august hill winery tasting room

We visited during the Winter Wine Walk, and had a great time. We've had their Niagara and Tramoline wines before, and really enjoyed them. The wine tastings are great!

This is a MUST stop. Vintage Laurie was our wine server. She was extremely knowledgeable and fun. Made a great trip from Myrtle Beach to Utica perfect.

Love love love their moscato wine! I recently had to buy some bottles for my best friend's wedding. They have great tasting wines and I always enjoy taking my friends who are visiting for wine tasting, followed by a glass of wine on the patio. Nice place to relax and talk, us they always have friendly service.

If you are driving down hwy 80 by Utica, IL stop by. Tucked in a quaint downtown is the August Hill wine tasting room. They have several unique and good wines from this atypical wine area. The atmosphere of the shop is very upscale and the staff is friendly. Make sure you take home a few bottles to share.

This was for my granddaughter's birthday and we wanted to do something different. The store is setup in a very easy way to wander through and find out what the different wines are like. We did the $5 tastings with all of us choosing what we thought we would like. The man explained what each wine was and how they would be served. We had a non-drinker with us and he offered a non alcoholic drink to her so she could join in our fun. Highly recommend them to everyone.

This is probably the nicest of the three wine tasting rooms in Utica (we haven't tried the Cattails tasting room in the Marketplace yet). August Hill's upscale, contemporary-style tasting room is located right on historic Mill Street in downtown Utica. They offer six wine tastings for $5 at the bar (you can get a voucher for a free tasting if you stay at the Landers House B&B around the corner!), and all of their wines are located in neatly organized and labeled racks right in the front room so they're easy to find. They also sell cheeses, chocolates, and artwork by local artists, and feature a nice outdoor patio. As for the wines - let's face it, you're not going to find California-style vintages in Illinois; we just don't have the climate to grow those kind of grapes. August Hill's vineyard is located on the south side of the Illinois River in nearby Peru on the same property as their winery, and uses hybrid French grapes. Their best red in my opinion was the Ginocchio, a full-bodied dry red aged in oak, and they also had a nice Chardonel, a smooth dry white with a buttery flavor. If you're into fruit flavored wines, they also have a variety of sparkling infusions. They start out with a base of their Sweet William, which is a fruity white similar to a sweet Riesling, and then infuse it with various flavors such as apple, raspberry, cranberry, and almond.BTW, expect a small sales pitch for their wine club, which I thought was rather pricey. I prefer to say "no thanks" and just drive into Utica every once in a while to bring a few bottles home with me.

August Hill makes a terrific stop on the way to or from Starved Rock or any other parks in the area. It's a lovely place to spend an hour or so sampling their wines - $5 for 6 1/2-oz pours - served by knowledgeable wine staff. It is heartening to see August Hill put together such a thoughtfully presented wine tasting experience in such a pleasant space. Our favorites were the Seyval and the cranberry infusion but there are a LOT of wines here to try.

So much better wine than "the other winery" in Uttica. Fun atmosphere and the entertainment was relaxing

Downtown Utica is a charming little place that time has forgotten. The winery was easy to find and right on the way to Starved Rock State Park. The employees were personable and fun! They had a nice variety of wines to choose from and the price was right. There was also a garden in back with live music playing too!

Our tasting at this winery was a wonderful experience. The place itself is adorable, very classy inside with great artwork and a nice patio. The wines were delicious!!! It costs $5 to taste 6 wines, which wasn't outrageous, but I definitely could've tasted more. I liked every single wine I tasted. The staff was also friendly and knowledgeable. Great experience. Would definitely recommend!

Nice clean well stocked tasting area. Nice art. They even gave our kids some samples.......of sparkling grape juice. We have not had their wines before. We liked the Raspberry and Almond Infusion. Average price, and nice patio.

I have been to many wineries for tastings. This was a great place! The two young people there knew more about wine than I do. Very personable and friendly. I couldn't get over the size of the tastings, HUGE. The place was cute and very clean.

Very nice place. Staff was very friendly and very knowledgeable about their products. They made us feel very welcome. We will be going back in the near future!

Knowledgeable staff. Quality wines. Good variety. Sparkling grape juice. Somewhat small store but comfortable and well decorated.

We hosted a wine tasting event here two years ago and have attended others since. Also recently stopped by to share a glass of wine on the patio with a good friend after our fabulous lunch at "Nonnie's". Highly recommend !! Don't miss it if you are visiting Starved Rock Country!