?Grape? expectations – Study shows Illinois wineries? profits ripening

The 65-year-old Conner transferred his mind for chemistry into his Kickapoo Creek Winery near Peoria, joining a growing number of winemakers in a state better known for Abe Lincoln, corn and coal.

If a recent study is any indication, the time looks ripe for folks like Conner.

The number of Illinois wineries has grown more than fivefold in the past 10 years, according to the study by wine industry analysts MKF Research, released this month by the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association.

Illinois has 68 wineries ? about 10 of which opened in the past 18 months ? and 450 grape growers. In 1997, the state had about a dozen wineries, proof to state agriculture chief Charles Hartke that ?in the last 10 years, the Illinois wine industry has exploded.?

Illinois? wine industry has a statewide economic impact of $253 million, the study found. Another $31 million is generated by wine-related tourism, thanks largely to the 155,000 people who visited an Illinois winery last year.

?We?ve known for three or four years the Illinois grape industry was rapidly expanding, but we had no inclination it was to the extent or magnitude of this report,? said Dick Faltz, president of the Fox Valley Winery in Oswego, near Chicago.

And yet, Faltz said, ?I don?t think we?ve really scratched the surface in Illinois.?

Vintners and experts cite various reasons for the increase, including the appeal of alternative farming in a state that already leads the country in producing horseradish and pumpkins.

Observers also point to consumers? increasing thirst for wine, and the state?s topography and soil, which are ideal for growing grapes. Illinois wine often is described as fruitier and more pungent than wine produced elsewhere.

While wineries here are thriving, the state is just a bit player compared to California, which produces 90 percent of the nation?s wines. Illinois? share of the U.S. market is in the single digits, and most of its wineries produce less than 10,000 gallons per year.

And while Illinois isn?t likely to reign supreme in U.S. winemaking, entrepreneurs like Conner slowly plug away. Because the 10 acres of grapes Conner has planted incrementally since early 2004 won?t mature for another couple of years, he uses grapes grown elsewhere to make 13 wines, from dry red to dessert wines.

?Anybody can take grapes and put them in a barrel, put some yeast in and make wine. But it?s very challenging; there?s a lot of chemistry involved,? he said.

On the Net:

http://www.illinoiswine.com

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STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) ? San Joaquin Valley farmers fear that proposed flights from Mexico to Stockton will bring crop-eating pests without natural predators to one of the nation?s most productive agricultural zones.

Mexican and Mediterranean fruit flies, fire ants, bark beetles and the glassy-winged sharpshooter could latch onto meat, fruit, plants and other vegetation smuggled onto airplanes, then disembark in California and destroy crops, said Scott Hudson, the county?s agricultural commissioner.

On Tuesday, the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors were to consider adopting tougher inspection requirements than those used by the federal government at the local inspection station.

The standards would require inspection of all in-cabin and checked items upon arrival, and the customs station would have dogs sniff passengers for pocketed food or plants.

A planned $5.3 million inspections facility will be built later this year at Stockton Metropolitan Airport, and then Aeromexico hopes to offer passenger service between Stockton and Guadalajara.