The Wine on the Fox festival drew crowds to Oswego over the weekend looking to sample the best wines from around the state.
The outdoor gala, which ran Saturday and Sunday, featured more than 100 varieties of wine from Illinois wineries in an event spread across Hudson Crossing Park along the east bank of the Fox River in downtown Oswego.
The fest had to close a bit early on Saturday due to storms that moved through the area, but was back in action on Sunday.
Many of the festival-goers said the event is a time to be with family and friends and taste their favorite wine or sample new ones.
Jessica Garcia is the wine manager at Acquaviva Winery, a family-owned 85-acre estate vineyard and winery based in Maple Park. More than 40 acres is under vine to produce wine for a variety of tastes.
“We are excited to attend our first Wine on the Fox and market our wines to the region,” Garcia said.
Acquaviva has a winery and an Italian restaurant in Batavia as well, according to Garcia.
With the moderately warm temperatures on Saturday, wine tasters were sampling the vineyard’s white wines, including their Prairie Star, a semi-dry white. Prairie Star is the name of the grape that has been growing in the vineyard since 2006, Garcia said.
“Prairie Star has a touch of sweetness, perfect for a warmer day,” she said.
D.J. Wall, a wine marketing consultant for a boutique winery based in Napa Valley, California, was at the fest on Saturday.
“When I am not doing real estate, I travel to do doing wine tastings for private and corporate events,” said Wall, who hails from Joliet.
“This is my first time at Wine on the Fox,” she said. “It’s a great event. I appreciate the Illinois wineries.”
Britt White is a brand ambassador and wine club manager for Galena Cellars, known as one of the oldest Illinois wineries with more than 60 varietals of wine to taste. The Galena-based vineyard and winery has been part of Wine of the Fox since its inception.
“We are excited to be in Oswego and celebrate our 40th anniversary as a winery,” White said.
The festival has a beautiful setting along the Fox River and many of the wine tasters are repeat customers, according to White.
“We like to see our local wineries and work with Oswego. We see a lot of the wine tasters every year and it’s a time to catch up with them,” White said.
As for Galena Cellars, some of the grapes are grown in the vineyard, while others are from southern Illinois and surrounding states as well as the east and west coasts, White said.
“We’ve noticed a trend in the last few years that people are leaning toward dry wines, which is exciting. We find our passion in producing dry white wines. Of course there are the fun, fruity wines that are popular,” White said.
Within the first hour of the fest on Saturday, Hudson Crossing Park was packed with wine enthusiasts. Three generations of one family came to enjoy Oswego’s wine festival – Dana Singleton, of Oswego, was with her mother, Mary French, and grandmother Florence Brown, of Crete, as well as her friend Linda Donald, of Aurora.
“We love Oswego’s Wine on the Fox. We come every year,” Singleton said. “We are wine lovers but we also enjoy spending the day with one another in a beautiful setting along the river.”
Jason Ramey was celebrating his eighth wedding anniversary with his wife at Wine on the Fox.
“I enjoy my beer and bourbon, but I really do like a dry red,” Ramey said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
