Alto Vineyards

Stopped by here while visiting the area and so glad we did! The upper deck is absolutely fantastic - great views and perfect for relaxing with a glass of wine. Staff was super friendly and helped us navigate their huge wine selection. We tried several different wines and found a few we really loved. You can tell this place has been around for a while and really knows what they're doing. Definitely worth the visit if you're in Southern Illinois!

So I’ve been told, this is one of the original wineries in the Shawnee wine trail area. Great tasting wines! Wide variety of other, non-wine beverages, if you’re not the wino-type!! They even have a mascot, Junie the cat!! She’s adorable! Love the atmosphere & flexible spacious seating arrangements! Inside, outside & even an upper deck outside overlooking the vineyard! Grab your sweetheart & snag a picture under the beautiful huge Kissing Tree blessed w the blue bottles of winos-past!!💗

Alto Pass location of Alto Vineyards is 5 star! You are our favorite Winery for the wines, the service and the variety of offerings. We had the best visit the other day. Flights and tastings resulted in 5 bottles to go, multiple jello shots, jewelry, wine glasses and a teeshirt. The young lady behind the bar Thursday was excellent! 5 star service. I hope she gets a bonus because her service resulted in all these sales :) I'm guessing your bad reviews were for the Champaign location. Our luck there was the opposite.

Great menu and lovely outdoor seating. The woman working the front counter was very friendly and welcoming.

Beautiful winery with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. My friend and I enjoyed the wine flight and the wine slushies (the raspberry is amazing!) We also split the spinach artichoke dip and the bruschetta. Both were well seasoned and served with a smile. Be sure to say hi to the adorable cat and dog that roam the vineyard!

Im new to enjoying the wine trail and Alto Vineyard did not dissapoint. The wines are tasty, the atmosphere is beautiful, and Lance our wine server was knowledgeable and exceptionally kind to us throughout our visit. 10/10 We will return!!

My husband and I are at the vineyard now. I had the flight, but wanted to get a glass to have with out appetizer. The lines are now very long, a big group cut in front of me, and I have waited forever. Wines are decent, but not worth the wait in my opinion. Will not be back. Only two registers. Need more registers for sure.

Do not visit they are unorganized and rube. Liked the wine although it took 40 min to get a glass. Parking is a miss. No atmosphere. Wr have been to more than 50 wineries around the states and other countries. This ranks at the bottom of our list. People bringing in food from outside and leaving trash everywhere on patio. No one to clean up after them. Losts of other choices that are better.

Alto Vineyards is often considered the first stop on the Illinois wine trail. This was true as our first stop. There is one Tesla non Supercharger which I assume helps to make this a vineyard which people may stay at a bit longer at. A huge space that hosts events such as live music which we were there for. The bar space is long and can accommodate a small army. A space in the corner sold t-shirts, hoodies, and other fun items. The bartender was friendly, knowledgeable, and funny. We didn't make it outside so I can't speak too much about the patio, I saw it but didn't get a better look. This vineyard had a solid selection of wines a few that I did take with me. I would not hesitate to come back especially to see an open mic night. The turnout and crowd was plentiful and engaging.

Food was great and the wines are really good. The service is a little sketchy as I had to really pry to get the story of the wines and winery. The atmosphere is great. We sat upstairs and admired the views. The people were friendly, just not overly helpful. So set your expectations and be prepared to ask questions.

My wife and I really do enjoy visiting this place. The location is nice and peaceful. They always have some sort of entertainment going on. There is a decent amount of seating inside and out with a balcony looking over the place. In the Fall they have a big event that ends with a great fireworks display. I will caution you though that the food selection is not good at all. I'm about 100% positive that the pizzas are frozen Tombstone pizzas and the toasted Raviolis are the frozen box brand Louisa that you buy from the frozen food section. All in all this location is great, the service is great, the wine and beverage selection is great, but definitely eat before you come by.

Have stopped at this winery quite a few times while in southern Illinois. It's probably the biggest in the area operations wise, with the largest wine menu as well featuring a mix of local varietals and more common grocery store ones (in contrast to most other So Ill wineries, which largely solely feature our region's unique varietals). They were busy the most recent saturday we were there, with a long line at the tasting bar, but the bartender still took time to explain a little about the wine to me. In the past service here has been hit or miss, some wine tasters barely know anything about what they're selling. The more intimate wineries are more interesting imo but Alto is one of the first in the area, and brings its own unique flavor regardless of how commercial it is.

