Alto Vineyards and Winery has locations in the Scenic Shawnee Hills Wine Trail near Carbondale and Champaign, Illinois. Run by the Renzaglia family, the vineyard started in 1986 and has since won medals for national and international wine competitions. They make 19 different varieties of wine including whites, blushes, ports, reds, fruit wines, and sangria.

History

In 1982 retiree Guy Renzaglia acquired a 13-acre piece of land in Alto Pass, IL to plant a vineyard.  Guy puts in French-American hybrid grapes that had been deemed impossible to flourish in the area, and gets an excellent response, soon producing quality fruit. Three years later, his son Paul Renzaglia joined him in his efforts to create a vineyard. Alto Vineyards sold its first vintage in 1986. In 1988 Alto Vineyards and Winery began competing with the other six wineries in Illinois in existence at the time. They started construction on a small winery and by the end of the year sold 1,500 gallons of wine. They won their first medal in 1989. Alto Vineyards continued to expand at their first location until in 2001, when they were producing 25,000 gallons of wine a year, and they broke ground on their second location in Champaign near the University of Illinois. Currently "Alto Vineyards has won over 800 national and international awards in wine competitions across the nation, and numerous members of the family have worked or are working in various roles to usher in a 3rd generation of the Renzaglia family working within the business.  During this span, awards include 2 Jefferson Cups and  2 Illinois Wine Maker of the Year awards for Paul" (http://www.altovineyards.net/history.htm).

Events

Alto Vineyards hosts a music series and Spring festivals. Events are regularly updated on the company website.