Illinois Wine Tour: Hidden Hills Winery

(KNOXVILLE, ILL.) — From sweet and dry wines to wine slushies and raspberry cider, Hidden Hills Vineyard and Winery has it all.

Located in Knox County, Illinois, Hidden Hills was a retirement dream of David Poland. Now his dream is a reality, and I’m glad I was able to visit his great establishment with my wife, son and friends.

It was the perfect day to visit a winery. Sunny and in the low 70s. We were greeted by David Poland himself, and given the grand tour.

David offered to walk us through the entire process of making the wine. From the fermentation process to the bottling process, we learned a lot that day. I can vividly remember the amazing scent of the wine tanks in the large-scale refrigerator the winery has. It was also great to learn about the bottling process and the designs you see on all the bottles.

We started the day off with the wine flight! I highly recommend this as you get to try four different wines. It’s served with crackers so you can cleanse your palate in between wine.

My favorite was the Sweet Red. This is the one I bought a bottle of on my way out of the door. It’s a concord wine that is 12% alcohol. But they were all so good. I also had the Sweet White, Sandburg Sangria, and Rebel Rose. Definitely try the Raspberry Cider as well. They serve it to you in a can that you can pour into a glass if desired. And they just announced they’re serving the cider at Peoria Chiefs games!

Hidden Hills has a great outdoor covered patio with plenty of tables both in the shade and out on the grass. They host musicians and band for live music which would be an incredible time.

We all agreed the wine we tried was high-quality and refreshing. Now that it’s getting warmer out, the wine slushie that my wife got would be perfect on a summer day.

The staff was extremely friendly and welcoming, and we all had an incredible time. Even my son, Bennett, who was more interested in the Hidden Hills pens than anything else.

It feels great to be back on the wine tour after not writing for the past two months or so. Things get quite busy when you have two jobs and a little kiddo to take care of! But I’ve got a wine tour I’m extremely excited to tell you all about later this month. I am heading to this place in mid-June for Father’s Day. Stay tuned for that!

But for now, cheers to you all. Always remember to support local and check out Hidden Hills Winery in Knoxville, Illinois.