The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

The wine is fine off the Shawnee vine

Daily Egyptian

Driving through the beautiful Shawnee Forest of Southern Illinois, one comes to an oasis on Route 127 just north of Alto Pass.

There has been little else beside forest and orchard for miles, but here, cars are lined up several rows deep on both sides of the two-lane blacktop.

Everywhere, people are sweating and smiling, glasses are tipped, and some Southern Illinoisans are tipsy. Not one of the 1,500 visitors feels disappointed upon leaving the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail Festival at the Alto Vineyards Saturday and Sunday.

Friends at the fest are busy visiting each of the wine booths. Alto Vineyards, the Owl Creek Vineyard, the Pomona Winery, the Von Jakob Vineyard and Winghill Vineyard and Winery all present their selections, which have won nearly 90 awards in the 2002 Illinois Wine Judging Competition.

From the sweet, wood-aged Porto Di Guido to the crisp Jonathan, the vast range of wines was enough to impress the most experienced connoisseur.

Folks did not limit themselves to crowding into booths for tastes of wines.

Jeremy Griffith sat at a shaded picnic table peacefully with his two perky Chihuahuas, Wilson and Tela, both named after songs performed by Phish. He listened to the mellow beat sounds of Blue Afternoon swirling around the winery as he waited for his wife, Lauren, to return.

"Nice atmosphere, nice place," said the SIU glass student, noting that he has come to the fest for the past four years.

People are found everywhere, but most are taking refuge from the sun under the large broadleaf trees near the house. They get a great view of the band, every wine tasting stand and the rolling terrain that serves as a backdrop to the whole party.

Some are spread out on blankets, nodding their heads to the beat of the music, lounging with their dogs and friends. Others are set up with beach umbrellas, folding chairs and wicker picnic baskets, resting their wine glasses in special glass-holding stakes set in the ground.

Attire ranges from cut-offs to khakis, and from tie-dye to polo shirts. No one judges anything but the wine here.

In the welcome cold of the bottling room, owner Paul Renzaglia stops to discuss wine but winds up conducting an entire tour of his winery.

His father, Guy, founded Alto Vineyards 13 years ago and it has remained a family-run business since then.

As a visitor departs for a while from the festivities and wine booths, he or she walks through the vineyards surrounding the winery, which proves to calm the soul even more.

The conga beats and smooth guitar of Blue Afternoon muffle and distance themselves, overtaken by the sound of crickets and grasshoppers. The turbulent hum of the crowd melts into an airy decrescendo, with only an occasional howl of excitement leaping above the vineyard and arcing into the hills.

An angry bird squawks at the human intrusion, but the grapes do not seem to mind. Instead, they invite the gaze of anyone passing by, offering tiny purple gems to please the senses.

A purifying organic perfume fills the vineyard, clearing the wine-lover's senses like a wafer between wines.

Deeper into the vineyard, the silence grows taller than the grapevines. The rogue vines reach out to people as if offering helping hands. Guests feel as though they are among a new set of friends in the vineyard.

Occasionally, one wine lover happens upon another group of people in the leafy aisles of fruit.

Some SIU students enjoy the quiet of the vineyard, something that is sometimes hard to find in Carbondale.

"It's a good place to enjoy wine, spirits and friends," said SIU student Mandi Williams. Williams laughed as she remembers that she never liked wine before she came to the festival, but loves the wine now.

Back at the site of festivities, hardly a single face is without a squinty smile.

Gestures of astonishment appear like popping kernels of popcorn among the masses in the serving booths.

One gets the sense that everyone present is a part of the same family, despite the long distances people have traveled to come here, including Renzaglia's brother, who unexpectedly flew in from Australia.

A charming couple from Springfield, as they name themselves, said they first came to Alto Vineyards on their way back from a trip to Tennessee.

"You never know when you will find a gem," the Springfield man says.

They found out about the festival from the newsletter they signed up to receive when they first visited the winery.

The only complaint heard all day, which the central Illinois couple mentioned, was about the heat.

"It would be nice if they had more shade," the Springfield woman said.

Jan Mazurek is undeterred by the heat. He is a Wine Fest veteran.

He rattles off a list of people he knows, which accounts for most of the people working at the festival.

"I know just about all the people involved," he says.

He has been coming since the first festival in 1994.

Mazurek has known Renzaglia and his family for years and attends church with the owners of the Owl Creek Vineyard Inc.

Across the yard, George Majka, co-owner of Pomona Winery, is delighted at the outcome of the festival.

"It is a real unique event," Majka said. "Sort of a wine-drinker's festival."

Jim Collins, a senior in accounting, agreed with Majka.

"It's hot, but it's worth it," he said.

Following an afternoon of wine tasting, mingling, munching and reveling, guests leave the wine festival having tasted much more than superb wine. The vineyards offer a taste of Southern Illinois ˜ the people, the music, the relaxing vistas and charming atmosphere.

The Shawnee Hill Wine Trail Festival brings together people who love life even more than wine.

The festival cancels images of sunny beaches and palm trees as definitions of earthly nirvana. The virtual curtains of smiles remain in a visitor's memory, beckoning a return next year.

Reporter Evan Rau can be reached at erau@dailyegyptian.com

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