Galena Cellars Vineyards and Winery

Galena Cellars Family owned and operated Vineyards and Winery in historic Galena, Illinois

We took a cross-country driving getaway road-trip for a week and pursued our interests in wine, Frank Lloyd Wright architecture sites, historic landmarks and magnificent scenery. 

Our journey started in historic Galena, Illinois, where we stayed in the 'Old Farmhouse' country house amidst the vineyards of Galena Cellar Winery and Vineyards.

Galena is known as the hometown of legendary civil war general Ulyses S Grant who went on to be President of the United States. US Grant is featured on two of the Galena Cellars flagship wines, a red and a white. 

Sourced from their website, Galena Cellars has a long storied history in Midwest wines dating back to 1974 when Robert Lawlor took a class in home winemaking in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

In 1976, Christine Lawlor graduated with a Degree in Enology from Fresno State University and opened Christina Wine Cellars in MacGregor, Iowa, producing 200 cases of Cherry Wine.

In 1980, the Lawlors opened a second winery in an old Milwaukee freight depot in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. 

Galena Cellars was born in 1985, when the Lawlors, during a trip to purchase grapes, seized the opportunity to open a third winery in Galena, Illinois. They called up Christine’s brother, Scott, and his wife, Karan, to move to Galena to help with the project.  They restored an old historic 1840’s grainary building on Main Street in Galena. Galena Cellars celebrated its first annual “Beaujolais Nouveau” Wine Celebration and was featured on the Today Show.

In 1990, they acquired the current farm vineyard site on North Ford Road, just outside of town, and began growing experimental grapes. They moved the wine production to the vineyard location. The family decided to focus production in Galena and closed the McGregor and LaCrosse locations.

Christine Lawlor-White was honored as “Winemaker of the Year” by the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association. She went on to win this award again in 2008, and 2017.

Cousins Eric and Sarah, Christine’s Son and Scott’s Daughter, pursue formal education in winemaking at California Polytechnic State University and Fresno State University, respectively. Upon graduation, they both embarked up winemaking careers. 

Scott, Karan, & Christine Lawlor retired after the passing of their parents and Galena Cellar founders and first generation winemakers, Robert & Joyce Lawlor. The third generation was called on to return from California, Britt White returning to take on operations of Galena Cellars, and Eric White to become Winemaker & President.

In 2019, Christine Lawlor had the honor of presenting the “Winemaker of the Year” award by the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association to her son, Eric White.

The challenges to produce great Midwestern wines are numerous, starting with finding the ideal terroir - sense of place - combination of climate, terrain, soil, drainage - all the elements that manifest in the grapes that make up the wine. When we lived in California, we missed three notable things from the Midwest - steak, corn and tomatoes. All the elements of Midwest climate and soil that provide ideal conditions for corn and soybeans and such, are opposed to the environments and conditions best suited for vini vinifera - wine grapes , which are best served when starved and stressed in poor soil and arid climate.

Galena Cellars vineyard grapes

Another element affecting Midwestern wines is the quest to find or craft the ideal grape varietal to suit the specific terror of a location. 

'Old World' wine producers, in Italy and France, have been producing wines for six, even seven centuries or more, while 'new world' wine regions such as Central Coast and Northern California counties such as Napa and Sonoma, Washington and Oregon Columbia Valleys, have been producing fine wines for half a century. 

The new world is still experimenting and fine tuning the vineyard plantings to find the optimal grapes for each site. 

So it is that the Midwest is a newcomer to the wine business and are still in the early stages of finding or grafting and crafting the optimal grapes for their environs and sites. 

Although, this might be disputed as we learned and posted from our Missouri Wine Experience last year. Missouri has a long history of viticulture and winemaking dating back almost two centuries with some of the oldest wineries in the US, and some of the historic largest wineries and highest producing wine areas in the US. As early as 1850, there were nearly sixty wineries in the Hermann, Missouri area producing more than 10,000 gallons of wine per year.

