Carbondale Reporter

Illinois officials said wineries and grape growers have made "tremendous strides" in quality, as evidenced by the 297 entries in the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association competition in Springfield.

State Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) said the experience at the competition was valuable to him.

"I enjoyed listening and learning at a recent meeting of the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association in Cobden," he said in a Facebook post this week.

The IGGVA is a non-profit organization "dedicated to developing the viticulture and enology interests of Illinois through information exchange and cooperation" between grape growers and wine producers in Illinois, the association's website said.

“Illinois wineries have made tremendous strides in the quality of the fruit that is grown and their winemaking processes,” Lisa Ellis, director of the IGGVA, said in a story by WREX. “In 2007, only 57% of wineries in our competition received a medal, meaning that 43% of the submitted wines had identifiable flaws. This year over 93% of submitted wines received a medal, showing great progress in 15 short years."

The Best in Show award went to Blue Sky Vineyard and winemaker Karen Hand for their 2019 Chambourcin vintage. 

"If you haven’t sampled an Illinois wine in years – or ever – now is the time to take another look at this vibrant industry while supporting our local, agri-business operations and keeping hard-earned dollars here in Illinois," Ellis said. "Cheers and congratulations to all of our wine growers and winemakers for excellent progress in just 15 years!”

Severin was first elected to the Illinois House in 2017, the House website said. His legislative experience includes serving on the Judiciary - Criminal and Mental Health & Addiction committees. He resides in Benton.