We were thrilled to welcome spring with the annual Wine on the Fox festival in beautiful Oswego, Illinois! While the festival looked a little different in 2021 due to COVID-19 protocols, Hudson Crossing Park was bustling with activity on a beautiful May weekend.
Regional wineries greeted eager festivalgoers with 5 ounce sample tastes of their wines ($5-$8) and additional bottles for purchase. This year, each ticket allowed patrons to select a bottle of wine to take home from a selection of 16.
We sampled over 20 varieties of wine at this year’s Wine on the Fox. Find out which wines were our very favorite!
**Edited 4/6/2022 – Wine on the Fox is back for 2022! One ounce tastings are 1 ticket ($1). Packages are available presale from $20 – $45, $5 more at the gate. Check out the website for all the 2022 festival details, from entertainment to wineries and ticket sales to concessions!
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What Is Wine on the Fox?
Wine on the Fox is a yearly festival celebrating wines and wineries from the Northern Illinois region. Held alongside the Fox River in Oswego’s spacious Hudson Crossing Park, the festival boasts food, entertainment, and of course wine. It is normally held rain or shine in the beginning of May each year.
Festivalgoers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, small tables, and picnic blankets to claim their place in the park. Coolers are admitted, but water is the only beverage allowed in the festival area. Outside food is also permitted, or food can be purchased from local food trucks on the premises.
How Was Wine on the Fox Different This Year?
Some extra precautions were taken this year to keep attendees safe and healthy. In our opinion, they made the festival even better. We hope that some of these are carried forward in future years.
Normally, tickets are offered both in advance and at the event. However, this year tickets were only available in advance. In addition to this, a minimum of four tickets were required per purchase for $30 per ticket, with the ability to add an additional two tickets to create a group of six.
That may seems strange, but it was done in an effort to enforce some social distancing. Circles were painted on the grass throughout the park with enough room to comfortably accommodate 4 to 6 people. While within the confines of these “pods,” guests could remove masks and enjoy food and wine with their group. Masks were required when outside of the group circle, including while making purchases.
Another difference this year was in the wine samples. In previous years, 1 ounce samples were poured directly into each person’s commemorative wine glass. In another effort at social distancing, vendors poured 5 ounce samples into disposable cups that could be transferred into the wine glass within a group’s pod. We enjoyed this. We divided our samples among all our group members, which allowed us to sample more varieties of wine than we had been able to in years past.
Finally, the last big difference this year was what each ticket included. No tastings were included with the ticket this year. Instead, each ticketholder received a cooler bag, a corkscrew, and one bottle of wine. Ice was available for those who wanted to chill their bottle at the park. Of course, the commemorative tasting glass was also included with the ticket price as well.
What Wineries Were Featured There?
Six regional wineries reserved booths over the weekend for festivalgoers to purchase sample glasses and bottles of wine.
- August Hill Winery & Illinois Sparkling Co. – Utica, Illinois
- Galena Cellars – Galena, Illinois
- Lavender Crest – Colona, Illinois
- Prairie State Winery – Genoa, Illinois
- Sable Creek Winery – Plainfield, Illinois
- The Village Vintner – Algonquin, Illinois
In addition, while local favorite Fox Valley Winery (Oswego, Illinois) did not have a booth at this year’s festival, they provided bottles of two varieties of wine to be offered as a voucher choice for each ticket.
We were happy to also spot Oswego Brewing Company (Oswego, Illinois) at a booth. While they did not offer wine, they did have a selection of craft beers to choose from.
So Which Wines Were Your Favorites?
Most of the wines that we sampled were on the sweet side. Whether that is the result of the varieties selected for this festival or a condition of the grapes used in this area, I cannot say. Luckily, I tend to prefer sweeter wines over their robust counterparts, so I enjoyed almost all of the wines I sampled.
This made choosing favorites difficult. So difficult, in fact, that I just can’t rank them. All my favorites had a unique quality that made it special, and comparing them is like apples to oranges. If you see any of these varieties, be sure to give them a try. You won’t regret it!
Here are my favorites, in alphabetical order–
Beaches, Lavender Crest Winery
Lavender Crest’s website has this to say about Beaches: “Best known perhaps as a juice grape, Niagara is the white-skinned counterpart to Concord and is, in fact, a multi-use grape excellent for wine-making. Blended with LaCrescent, it makes a “heady, heavily-scented wine” with floral notes. This crowd pleaser is best served chilled.”
I couldn’t agree more. The scent of this white wine is the stuff that the folks at Yankee Candle dream about. I kept sniffing my glass… I seriously would wear it as perfume if I could. And the wonderful thing about this wine is it tasted exactly the way that it smelled.
I could easily imagine myself on a beach enjoying a cold glass of Beaches. Slightly thick, sweet, and fruity, I would serve it after dinner as a dessert wine, or on a hot day on its own. I really wish I had bought more than one bottle.