By 1904, there were more than 100 Missouri wineries, the Hermann area alone produced 3 million gallons of wine, mostly by small wine grower/producers.When France’s vineyards were plagued by the phylloxera louse that threatened their entire wine industry, it was Missouri that came to the rescue. When nearly all France's grape vines were destroyed, Missouri’s state entomologist, C.V. Riley, was among the first to discover that Native American grapes were resistant to the pest. Missouri winemakers shipped millions of phylloxera-resistant rootstocks across the Atlantic, ultimately saving the French wine industry.

Missouri is also home to the first designated AVA, American Viticulture Area in the US.

Today, Galena Cellars are on the forefront of the effort to create or find the ideal grape and produce wines that best exemplify Northern Illinois is Eric White, President and Winemaker for Galena Cellars.

Eric grew up in the wine business of his mother, Chris Lawlor, who planted vineyards, tended the vines and crafted wines from the time he was yet a toddler. Several of the wine labels today still bear the branding of Lawlor Family Vineyards. Eric was exposed to all aspects of the business and as early as 1999, when he was but 12, Chris gave him his first opportunity to help make - now Galena Cellars’ flagship wine - Eric the Red. 

Eric studied winemaking and earned a degree in Enology from Cal Poly Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, CA. He worked internships at wine producers in the Paso Robles and Napa Valley wine regions during his studies. Upon graduation and completion of his harvest internship, he worked at legendary Heitz Cellars, one of the oldest family-owned wineries in the US working alongside David Heitz.  

Eric went on from harvest intern to Associate Winemaker where he crafted the 2010-2012 vintages of the notable estate label. The final vintage he worked at Heitz Cellars went on to earn 100 points from Wine Enthusiast Magazine.  

In 2015, Eric went to cult-cab Napa Valley producer Brand, sited up in the esteemed Pritchard Hill AVA in the Vaca Range overlooking southeast Napa Valley. It was during this time at Brand that he worked with Phillipe Melka, one of the most renowned winemakers in California.

Readers of this column know we are huge fans of Phillipe Melka and collect numerous labels crafted by him, both under his own brand, as consulting winemaker to many other leading brands, and as contributing winemaker to the Long Shadows Vintners Collection project in Washington State. 

During his time working for Melka at Brand, Eric met his wife, Oniqueh, who was also working in the wine industry in California. 

Eric returned to Galena in early 2018 at the request of his mother and his grandfather's wishes, to became the winemaker and to oversee the business of Galena Cellars.

Galena Cellars produce estate wines, crafted from grapes grown on their four vineyards on the property, as well as wines from grapes sourced from growers across the Northern Illinois and Iowa region, across Illinois, and from growers in Northern, Central Coast and Central Valley California. These wines are labeled as Estate, or 'Illinois', 'Upper Mississippi Valley Region', vineyard designated, or 'American' accordingly.

One of Galena Cellars vineyards is devoted to research in the study of grape varietals seeking the varietal best suited to Northern Illinois terroir. The nearly two acre vineyard is devoted to a non-profit research project in conjunction with the Northern Illinois Wine Growers Association and planted to more than twenty different varietals in search for those best suited to the region (shown below). 

Northern Illinois Wine Growers non-profit
research vineyard plot

At the winery site where there are guest rooms in the main house, that once also served as a tasting room, a guest house in the old historic original farmhouse, which is adjacent to the winery, a large tasting room, wine cellar shed and bottling building.  

Galena Cellars produce a broad portfolio of two dozen labels of wines - red, white, sparkling and port style - offered in create your own tasting flights, BTG - By the Glass, and of course by the bottle, at their wine center retail tasting center downtown and at the winery vineyard site outside of town.  