Was just ok. Some of the wines were ok and some were not to my liking. Prefer some of the other wineries nearby

Came here on an unseasonably warm afternoon for a bite and some wine with my dog. I was visiting from out of town and this was the first in my stop on the Shawnee Wine Trail. First, it's a beautiful property that is very easy to find from the road. The outdoor patio is partially covered with a gazebo and is pet friendly for leashed dogs, which was perfect for us. We were the only customers around noon on a Monday, and I got some wine and a meat/cheese plate, taking a bunch of recs from the bartender for my flight. First, I think the wines here are generally a bit sweet for my taste, but the bartender gave a heads up on that and I really appreciated some of the wines I tasted. I ended up leaving with a bottle of their Vidal bland. The meat/cheese plate was a little lackluster/average (emphasis on quantity over quality in this dish). It was a bit hot to sit too long on the patio, so I wish they had some better options for shade in their shaded area. All in all, a pleasant trip made better by great service, and awesome laid back view, and ability to take my pup!

This was a wonderful food truck. Great food, great service. Really wonderful experience with great ambiance. Love this place!

I love love this winery!!! I have to stock up every time I go down south to see my in-laws. I am not a big wine person but man do I love the sweet wines from Alto Vineyards.

Driving through town, enjoying the countryside, we passed by this Vineyard among several others. Of all the Vineyards in the area, this one caught our attention being more modern and we were able to see a rooftop patio from the road. We were also exploring with a local who highly recommended we stop here if we like sweet wine. That is all I needed to here as the only wines I truly like are on the sweeter side. After sampling a few, I decided on Heartland Red and it was delicious. A nice treat to end our day. The patio was pleasant to sit out and enjoy the vineyard view and sunset. The inside was set up with long rows of tables (they may have had an event earlier in the day) which was very different than what I was use to. They also had a live 3-piece band playing. Overall a wonderful experience and I would love to go back here when i'm in town.

Enjoyed the mid week winery visit, no samplings due to the pandemic, samples will return soon. Tried a glass and enjoyed it on the grounds. Grass was in need of mowing, perhaps waiting till weekend. Helpful staff helped me make choices with no samples, kinda fun flying blind when wine was so enjoyably refreshing. There are plenty of spots to sip and enjoy the time outside with friends and your pet.

We were traveling with friends and stopped in along the trail. I liked the updated setting on the inside with lots of natural light. Good amount of options ranging from semi-dry to sweet. More sweets overall on the menu but a few dry wines. I liked the Shiraz the best out of my tasting of 6. A tasting of six and a souvenir glass is $5. Michelle was very friendly and knowledgeable about the variety of wines and helping guide our tasting. The wine and yoga events on Wednesday look great. Dogs are allowed inside!

Okay so let me set the scene: my mother visited me and we had a nice catch up session for the day. However the entire day was ruined when one of the male bartenders said he'd give my mother a bottle of sweet white wine on the house if she'd meet him in the back room and "fool around" Without response from my mother, he grabs her hand and tried to bring her back. I think the guy's name was Alex. Absolutely disgusted with what I saw and I hope the your clown show of a vineyard will get y'all's shit in order. I feel unsafe coming to Alto with my wife now. We're happily married and I will absolutely swing on a lil punk a** worker you have if he tried some goofy a** behavior with my pride and joy.

We had a wonderful experience! The staff member (Cassie) was very friendly and helpful! Enjoyed the wine flights and food! We will be back!

What a great place. This is one of the starting wineries for the Shawnee Wine Trail. At this time everything is outside with a walk up window. This year they have added cheese curds to their snacks menu. I had a glass of the sangria, it wasn't homemade which I was a little disappointed. Even if they don't make it in my opinion they could have added a few personal touches to the sangria. they have a few umbrella tables and a nice patio deck. This is a place I would go back to.

Very nice and scenic setting with a nice selection of wine. This should be one of your stops on the Shawnee Wine Trail.

Sooo yesterday four friends and I went to the winery ( two black women, one biracial woman, and two Caucasian women). Allison (sp) was working the window. When my Caucasian friend was ordering her drink, she was treated super nicely, not ID'd, given an ice bucket for her wine immediately, you know normal kind service. BUT when I was ordering I was IMMEDIATELY asked to show identification and she made my friend show hers as well ( even though she was not purchasing liquor, and the person before us was not carded). In 90+ degree heat I was asked if I wanted an ice bucket for my wine ( but my friend was automatically given one ). I used to really like this winery but after being treated like I was yesteday I don't think I'll be returning. I'll take my money somewhere that people are consistent in how they treat people spending money with them.

