I have lived in DuPage County for almost 25 years now, and I am very familiar with this award winning winery on Roselle Rd, but it took an Anthony McPhee, Hotel and Restaurant Management Instructor at CHIC to do a tour and a wine tasting, together with a few students, parents and other guests. Opened by Fred Koehler and his wife Lynn in 1979, the business had grown from a hobby to a 24,000 square foot facility that includes a tasting room, a retail shop and a B&B.
The historic house formerly owned by Colonel Roselle Hough, from whom the village was named after reminds me so much of a Tuscan Villa. Covered with ivy and rich in stained glass, you can stroll the gardens with a glass of wine. There are also bistro sets on the veranda were you can have bread and cheese with your wine.
Christine and Sue offered our group a free tour and wine tasting. We tasted the 2005 Fume Blanc, 2006 Chardonnay, 2003 Chardonnel, 2001 Syrah, 2005 Cabernet Franc, 2004 Cabernet Grenache, 1996 Cabernet and lastly, the Strawberry wine. Their grapes come from all over the US, mostlybrought in by refrigerated trucks from Michigan, New York, Oregon and Southern Illinois. The barrels are from France but lately, they are experimenting on hungarian oaks. Not much of a wine drinker, I can only tell you that most of the group enjoyed the Chardonelle and the Grenache. And I can also tell you that we had a very lovely time and no better way to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon than sit and relax amidst beautifully landscaped gardens.
This tour is higly recommeded.
