Illinois Wine Tour: Galena Cellars Vineyard & Winery

(GALENA, Ill.) — Nestled in uppermost Northwest Illinois is the breathtaking town of Galena.

The town has roughly 3,500 full-time residents, yet welcomes in over 1 million visitors each year. And it’s places like Galena Cellars Vineyard & Winery that make it a perfect place to visit.

There are two locations for Galena Cellars, the Vineyard out in the Galena countryside (that reminds me of the Irish countryside) and a historic downtown location settled in at 111 N. Main St. I visited the Vineyard location with my father and brother, who were extremely impressed with our visit.

We were honored to meet Eric White, the President & Winemaker at Galena Cellars during our visit. Eric is a third-generation winemaker of Galena Cellars, which was founded by his grandparents, passed to his parents, and now is led by him and his sister, Britt White.

Britt is the Brand Ambassador of Galena Cellars, and was an incredible part of welcoming us to the Vineyard and allowing us to have the greatest time possible.

Eric worked in Napa Valley for 9 years, learning the ropes and bringing what he learned back to Northwest Illinois. Now, Galena Cellars has 5 acres of grapes and offers between 60-70 rotating wines, with at least 40 wines available at all times.

You can see wonderful video about Eric and Britt’s family and what makes Galena Cellars so special here.

Now, let’s get into the wine we tasted and what we thought!

Wine tastings at Galena Cellars are 6 tastings for $8. This is a really great deal and lets you try a a large variety of wines for a low price.

I started with the Gamblers Red: It’s a Zinfandel blend, jammy, ripe and baked fruit notes with fig jam finishing. It’s not too sweet and not too dry, right down the middle.

Next I moved on to the Edelweiss (which I’m currently sipping on as I write this article. Guess that means I liked it, eh?) It’s a honeyed peach and pear wine, and is the closest thing to a Niagara wine, which is one of my favorite types. This was in the top 2 wines I tried all night.

What is the other top 2 wine, you may ask? The Gobble Gobble Cranberry. This seasonal wine was PHENOMENAL, and was just launched the day we visited! This red wine is flavor-filled with fresh cranberries and I was told it is great for a spritzer! I’ll have to give this a try soon. And yes, I bought a bottle of this as well.

On to Galena Cellars’ top-selling wine, Oktoberfest. This refreshing white wine is 80% Riesling, finished with 20% Moscato. My brother, Kevin, got this in his tasting and I was able to try it later on in our stay.

I tried another delicious fruit wine in my tasting, the Berry, Berry Berry. This wine is powered by aronia berry and ends with a blueberry finish.

With it being a cool, crisp October day; we moved on to the Spiced Apple! To quote my father, Bruce Sheehan, “It fits the bill!” And it did. This autumn sipper was just right for the occasion.

There are certain wines only wine club members can buy glasses or bottles of, but yet are offered on the tastings menu. One of those wines is the Drunken Cherry. This sweet yet tart wine was the perfect addition to my wine tasting variety.

Last but certainly not least, is the Country Red. This fruity and semi-sweet red table wine is a blend of the Marquette & Concord. This was the third bottle of wine I bought at the end of the night. It was incredible! I have to give a shoutout to Debra who encouraged me to try this wine! She was also a wonderful host and extremely kind.

After our tastings, we each got flights which are three wines for $12. I went with the Edelweiss, Gobble Gobble Cranberry and Country Red. My top 3!

Additionally, we were able to try the Foxy, which is a sparkling Catawba. Extremely good as well. Lastly, Eric let me try their Sweet Cider. I’ve tried many different ciders over the years, and the one made by Eric and his team is definitely high-quality.

Lastly, we tried the Gratitude sparkling wine. This smooth, fresh wine has notes of green apple and fresh pear. I’d highly encourage you to watch the link I posted above about Eric and Britt’s family and where Galena Cellars started. This is how the Gratitude came to be; honoring Eric’s grandparents, aunt and uncle.

Galena Cellars produces over 40,000 gallons of wine a year, or 15,000 cases.

In the winter, the Vineyard is only open on the weekends, but they have special offerings to keep you warm and show you an amazing time. You can rent a heated igloo in the colder months, which consists of a bottle of wine, charcuterie board, and 2 hours with your closest buds.

Galena was named the top place to visit in the Midwest by Travel Awaits. I have to agree with this assertion, as I absolutely loved it. The green, hilly countryside reminded me of one of my favorite places on Earth: Ireland. The historic downtown was a beautiful place to visit each morning, and we really enjoyed stopping by Chestnut Mountain Resort one night for the Alpine Slide and dinner.

Galena Cellars vineyard location was voted the #3 winery on TripAdvisor in all of Illinois. This high-esteemed honor is well-deserved and showcases the hard work, dedication and fantastic end products produced by Galena Cellars.

I want to thank Eric and Britt White, the super brother-sister duo of Galena Cellars for the incredible time. We were celebrating my father’s 70th birthday in Galena, and you all blew him away with your knowledge of wine. He made sure to tell Eric he could tell his wine was high-quality and “professional grade.” He can be a tough critic on wine, so this meant a lot!

We will absolutely be back to Galena Cellars, and I’d encourage you to visit as well. You can find all of Galena Cellars’ wines online here!