Beautiful facilities for tasting - Shawnee Hills Wine Trail is a good idea. Will be enjoying the 2017 Chardonel.

Alto was our 2nd stop of the day on our Shawnee Wine Trail adventure. Its just down the road from Von Jakob. The entrance is very welcoming and after a hot day on the trail, the AC was a breath of fresh air. There are options of sitting inside or sitting somewhere amongst the winery grounds. There's a self guided trail you can walk to visit the vines and other spots around the vineyard. We did a tasting then decided to do the walk. Gorgeous views and great picture taking spots. The guy behind the wine bar invited us to 3 tastes on the house. We decided our favorite was their Cherry Berry. We sat and people watched as this particular winery was busier than the first. They also were having a girls night with different vendors setting up. They were very inviting and informative. Such a fun 2nd stop!

Alto Vineyards is the first Illinois Winery that I ever tried. We have since been to them all and rank Russell Hill #1 and Von Jakob #2 and Alto Vineyards as number 3. Our favorite bottle of wine is attached (see picture) nice atmosphere and very capable staff. It's over all a great choice to visit. They could make a few improvements. The Shawnee Gold is excellent!

Well worth the drive especially for an event of which Betty and Desiree are the gracious hostesses. I have been coming here for almost 20 years and it is absolutely amazing the events (salsa dance, music, fashion show, benefits, concerts, yoga, etc) they now put on. My dad's favorite wine was Heartland Red so I always grab him a bottle. Mine tends to the Rock Red but now that they have Sangria. Good Wisconsin cheese curds

We were there right when they opened and was very impressed with the look and feel of this vineyards. A great gift shop, appetizer menu for those that arrive hungry, a beautiful rooftop deck of the land. The wines were great, the $5 tasting is a fantastic price. OK, now for the bad. There were three employees behind the bar when we walked in. Not a one acknowledged or welcomed us. They seemed much more interested in their personal conversation. I finally had to ask a question to get one of them to approach us. While she did a great job of explaining the different wines on the tasting, she seemed less than thrilled to be there. I would think that if this is the way they treat their very first guest of the day, I would hate to be the 20th guest. While they may be rated as the best vineyard in the area throughout my extensive google search, I am not sure I would return due to their lack of customer service.

The wine here was pretty good and they have plenty of space for the drinkers. It kind of reminded me of a German beer room it was so open and with tall ceilings, kind of vacant of character though. Another drunk group kind of ruined the perfect score for this one though, like literally falling down flights of stairs drunk and the winery didn't even stop serving them. So there was that...

Im a big fan of the Chancellor. Not to mention that the prices directly through the winery are about 40% cheaper than the liquor stores. The outside area is beautiful as well. A nice relaxing place to enjoy a glass or bottle of vino.

Great vineyard. We discovered this place by going to a hibachi steakhouse. There we purchased some wine and liked it so much we tried to figure out where it was and we did. This place has a huge wine tasting area. It is free to try up to 2 wines and $5 to try 6 and get a free glass. The staff was very knowledgeable and patient with noobs to wine like me. Will be back next time we're here.

My personal favorite winery in southern Illinois, actually that I've ever been to! Heartland blush is a cult classic, but every wine here is amazing!! Excellent staff and atmosphere! Have live bands pretty often! And have an indoor space if it's raining or too hot! They have seating on the ground level and on the roof area! My only wish is that there was more outdoor seating and shade on the ground level!

Very nice afternoon setting during COVID 19. Except for Illinois restrictions the vineyard operations were seamless. Wine was a little sweet but w/o opportunity of tasting was not a vineyard problem. So band was good, cool breeze in shade on 91 degree day. Good experience. I would recommend.

Love Alto!!! Wines are so good, delicious dry whites! Dog house white is probably my favorite. Love the aesthetics of the tasting room. Staff was super friendly and knowledgeable. The decor is not over the top but very nice. I appreciate the local art work on display. Enjoy a great glass of wine by the gorgeous fireplace. Can't wait to come back when we can sit outside and enjoy the view.

