Illinois Wine Tour: Lynfred Winery (Wheeling)

(Wheeling, Illinois) — During an adventure to Lake County, Illinois, about an hour north of Chicago, I researched the area’s winery scene and found Lynfred Winery!

They didn’t have one… two… or three wineries. They had FIVE locations! The most logistical stop for our drive up to the Illinois Beach Hotel was the Wheeling location, which was situated in a lovely older home renovated into a winery.

To taste multiple flavors of wine in smaller batches, you’ll want to start with the flight!

Lynfred has different flight types. Red wine, white wine, fruit wines and seasonal wines. We chose the fruit wines because it consisted of sparkling rose (which my wife enjoys), pear, cherry and cranberry.

Clearly the pear was our favorite! Because this was the bottle of wine we ended up buying. I LOVED the cherry wine as well. It was a perfect mix of refreshing, sweet and tart. That’s speaking my language!

As seen above, Lynfred has plenty of different flavor wines for you to try! From sweets and semi-sweets to semi-dry and dry, you’ll find the wine of your liking here.

I loved the vibe of the Wheeling location. It was quiet, serene and you felt fancy while not having to dress up to the 9s. Does that make sense? This second glass of wine says it does 🙂

I’ve become a champion of Illinois wine, and it’s something I hope you get to enjoy as well! Most of Illinois’ wines are French-American hybrids.

“Illinois winemakers use different grape varieties to produce a diversity of high-quality wines. The top six grape varietals grown in the state cover more than 75 percent of the state’s total grape acreage. Five of these grapes—Chambourcin, Seyval, Vignoles, Chardonel and Vidal Blanc—are “French Hybrids,” developed by crossing French grapes, such as the Chardonnay often grown in France and California, with native American vines. This cross-pollination results in grapes that produce excellent wine, but that are less susceptible to the effects of extreme cold—making them ideal for the Midwest’s unpredictable weather. The other grape in the top six, Norton, originates from native American vines,” says the Illinois Grape Growers & Vintners Alliance.

It feels like you’re learning history, culture and wine all in one when you learn about the wine our State has to offer! That’s something to be proud of.

I’ve experienced phenomenal wineries in central, northeast, southeast, northwest and southern Illinois so far. I love the different Illinois Wine trails our State has, its time to put Illinois Wine on the map!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey. There’s a long way to go and we aren’t stopping now! Cheers.