In our tasting flights we tasted the following wines:

From the Wine Club Member Exclusives flight, Red Wines:

• Galena Cellars Malbec 2020
• Galena Cellars Frontenac Amphora 2020 - This is a locally sourced wine sourced from Galena Cellars Ryndak Ranch Vineyard
• Galena Cellars Chambourcin 2019 - This is sourced from the Wayside Ridge Vineyard in the Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois

Galena Cellars Proprietor's Reserve Wines

Red Wines 

• Galena Cellars Cabernet Franc 2020 - This is sourced from the Wayside Ridge Vineyard in the Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois
• Galena Cellars Generals Reserve Red - Blend of unspecified European Varietals
• Galena Cellars Gambler's Red - a blend of 80% Zinfandel, 18% Marquette and 2% Petit Sirah
  

Galena Cellars Red Wine Flight

White Wines 

• Galena Cellars General's Reserve White
• Galena Cellars Viognier  - This is sourced from the Wayside Ridge Vineyard in the Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois
• Galena Cellars Oktoberfest - A German style semi-dry wine, a blend of Traminette, Riesling and Muscat Grapes 

Galena Cellars White Wines featuring
General US Grant and Proprietor Manager Britt White

We also tasted selections from their Dessert wine collection:

• Galena Cellars Maple Cask Niagara - Sherry Port style
  
• Galena Cellars Red Raspberry Framboise - Port style
• Galena Cellars Frontenac Port - Port style from locally grown Frontenac
  

Galena Cellars Dessert Wine Flight selections

Other examples of the breadth and depth of the Galena Cellars portfolio of wines ...

• Eric the Red
• The Secret Garden Edelweiss
• Frontenac Gris
• Señor Sangria
• Bubblin Blanc
• Muscat Canelli
• Chambourcin Rosé
• Britt White 
• Gratitude
• Cabernet Franc
• Peach
• Marquette
• Foxy
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Vineyard Rosé
• Honey Mead
• Sparking Frontenac Gris
  

Galena Cellars Tasting Room,
Main Street, Downtown Galena

 

 We stayed in the 'Old Farmhouse' guest house sited on the Visitor Center property, adjacent the winery, cellars, bottling shed and the tasting room, overlooking the vineyards and farm fields to the horizon.

Great fun taking our wine flights back to the front
porch overlooking the vineyards.

https://galenacellars.com/

Sunset Lake Vineyards and Winery

Sunset Lake Vineyards and Winery

After several false start attempts to stop in this north-central Illinois winery vineyard site, I finally got away early enough to stop in on my return trip to Chicago from downstate Illinois. A slight fifteen minute diversion from the junction of Interstate 74 and 55 is the winery tasting room of Rudi and Mary Hofmann and their Sunset Lake Vineyards and Winery (formerly White Oak Vineyards). Rudi tends to the viticulture while Mary serves as winemaker and cellar steward.

They planted their first three acres of wines in 2003, adding new plantings in following years to the point where they now have twelve acres under vine planted with Seyval Blanc, Frontenac, Foch, Traminette, Cayuga White, Steuben, Chardonel, St. Croix, Marquette, Kay Gray and Johannisberg Riesling grapes.

In 2010, they purchased the neighboring property which included a log home that has been remodeled into the winery and tasting room overlooking a lower vineyard and a pond they created in 2011 (below).

 In 2013 their Bernese Red won a Silver Medal at the Illinois State Fair Wine Competition.

Today, they market a dozen different labels of estate bottled wines, and a couple composed of grapes brought in from Michigan.

Besides the Bernese Red, their signature red may be the Maximillian label named after Rudi's 'Opa', or their Illinois Norton grape Landhaus red, or Abendrot (translated as 'evening red' or 'Evening Sunset', a blend of Foch and DeChaunac grapes.

Maximillian is a blend of red St Croix, Marquette and Frontenac grape varietals, was blackish ruby colored, medium full bodied, complex black fruits with notes of leather, tobacco leaf, black tea, smoke and hint of black pepper.

The Abendrot had similar characteristics, similiar color and body as the Maximillian, similar but more focused black berry fruits, with narrower accents of cedar and notes of alcohol on the finish.

