Illinois Winery Tour: August Hill Tasting Room & Lounge

(UTICA, Ill.) — One of my favorite places to get away for a day trip is Utica, Illinois.

Located in LaSalle County, just less than 10 minutes away from Starved Rock State Park, sits a beautiful town bustling with shops, restaurants, tourist activities and more. That leads us to our next Illinois Winery tour, at August Hill’s Tasting Room & Lounge.

Now, you may recognize the name August Hill. Back on Father’s Day I visited the August Hill vineyard and had a wonderful time doing the cave wine tasting.

Located at 106 Mill St., North Utica, IL, August Hill offers wine tastings, flights, private parties for wine club members, and an outdoor patio where you can order wine and food.

This visit I discovered my new favorite August Hill red wine: the 2023 Nouveau. Labeled as a semi-dry red wine, the 2023 Nouveau is as smooth as it gets. A Nouveau wine symbolizes the first wine released that year. August Hill’s take on the wine is a mix of Norton and Chambourcin grapes. Even if you’re a sweet wine drinker, you will enjoy the 2023 Nouveau. It’s a light bodied red wine that’s very fruity, yet clean and fresh.

Now, you’ll notice I specified that the 2023 Nouveau is my favorite August Hill red wine. That’s because my go-to white wine here is still the Niagara.

This sweet and fruity white wine has such a distinct flavor, it’s a great example of America wine. You won’t be surprised here, the Niagara grape got its start in Niagara County, New York back in the 1860s. I almost get a taste of bubble gum when I sip on Niagara wine, and since I am a sweet tooth, I highly enjoy it. I tell people Niagara wine is almost like Moscato, just a tad less sweet.

Speaking of sweet August Hill wines, I’m sipping on the Emerald here tonight! A green apple wine filled with edible glitter (shake the bottle and you’ll see an amazing show), the Emerald is a top-seller around St. Patrick’s Day.

As you see below, the August Hill Tasting Room has a spacious lounge with comfortable seating. The lounge can be used for any visitors most days, but the winery also hosts private wine club member events here. When you’re done with your tasting, you can see the cases of wine bottles ready to be picked up and taken home.

So what did I get in my tasting? I’m glad you asked. The tasting are 6 for $10, by the way.

1: 2023 Nouveau

2: Berlyn – a semi-dry red wine.

3: Caramel Apple – let’s talk about this one. Both Chris and I tried this one, since it was a cool fall day, we felt like we had to! First it was served chilled, and I wasn’t a huge fan. It reminded me of medicine. But then… the bartender let us try it heated, as they had a batch warming up on the bar. MUCH BETTER. This reminded me of a mulled wine or even a hot apple cider.

4: Mardi Gras – sparkling take on the Sweet Catawba wine. It’s a fun one!

5: Trapolino – semi-sweet red wine. Easy to sip on and a great table wine.

6: Indigo – this is the blue brother to the Emerald I’m sipping on now. With notes of tropical fruit, cotton candy and edible glitter, this is another fun wine.

After our tasting, my friend Chris and I decided to do a wine flight! I wanted a tad more of the 2023 Nouveau, I went back to my roots with the Niagara, and also tried the Angel of Hope, which is a sparkling Niagara wine with a touch of red wine to give it a pink tint. For each bottle of Angel of Hope sold, a small donation is made to Relay For Life.

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I would argue August Hill is one of the better-known wineries in Illinois, and that they have some of the better wines.

When it’s the warmer months, head out to the Peru, Illinois vineyard for a cave wine tasting and then head to Utica for lunch at Lodi Taphouse across the street before some more wine at the tasting room off Mill Street. When it’s warmer, Mill Street will be blocked off and each restaurant and bar will offer outdoor dining along the street. It’s a great atmosphere!

Thanks to August Hill for once again being great hosts. We’ll see you again soon!

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