For me, ranking the vineyards alon the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail mostly comes down to how nice the people are and how much fun he place is. I don't mean to be a crumudgeon, but I don't like sweet wines much, and he dry wines of this region just aren't very good. Alto vineyards is one of the oldest vineyard along this trail. One of the locals tole me everyone wondered why the hell anyone would want to ope a winery down here when Alto first opened. It's a fair enough question, since the best wines in the country are NOTHING like the wines around here. Turns out there is a pretty big following for sweet wines, and a lot of those followers are women. As we all know, if Mom's happy, everybody's happy, so a wise dad schleps mom down to the Shawnee Hills and shows her a good time. The pourers at Alto Vineyards are pretty nice, down home folks and that goes a long way in making a visit here fun. The grounds are very well kept, with three separate sitting areas. I'd guess most visitors to this wine trail stop by here because it's has the most trafficked address on the trail. So it's a pretty okay place to stop and try wines that taste pretty much like all the others on the trail. They'd get higher marks with a good sangria or live music...or better yet, a brewery.

My first time here and I hope to come again! I tasted 6 different wines, all of which were very tasty, and received a commemorative wine glass! The staff was very knowledgeable about each of the wines. The patio was cozy and had a great view of the entire vineyard. This is a great place to either enjoy some wine by yourself or relax with loved ones.

Enjoyed this quaint little vineyard! I walked in and was immediately greeted by a friendly worker. Me and my hubby tasted 12 wines collectively and came to the conclusion, berry and blush is our new favorite go to wine! We even got to keep the wine glasses as a neat souvenir.

I brought my family from out of state for the Holiday Open House. Only one person was working who kept telling us she'd be right with us. We waited 20 minutes and never got served. We finally got fed up and just left. I've been to Alto several times and have had generally good experiences when they weren't so busy but this was a particularly poor experience.

Alto vineyards has wonderful service and excellent wines! They even sell cheese and provide cutting boards for you so you can pair some artisanal cheese with your wine. Wonderful experience!

I think this was my fav of all of the wine trail. Super nice deck with a great view. Great wines, some of these made of Australian grapes ( we all agreed: ours are still the best! And I was genuinely surprised, as I very much like Australian Shiraz.) Very pleasant service. Entertainment by Kristin Kearns. Love her! Thank you for making my last stop on the Southern Illinois Wine Trail memorable and nice.

The building is quite stark against the country landscape. It is very modern looking and seems Eco-friendly. Tastings are 1 or 2 free or 5 for $5 and you get a glass. I hate when wineries choose to make you pay for samples, to me it doesn't make business sense. The wines were decent, we got a bottle of the blush to enjoy there. We also got the $6 cheese plate, it was good for the two of us. We left with a container of fudge and the Cherry Berry wine, a divine combination. It was too windy to enjoy the outside, which is too bad because it looked beautiful. Probably not on the top of my list to go back, but still a good winery.

Very nice winery on the Shawnee Wine trail. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable about the wines and suggested ones that we would like. They have a variety of outdoor seating areas. We enjoyed a glass on the patio next to the fragrant herbs they have planted! There were also 2 cats onsite that were friendly. Any place that has cats is a winner to me! We really enjoyed several of the wines and took a couple of bottles home. This is one of the wineries that we will definitely visit on our return trips!

What a great wine tasting experience. We should know we've done scores--probably more than a hundred. Anyway, the best part was the quality of their wines. We couldn't help but buy a case of the terrific tasting Vignoles. No, the best part was finding out that they will ship to Ohio and have a terrific discount on future purchases.

Alto Vineyards is the winery in Southern IL to check out! There facility is so well done. They've thought through and invested in their space and you can tell! The wine is delicious and service had always been amazing!

3 is my highest rating for any southern Illinois winery and Alto is the only one to get it. Along with keeping me on the phone when my GPS took a remote "shortcut" their wine was wonderful (making subsequent Shawnee Wine Trail locations pale In comparison). Their staff (Corey) made us comfortable and welcome while juggling phones, owner MTG interruptions and additional customers. It was 90 degrees so too hot to take advantage of their lovely deck for long but made our party long for the opportunity.

I had an altercation with some other guests at Alto, and when one of the managers found out she went out of her way to find me on facebook and apologize. She sent me such a sweet message. The customer service at Alto is clearly outstanding, even outside of management. It's a really beautiful vineyard and the wine was great.

