Great Combo at Kickapoo Creek Winery
Most wineries in Illinois moonlight as something else. Winery/pie shop. B & B and tasting room. Wine shop/coffee house. Whatever the arrangement, these conjoined operations offer some insight into the mind of the winemaker. My experience is that good wine usually accompanies a good secondary (or tertiary) product. So the absolute value of one’s Chambourcin = the absolute value of one’s fudge, etc.
This brings us to Kickapoo Creek Winery. Their model is Winery/nursery/wedding hall. Sometime back, a friend of mine asked for my future opinion of the wines poured at a wedding he’d just attended. He did not recall which wines they drank. All he knew was they came from the attached winery, and that the white surpassed the red. I had just tasted their Nort Noir port* days before, and it remains one of the best wines I’ve had from Illinois.
We drove to Edwards, Ill., and tasted through nearly all the wines they offered last week. It’s rather unfortunate that this sign is the first sight you see when you exit off I-74. They did charge a nominal, 33-cent tasting fee per wine. While annoying, many municipalities require it to prevent free booze giveaways. I found all the wines tasted to be well made, balanced and worth the $10-15. What really stood out were the sticky wines. Overall good stuff. It’s fair to note that many of these are available at a local bottle shop. Here’s what I liked best:
St. Croix: It’s rare to see a straight St. Croix. I am not sure if this one was indicative of the natural grape character, but is pretty tasty. This is a higher acid red that’s crisp and medium bodied. Flavors are dominated by plum, pepper and black raspberry. I can see this hanging in for a few more years too.
Nookeynay Meskwaai: No, I don’t remember what the name means. A sweeter red that balances the jammy flavors provided by Chambourcin with spice from Norton and acid from Frontenac. This is the kind of wine that really fits our Midwestern palates. We all claim to only drink dry wines, yet wines like these always sell best for local winemakers. Hmmmm.
Blue Ice: This is a very pure and beautiful expression of Traminette. Floral, waxy and peachy, with layers of flavor and a bracing acidity capable of handling all the sugar in this bottle. Something you aren’t likely to find replicated many other places.
Chamery: An aged Chambourcin that drinks just like fine cream sherry but really holds its own unique character. Sherry lacks the raspberry jam character so pervasive in this wine. It’s perfectly balanced and ready to accompany some aged cheeses and roasted nuts.
*Port carries along so many preconceptions of what the drink should taste of. Great ports are medicinal, spicy and warming. Bad ones, are even more so. And the sordid details of American bullying in international trade agreements means we still get to poach ‘burgundy’, ‘sherry’, port’ and champagne from old world lexicon (and tried tradition). Eventually, even our clout in demanding our way in such mundane concessions will run out. Rather than being suddenly forced to change what products are called, American producers should start naming styles of our own. Besides, we need not compete head on by trying to reproduce old favorites. Classic wine styles offer a guide to what works, but laws are quite loose when it comes to specifics. The freedom attached to our young wine industry should promote innovation, not copycatting.
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Great article. I’ve always found that by making it in the blender, I can be my typical impatient self and pour tons of oil in at once. It’s very forgiving that way, though not fool proof.
I like Kaiyo A LOT, but at Sushi Kame (next to the art theatre) you can get an absolute shitload of good sushi, plus miso, and a bit of noodles in a vineagar cucumber salad for $21, and you know it was made just for you. I…
Nice article, Emily! When I get to the CU area, I’ll be sure to give this place a try.
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Dan Schreiber’s chocolate is simply the best I’ve ever had. It’s a whole different ball-game; closer to very high-end wine than anything out of Hershey PA.
That settles it… Im going.
That’s well known that cash can make people free. But how to act when someone doesn’t have cash? The one way is to receive the personal loans or secured loan.
Vosges is pretty decent chocolate, but you should definitely try the locally-produced chocolate from Dan Schreiber, available (regularly?) at Amara, Caffe Paradiso, and Common Ground. I believe it is or will be at other places soon.
I read Kucinich flipped today. He must have read this and been convinced.
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General Admission? Are we supposed to camp out the night before the game to get decent seats?
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Glad you asked Stuart. In the 1950s (well before they were approved for human use) poultry producers began using subtherapeutic doses of quinolone antibiotics, specifically fluroquinolone, to reduce the incidence of respiratory disease in overcrowded production conditions. In humans, quinolones are a last line of defense antibiotic…
Hah! Good one, Joel. But my question was a serious one. I only buy eggs from a couple of local organic farmers, so I never thought about antibiotic-free eggs. I’m assuming that Anna meant the hen was not fed antibiotics, but am not wholly sure. I’m…
That sounds like a setup to a joke at a CSA’s annual banquet. Q: “How can you tell an antibiotic-free egg?“ A: “It just can’t seem to get rid of that cough.“ /shows self out
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Big Blue will actually be on 6-9, despite what is posted elsewhere. Then, hightail it over to Bentley’s!
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Bread Company can do some fantastic vegan dinner dishes! Several of their pastas are vegan or could be made vegan and their pizzas can be ordered (and taste great) without the cheese. I also recommend their roasted potatoes and their roasted garlic head appetizer.