Alto Vineyards Champaign

I've been attending summer concerts here for a few years.  They are generally pretty good with a low cover charge.  They have a small dance stage too.  There is plenty of seating if you arrive 20-30 minutes early.  Otherwise bring your own lawn chair or blanket.  Definitely bring bug spray.

They have a good selection of whites, reds, blush, and dessert wines as well as beer and snack foods.  If you buy wine glasses, you can bring them back on future visits to save a few bucks.

The only negative for me, and it's really not their fault, but a lot of people bring their kids like it's free child-care.  If you can get past that, you'll have a good experience.

I've been going here and taking friends from out of the area ever since I realized there was Illinois wine outside of Galena. They have free tastings, good cheeses, nice selection of gifts and music on summer weekends just on the outskirts of Champaign. Their main vineyard is in Alto Pass on the Shawnee Wine Trail in Southern Illinois, but I like the tasting experience here better. The Chambourcin is a nice dry red, some vintages of the Chancellor are better. I don't love the whites since they are a little sweet for my taste.

Liked it, didn't love it.

Some of the wines had great flavor and others tasted extremely cheap and definitely not like wine.

The staff dishing out the (free) tastings lacked personality and one let us know that he didn't care for any of the wines when we asked his favorite. Umm...ok, you are definitely NOT a salesman.

My friends and I enjoyed the front patio (actually a big porch) and were able to sit down and enjoy a couple glasses of wine and conversation. Although some were not on point, I did find one that I loved and snagged a bottle for only $10!
The actual vineyard was umm, pretty sad considering the crop wasn't great this year and they do most of their production at their vineyard in southern Illinois. However, it did make a nice backdrop for our fake photoshoot.
If you're passing through...drop by.