The offer a broad selection of whites from a dry Riesling to a couple of off-dry whites to a semi sweet and a sweet offering. They also produce a couple of Sangria's, a red and a white, and a Rose'.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised at the breadth of quality wines they produced, generally flavorful and enjoyable wines across the spectrum. They offer good values at a pricepoint of about $18 each.

After tasting several wines, Mary went into the cellar and returned to offer me a taste of her special project back in the winery, a fortified red blend that she hopes to bottle this fall and hold for bottle aging for some time before release. It showed promise and should be a delectable offering on release.

For my tasting, I focused solely on their Estate bottled wines, (meaning they grew all the grapes there on the property). My white wine tasting flight started with 'Feierabend' which Rudi translates to 'end of the day' referring the red evening pre-dusk skies. This was a dry Traminette varietal, straw colored, medium - light bodied with complex notes of tropical fruit and kiwi.

I then tasted and ended up purchasing their off-dry Seyval Blanc varietal based wine, Golden Days. This was light butter honey colored with medium body that showed an amazing predominant peach nectar flavor accented by notes of flint and mineral on the finish. Mary said in most years, this came across with a green apple tone but this year gave way to the layer of peach.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2732542

Stop in and enjoy the wines and hospitality of Rudi and Mary at Sunset Lake Vineyards and Winery. Take a drive down historic Route 66 along Interstate 55, cut west at Lexington through Hudson and take the backways over to their site in Carlock, IL.

http://www.sunsetlakevineyards.com/

Fox Valley Winery and Vineyard

Illinois Wineries and Wine Production Progressing - Fox Valley Winery and Vineyard

Touring the Fox Valley river communities recently, we happened upon Fox Valley Winery tasting room. Illinois is not known for or thought of as a wine producing state, yet it is one of the leading agriculture producing states, mostly known for corn and beans. It has rich fertile soils that lend themselves well to specialty crops such as pumpkins, fruit trees and grapes. This is actually somewhat detrimental since wine grapes often thrive in poor rocky soils unsuitable for more rigorous crops.

The dichotomy of wine grape growing is that some of the most famous or best known wine regions actually are known for arid regions with minimal rainfall, rocky soils, and or steep mountainous or valley overlook hillsides where the little rainfalls drain well or run off.

Indeed, some of the most storied wines are named for or associated with rocky, even volcanic soils. Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou,  premier grand cru producer in Bordeaux actually translates to 'tiny pebbles', a tribute to the rock filled terrain which drains exceedingly well. Diamond Creek Vineyards, one of the premier wine producers in Napa Valley are known for vineyard designated wines with distinctly different vineyards that yield premier Cabernet Sauvignons. The famous legendary vineyards of Diamond Creek are Gravelly Meadow, Red Rock Terrace and Volcanic Hill.

Rocky vineyards of Chateauneuf du Pape

The most concentrated richest grapes are those that are starved for nutrients, especially in years starved for rainfall during the latter part of the grape growing season.

Shown left is the vineyard of Chateau Beaucastel in the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation of the Southern Rhone River Valley. The soil is almost completely rocky pebbles down to twelve feet deep.

Hence Illinois is challenged with it agricultural friendly climate of seasons, rainfall and rich quality soil as a wine grape producing State. Never-the-less, wine production in Illinois is growing albeit from small empirical numbers, especially in the last five years. Last year, 80 wineries farmed 200 vineyards and produced about 500,000 gallons of wine generating about $21m in revenue. The average vineyard is relatively small, about 4.6 acres on average.

Most major popular wine regions around the world are known for specific varietals of grapes that are synonymous with those regions, such as the Bordeaux varietals associated with the famous Bordeaux wine growing region - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The legendary Burgundy wine growing region in central France is known for or associated with Burgundy varietals Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Italy is famously known for growing over 500 varietals of grapes. Sangiovese is Italy's most planted red varietal, grown in the central Italian regions of Tuscany and Umbria, and others, it is the major grape of Chianti and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and the only variety in Brunello di Montalcino.

Nebbiolo grapes are grown in the Italian Piedmont region and is the primary grape in two of Italy’s  greatest red wines, Barolo and Barbaresco.

