Downstate winery enters product competition

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Kite Hill Vineyards may have been the new kid on the block at this year’s Illinois State Fair Wine Competition, but the small southern Illinois winery left a lasting impression.

Owner Barbara Bush said the winery entered three wines into the competition — the first Kite Hill ever participated in — and won four medals, including a top-ranked Governor’s Cup for its White Chambourcin.

“It was so exciting. I couldn’t even talk. I couldn’t even come up with words,” Bush said. “We always knew we had a quality product. We focused on quality, but now it’s like, `Wow, somebody actually realizes we make good wine.”’

Kite Hill wasn’t alone in representing southern Illinois with Governor’s Cup celebrations. Blue Sky Vineyard in Makanda and Pheasant Hollow Winery in Whittington also brought home top prizes.

“I thought it was kind of cool that in southern Illinois, the biggest, one of the littlest and one of the biggest walked away with a Governor’s Cup, so it tells you the size of the winery doesn’t matter, it’s the quality of the product,” Bush said.

Going forward, Kite Hill will probably continue entering wines into competitions in the state and larger venues, too. But for now, Bush’s eyes are set on the Illinois State Fair in Springfield.

“We’re going to roll it out, we’re going to pop the first cork at the state fair,” she said of the White Chambourcin. The wine will be available at the winery soon.

Here’s a Q&A with Bush:

Q. What is your winemaking philosophy?

A. To produce the best quality product we can produce. Good wine is made from good grapes.

Q. How does that relate to southern Illinois specifically?

A. The environment is such that it’s a prime location for growing grapes. All of our wines are made with grapes grown on our property, so we monitor the grapes from the time they start to need pruning in late January all the way through harvest, which can run between August and September. It’s the climate conditions and everything that makes a good product.

Q. What makes your winery unique?

A. Each person may walk in as a stranger, but they leave as a friend. We focus on customer service as best we can. We try to educate each customer who walks in.

Q. What is your best wine this year?

A. No doubt the White Chambourcin. The state oenologist — one who studies wine — when he called to inform me we’d won the Governor’s Cup for the White Chambourcin, he told me the judges all agreed our White Chambourcin rivaled any Rosette out of France, which is a pretty nice compliment.

Q. What would you pair it with?

A. It would be phenomenal if you had salmon, just phenomenal. But the wine itself could be paired with any type of an appetizer, because it’s just the right acidity level and fruitiness that it can pair well with a real general cross-mix of appetizers.