, Toppenish, Richland and Walla Walla.  One thing I did notice, when visiting the few vineyards that I have, is that  during your wine tours often you will get a great view of a snow-covered peak.  I have also found another blogger that had a great experience touring Washington and visiting wineries and breweries.

When visiting Washington, touring its wine country will be very rewarding.  Some great wines are produced; the small wine growing operations are friendly to visit; and a landscape of beautiful views will reward you.  Remember, buy the wine you like, have a good wine storage cooler, serve it at the proper temperature and enjoy it immensely.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, July 2010

Egyptians: The First Cork Users

The Egyptians first used cork as a stopper thousands of years ago.  Later, ancient Greeks and Romans used cork for a variety of uses, including wine stoppers and olive oil.  In the 1600’s, a monk called Dom Perignon was using wooden stoppers wrapped in rags to seal his bottles of wine.  These crude plugs most often just popped out and were ineffective.  He started using cork plugs and successfully stoppered his best wines.  Wine bottling would never be the same, as cork soon became the essential answer to successfully sealing the bottles. 

First Cork Factory Was In Spain

In 1750, the first cork stopper factory opened in Anguine, Spain.  The widespread use of cork ultimately resulted in wine bottles undergoing a transformation from short and fat to tall and slender, because the slender neck was easily sealed with cork plugs.  Spain and Portugal produce over 80 percent to the cork used in the world.  Wine bottle cork comes  from the bark of a Cork Oak Tree.  The bark of trees older than 25 years is carefully stripped from the tree to protect it and perpetuate the life of the tree.  The bark is dried for up to six months then boiled for a few hours and then allowed to dry another 2 to 4 weeks.  

After the final drying process, the bark is carefully cut or molded into the correct sizes.  A washing process follows using chemicals that sanitize the corks from any bacterial growth.  Bacterial growth in the cork would quickly render a wine useless to drink.  New technologies for eliminating cork contamination are also being used such as irradiation.  Corks are then shipped in specially sealed bags to wherever they are needed. The entire cork making process could very well last a year.  

From Tree To Wine Cork May Take A Year

Portugal continues to be the world leader in cork production.  There are over 5 million acres of  cork forest in the world and over thirty percent of that area is in Portugal.  There are three basic sizes of natural cork from the standard size up to the larger champagne cork.  While cork is still the preferred sealer for bottled wine, some wine producers have begun using screw cap sealing systems on their bottles; thereby, throwing out the romance and sophistication of opening a corked bottle of great wine.  Corks can easily be used to re-seal partially used bottles of wine.  Smelling the cork when it is first removed will give you a quick idea of a wine’s quality.  Because of its fire resistance, cork is now also used in rocket technology.  Who knows what other uses may develop from this natural product. 

As I always say, buy the wine you prefer, have a proper wine storage cooler, and serve it at the correct temperature and you will enhance your enjoyment of this unique beverage.  Do not forget, smelling the cork will provide you critical evidence of what your first sip might taste like. 

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, July 2010

Biggest Wine Country

Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay

Visit Texas Hills Area

Many of us have danced the Texas Two-step.  I found another Texas tradition, the Texas Two-sip.  The Texas Two-sip is a challenging, blind taste test of a collection of in state and out of state wines.  The goal is to use your taste buds to find the best.  There are special rules and forms to fill out, but no specific rules on what food you can eat.  Sounds like a party to me.  The only caution I have is I did not find out the rule when you get to take your blindfold off.  Be careful where you step.

When I was in the military traveling home on leave, I had car trouble in Fredericksburg.  The people took me in, fed me and housed me, while the resident mechanic repaired my heap.  When I was getting ready to leave, they gave me the gift of a thank you for my service and covered all my bills.  Because of the wine growing there, I now have another reason to take a pause there.  Look out Highway 290 here we come.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, June 2010

You work for days on end until the time arrives when you get a day off from work.  It only took seconds to kiss my wife, grab my gear, hook-up the boat and hang the “Gone Fishing” sign on my office door.  My wife yelled at me as I was going out the door: “Don’t catch anything if you don’t want to clean it”.  Ten relaxing hours later, I appeared at the kitchen door with a stringer of bass, crappie and catfish.  Before my wife could corner me, I started immediately to clean the fish at the kitchen sink.  Of course, my wife would have preferred that I clean them outside.  She did give me the go ahead as long as I took the fish remains to the out door garbage can, scoured the sink with Lysol, mopped the floor and sprayed some aerosol fragrance that I will call “Odor de Normal”.  Time spent traveling to fish, catching the fish, cleaning the fish and sanitizing the kitchen totaled 12 hours and 27 minutes.  This was still better than 8 hours behind my desk. 

