The Shawnee Hills Wine Trail to Feature 12 Local Illinois Wineries

It all began when the Icarians came to the town of Nauvoo in western Illinois. The Icarians took their name from Icarus, the kid in Greek mythology who flew to close to the sun or maybe heaven, melting his wings, and falling into the sea. The Icarians were followers of a guy named Etienne Cabet who was born in the famed mustard town of Dijon, France in 1778. After writing a book that described a Utopian society of peace, justice, equality, and brotherhood, he was forced out of France because of his political beliefs and decided to bring some of his followers to America. They originally landed in Texas, of all places, and it was there that they learned about the Mormons. 

The Mormons had originally settled in Nauvoo, but decided that things might be better out west and abandoned the town. The Icarians bought the Mormon Temple Square in Nauvoo in 1859 and settled into town. Soon after, just like in the story of Icarus who disobeyed his father and flew too close to the sun, there was a split between the younger and older Icarians on how things in Nauvoo should be run. Cabet took some 1800 of his followers and headed across the river to St. Louis. The group spread out across the United States and eventually died out in about 1898. A few of the Icarians who remained in Nauvoo came to the conclusion that the area was kind of similar in climate to that of their native France. Gathering up some of their German, Swiss, and Irish neighbors, they started planting grape vines, and the winemaking business in Illinois began.

Domestic wine production and recognition in both Missouri and Illinois languished until Missouri started coming to the fore in the 1980’s. Today, we have a number of popular wine trails in Missouri including the ones in Augusta and Hermann. The Tourism Bureau of Southwestern Illinois has recently set out to establish their own wine trail: The Shawnee Hills Wine Trail.