(CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS) — It’s been quite some time since we’ve done an Illinois winery blog! Happy to bring this back as part of our travels through Southern Illinois, specifically Carbondale, home of Southern Illinois University.
We visited Kite Hill Vineyards, part of the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail. It was a beautiful mid-October day, with clear skies and plenty of sunshine.
We met Scott, the Head Winemaker for some tastings, and a behind-the-scenes tour of the property! Let’s dive in.
The tasting room sits on the property, overlooking a beautiful lake just outside. A few tables are outside, but the majority of seating space is on the deck and lower area next to the lake.
As you can see, we tried quite a few wines this day! We started dry, and worked our way to semi-sweet, to sweet, to dessert wine.
We started with the 2024 Broadwing, a Seyval Blanc produced in the area we visited, known as Shawnee Hills. It has a 12% ABV and is a bit on the drier side. I enjoyed it! This is one of the top sellers, Scott said, and for good reason!
What you’ll notice as we discuss each wine, is they’re all aeronautical themed. Kites, birds, planes and more help inspire the names and designs on the bottles.
We also tried the 2021 Aquila, a Vidal Blanc with 13.3% alcohol. It’s a white wine with tropical notes of mango and pineapple. I really enjoyed this one! Also produced in the Shawnee Hills region.
Before we continue, I want to note how cool it was to here about the collaborative efforts between wineries in the region. Kite Hill grows its own grapes on-site, but it also brings in wines from other nearby or regional wineries. Not only that, but some other local wineries purchase product from Kite Hill. To hear about how much support is happening was really encouraging.
Next we moved to the Red Kite, a Concord red wine produced in Michigan! I feel like you can’t go wrong with Concord wine, and Michigan is known for its great wines! I think Illinois has some great wine and wineries as well.
Now on to my favorite wine of the day; the White Kite. As you may have read in former wine blogs, I love Niagara wines. That flavor, almost like bubble gum or cotton candy, is just so sweet and refreshing. That’s exactly what this wine is like. A sweet, white blended wine using Niagara grapes alongside tropical aromas from Vignoles.
We also tried both wine slushies, which were delicious. Peach Bellini and Blueberry Pomegranate. I loved both, Rachel preferred the Blueberry Pomegranate! The Pink Kite, a sweet rosé was a nice way to finish off the sweet section of our wine tasting.
Dessert wines are known to be stronger, and pairing them with (or on) desserts can help take away some of the strength of the alcohol. We tried the Mani. Mani has hints of cocoa and dried fruits, and is made from grapes harvested back in 2012! It’s gone through extensive barrel aging, and is named after the god of the moon in Norse Mythology.
Next we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the property, seeing where the wine is made.
Scott did a wonderful job walking us around and letting us see the different containers and barrels currently in production. It’s quite the process, so hats off to Scott and the team for doing all this work.
We discussed the different scents and flavors of different wines that Kite Hill produces. As well as Scott talking to us about his own wine company, Holotype Wine Co. I still have to taste test this wine, and I’ll be looking forward to sharing my review in the near future!
I hope you enjoyed this journey through Kite Hill Vineyards. Make sure to add it to your winery tour list the next time you’re in Southern Illinois.
Matt Sheehan Official 