Blood Orange Sangria, The Village Vintner
The simple description offered by The Village Vintner, “A red-white blend of blood orange, peach, and apple” is direct, but still leaves a lot to be discovered. I think it’s actually a perfect description for this wine.
Given the name, I thought this wine would be citrusy and acidic. Surprise, surprise. Every sip yielded a different combination of taste, so it seemed. I could taste the peach on my tongue, but the aftertaste held a bit more citrus. All in all, it was the smoothest sangria blend I’ve ever had, and it went down easily.
I recommend serving it cold, over ice. It would be delicious accented with fruit slices, especially orange and peach. This is a lovely relaxation wine to enjoy with snacks on a warm afternoon.
Caramel Apple, August Hill Winery
August Hill Winery lists this description of the Caramel Apple wine: “Enjoy refreshing flavors and aromas of crisp, juicy apples and delicious, creamy caramel in this light, sweet wine. The base wine for Caramel Apple is made from fresh apples and natural caramel flavor is added after fermentation.”
The predominant taste of this sweet white wine is indeed apple, but the caramelly undertones sweep over the tongue like velvet, creating a naughtily delicious flavor palate. Again, this wine would be best served cold. When the wine is chilled, the crispness of the apple stands out against the sweet caramel notes.
Honey Apple Crisp, Prairie State Winery
Check out the Prairie State Winery website and take heed of their advice regarding this wine, “Enjoy our award-winning Apple wine sweetened with local honey and a pinch of cinnamon. Serve chilled or warm!”
The best way to describe the taste of this wine is to imagine what September would taste like if it was edible. It is pure autumn in a glass, from the sweet-tart apple that seems to crunch with every sip to the light cinnamon that plays on the tongue. As you can see from our photo, we enjoyed a glass of Honey Apple Crisp over ice, but I’d love to try it warm, too. I brought a bottle home so I could try it that way in the fall.
Jalapeno, Galena Cellars
I love the description that Galena Cellars gives this wine: “Pepper up with this exciting blend of Illinois white wine infused with Serrano and Jalapeno peppers. A wine with a little bite and/or a great new base for your favorite Bloody Mary.”
When we saw that big fat pepper in this bottle, we had to try it. I love spicy food, but I had never had a spicy wine before and I couldn’t imagine what it would be like.
Was it spicy?
Yes! But the dull burn alongside the white wine was strangely refreshing. It was similar to the spicy, yet invigorating sensation of chewing peppermint gum. Everyone in my party enjoyed it much more than any of us thought we would, and I would definitely choose it again.
Moonrise, Sable Creek Winery
Sable Creek Winery describes this wine as: “Moonrise White is a delicate and sweet wine with fruity aromas and flavors. A deliciously balanced wine that is refreshing and fruity. It is superb served chilled by itself or with desert [sic].”
This sweet white wine was smooth and fragrant.
Honorable Mentions
There are two more beverages that stand out in my mind from Wine on the Fox this year.
Indigo, August Hill Winery
Talk about a beauty! The Indigo wine from August Hill is described as, “Notes of tropical fruit and cotton candy will delight the senses in this blue shimmering wine. Before serving, be sure to “mix the magic” by gently shaking the bottle. Gazing at a bottle reminds us of a snow globe or looking up at the twinkling stars of the Milky Way.”
We couldn’t get over the way this wine sparkled in the sunlight. It was certainly a conversation piece, and I’d love to bring it to a summer party. But it was very sweet and wouldn’t be a wine that I’d want to drink all the time. To me, it tasted like melted popsicle. I’d definitely want to share a bottle with a group of friends, giving each person a little taste.
Pickin’ Key Limes Beer, Oswego Brewing Company
Beer at a wine festival? You bet!
One of the most sought-after series at local favorite Oswego Brewing Company is the Pickin’ Series. Limited editions of a variety of fruit flavors are released seasonally, and we were thrilled to see Pickin’ Key Limes on the menu at Wine on the Fox.
Oswego Brewing Company described this beer at their booth. “This brew is slightly tart, sweetened with some lactose, with copious amounts of key lime and tangerine added to make this a perfect springtime cocktail hour beer.” It is classified as a tart ale with fruit added, and has a 6.5% ABV – 10 IBU.
If you like sours, you’d love this beer! The true key lime flavor blew us away, and the lip-smacking tartness was a pleasant party on our tongues. Even though wine was the focus on this festival, Pickin’ Key Limes made a solid impression on us. We hope to be lucky enough to find it again!
Want to Attend?
In 2022, Wine on the Fox will be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 7 and 8 at Hudson Crossing Park in Oswego. Entertainment is provided from 11am until 8pm on Saturday, and again from noon until 6pm. Admission is free, but tasting ticket packages are available presale and at the gate. Be sure to check out all the detail at the Wine on the Fox website. We hope to see you there!
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