I've always had great time here! It is a beautiful place and I love the beautiful scenary and the modern look of the place. Good live music and good wine! What else does one need?

Went to Alto today with some girlfriends and had a fantastic time. We were taken care of extremely well in the Tasting Room. Matt played a game with us and had us guess the wines we were tasting, which allowed us to taste more than just what the standard fee allows for and we learned a thing or two along the way. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual, the music is not overly in your face, and the couches are quite comfy. In addition, they allowed us to being our own snacks which not all wineries will allow for. It was raining while we were there, but otherwise we would've tried out the patio, which looked very inviting and comfortable, with proper seating and shade and a great view. Overall a great stop on our winery weekend and one I would highly recommend to anyone.

We are on our anniversary weekend away. My husband REALLY looked forward to coming here (we were here a year ago and occasionally go to the tasting room in Champaign ). Unfortunately, THIS experience was NOT good! I gave 3 stars - only because the wine is good - especially if you like a dry red (my husband! ) in this area. Our service was horrible. Granted, they were busy when we first walked in, it quickly cleared. The 2 girls went about cleaning, TOTALLY ignoring us. Finally, we ASKED to get helped and that girl smiled and helped us. She kept walking to the back room leaving us waiting for our next taste. (I GET she was busy!. However, we were paying customers ). While she was gone, the other girl looked our way, asked if we were being helped (we are the ONLY people at counter at this time), I said "yes, but we are waiting for our next taste". Her response was was totally unacceptable. She looked extremely annoyed, gave us our taste, then proceeded to pour herself a "shot" She was more concerned with having a drink than waiting on customers. When the girl who began helping us came back, she joined her in a shot. Needless to say our trip this time was VERY disappointing due to crappy, rude service.

Everyone working here is great. We live 300 miles away and have been here 6 times since this spring. They have great music and great wine. The people behind the bar remember us when we go in.

My favorite location on the wine trail! The new building is beautiful and the upper deck view of the vineyards was my favorite place on our weekend. The staff was very helpful in picking out just the right wine, and they even give you a souvenir glass for doing a cheap sampling!

We love this place. It is our "must-go" for all our winery excursions down in Southern IL. We keep trying the other wineries, but generally what happens is we go to one new winery, have some wine, then say "hmmm, not as good as Alto," then we head over to our old favorite. Their Shawnee Gold is my favorite, and it is a nice sweet wine. They also have excellent drier wines if you prefer those, and their Ports are amazing! Their holiday Open Houses are awesome and they usually have great spreads too. Additionally, they just put up a giant new expansion - a whole building that serves as a giant tasting room/hangout place. It is super nice. And, rumor has it, they will be serving food soon. SO excited! Their service is always excellent, the pourers are very nice, and their tastings are free. That, to me, says they want you to enjoy your time there and buy some wine :)

One of the oldest wineries in Southern Illinois. The location is beautiful, like most the wineries around. I am not a huge wine fan, mostly beer and spirits, but this place is legit. Lots of variety in many different styles. From bone dry to sweet. I am a port guy, and really like their version. The patio is beautiful, free tasting, charming tasting room/gift shop, very friendly people. Can't ask for much more than that. I try to make a stop here whenever I can.

I'd mark this as one of the highlights of the Shawnee Wine Trail. They have both locally sourced, and Australian sourced grapes in their wines. Two wines of note that were really quite exceptional. Weiner Dog White and Saluki Red. The former is a nice lightly oaked white that I did enjoy quite a lot. On the dry side how I like them and the oak was very mild so you really tasted the grape. The walk away smack me down favorite was the Saluki Red, a red table wine blend of Chambourcin, shiraz and some other wine that I forget at the moment. Beautifully balanced dry red, just a hint of tannin and rich fruit flavors. I bought a bottle and smuggled it home to Los Angeles...it was that good. I really like this place. And I still can't get over how cheap the tastings were, with generous pours here and every place else we hit that day. Added boner here...the 5 for $5 tasting and you get to keep the souvenir wine glass. Woot...its a party. Now for the bad news. The interstate shipping laws and agreements prohibit IL wines from being shipped to CA. Bootleg it like I did for a memory when you get home.

Great wines and an outstanding Port! The tasting room was very nicely done. We will absolutely return.

This is a great winery with awesome service. I went here when first getting into southern Illinois and found their wines great and service even better. This is a small winery with some very friendly people.