The old wine regions of the world are known for specific grapes as a result of decades or even centuries of learning, experimenting and fine-tuning grape production to their specific terroir - that specific essence of 'place' - terrain, climate and soil.

So it should not be a surprise the the selection of grapes in Illinois is still evolving and being refined, as producers learn what grapes grow best in their specific locales. At this time, the grapes mostly grown in Ilinois are Chardonnel, Chambourcin, Norton, Traminette and Vignobles.

Such is the backdrop of our recent visit to Fox Valley Winery in nearby Oswego, Illinois. We live near the Fox River that winds through the far western exburbs west of Chicago down to where it meets the Illinois River in north, west, central Illinois. The Fox River winds through river towns such as Elgin, St Charles, Geneva, adjacent Aurora, and Oswego, down to where it meets the Illinois River in Ottawa.

Fox Valley Winery sources grapes from 25 acres of vineyards farmed by the Faltz Family Vineyard and farm near Sheridan, IL. Their vines were first planted in March of 2000, along the south-facing rocky ledges of the Fox River Valley. They also source grapes from growers from various regions of the midwest including Southern Illinois and Southwestern Michigan - two more established and growing wine producing areas.

We had a chance to taste several Fox Valley wines in their tasting room at the winery on the western outskirts of Oswego, where they offer about thirty different wines. Their range of wines is broad, from dry whites and dry reds, off-dry to sweet whites and reds, to sweet wines and ultra sweet or fortified dessert wines.

We focused on their flagship Reserve and their Estate wines - those sourced from grapes grown in their own vineyards. I must admit, their wines exceeded my expectations which here-to-fore, have been set by Midwestern wines (with grapes sourced) from Michigan, Missouri and Indiana. These were more balanced, complex and sophisticated wines that did not succumb to the detrimental non-fruit flavors such as grass, wet wood and mustiness that too often predominate or infiltrate Midwestern wines.

Fox Valley Estate Grown Unoaked Chardonnay 2013

Light straw colored, medium light bodied, modest green apple fruit with hints of pear and wet stone with a crisp clean finish.

RM 85 points. 

Fox Valley Estate Grown Barrel Aged Chardonnay 2013

Almost indiscernible from the unoaked label, a slight oak tone may differentiate the two, but it is oh so subtle. In a blind tasting, only the most discriminating might pick up the difference.

RM 85 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2471799


R. A. Faltz Vintner Reserve 2011

Their flagship or signature wine, as it is named for the proprietor / winemaker. Like expensive premium wines from around the world, this wine is aged in a mix of French and American oak barrels for fourteen months. Other recent vintages were aged for ten and eighteen months respectively.

Garnet colored, medium bodied, as one might expect from red wines from this part of the country, the fruits were modest and rather subdued, especially when compared to big forward fruit bombs from some of the world's leading wine regions. However, it was surprisingly approachable, reasonably balanced, and almost bordering on sophisticated drinking, with earthy leather, tones of tobacco and hints of cedar, with impressive moderate tannins on a lingering finish.

RM 86 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2471781
 

Fox Valley Illinois Cabernet Franc 2011

Perhaps reflecting the cost of the fruit for this is sourced from 100% Illinois grown Cabernet Franc, which is one of the Bordeaux varietals, this was the most expensive wine on the list at $45.

Like the Faltz VR above, dark garnet colored, medium bodied, the fruits again were rather modest and subdued with a slight astringency turning to earthy leather, slight spice and black pepper, with moderate firm tannins on the finish.

RM 86 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2471788


Fox Valley Heritage Collection 2008

A blend of Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin and Corot Noir. Dark garnet colored, medium bodied, nicely balanced, modest black cherry fruit turning to earthy leather with hint of creosote on a moderate lingering tannin finish.

At around half the price of the flagship wine, and almost a third of the Cabernet Franc, this represents a more appropriate price-point and reflects reasonable value in this approachable easy drinking red sipper.

RM 84 points.


https://www.foxvalleywinery.com/