Couple of weeks later, I declared, “Tonight we are having those fish I caught for dinner.”  My wife said, “You cook and I will go to the store for some wine”.  She then asked a series of perplexing questions, “Are you leaving the skin on or taking it off?”, “Is the meat from these fish white, pink or red?”, and “How are you going to cook the fish?”  In a somewhat sarcastic way, I responded, “Skin on, white meat, grilled.”  She left me with the passing comment, “That is all I needed to know” and off to the store she went.  I did not have to be told that she knew what she was doing, because the “smarty-pants” grin on her face told me.  The fish and wine combination that resulted from our joint efforts made the evening for us. 

What she knew about wine and fish, I obviously needed to learn without her knowing it.  I do not do well when “smarty-pants” is right.  Research with help from the search engines was undertaken immediately.  I found a posting by Kara Newman in what she calls a “Whimsical Guideline” for wine and fish/seafood combinations.  She said, “White wine with white seafood, pink wine with pink seafood, and red wine with red seafood”.  I thought that rule might be too easy to be true.  More research merely uncovered the wide range of opinion and advice on this topic. 

I discovered there are principles to follow to get the right combination of fish and wine.  The principles involved are the weight and texture of the food, the intensity of flavors, the need to balance tastes and the need to match flavors, unless a counterpoint flavor would be better.  This did not make sense to me until a read an article on DrinkWine.com called Basic Principles of Successful Food-Wine Pairing.  I even found out what “umami” was. 

The WineDoctor.com has a whole series of paring wine with everything from soup to nuts.  The most important pairing that they tout is the paring of wine with people.  I am a firm believer that you should drink the wine that you enjoy the most and worry less about what food you may have paired with.  They said pair red wine with fish, but they also added plenty of “ifs and buts” to their basic rule.  I also came across an article by Sheral Schowe called “Choosing the Best Wine for Fish”. Her article provides more specific input on the wine and fish combinations.  Another website, Ehow.com has a complete array of instructions, tips and warnings to help guide your fish and wine selections. 

My research was complete and I was ready for the next time we had fish for dinner.  It did not take long for my research to pay off.  My wife said, “I bought some fresh halibut at the store for dinner tonight”.  I replied, “That sounds great to me.  You cook and I will pick up the wine”.   She responded, “What wine were you going to get”.  Without hesitation and with a Cheshire cat grin of my own, I said, “Without a doubt a Chardonnay, Condrieu or Rousanne would be the perfect match with halibut”.  The dumbfound look on my wife’s face was worth the research.  Who says that you cannot teach an old dog a new trick? 

Remember what I always say store your wine properly, serve it at the right temperature and enjoy it completely. 

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, June 2010

Ideal Wine Coolers is pleased to “bring on board” fine wine cooler technology housed in classic, wood finished cabinets.  We have accumulated a collection of credenza, up-right and bureau style fine wood cabinets that would make an elegant addition to any home.  A few of the wine furniture cabinets are showcased below.

Bleeker Bar Model with Extra Storage Compartment

This wine refrigerator furniture has the added feature of an upper storage area with a drop-down serving surface.  It will hold 21 bottles of wine.

Bordeaux Model Dual Zone Wine Cabinet

This classic wine refrigerator cabinet has dual zones to facilitate keeping both your red and wine wines.  It will hold 84 bottles.

Hamilton Model Two Door Wine Storage Cabinet

This wine refrigerator furniture cabinet has two doors and comes with a lustrous, black finish.  This model will hold 40 bottles of your best vintages.

Go check out our other exciting wine cellar furniture cabinet designs.