Blue Sky Vineyard

We stopped here to taste wine. I liked every wine I tried and we bought two bottles. We also had a nice pizza while we were there. This is a top notch winery. It looks sort of Italian or Californian in style. The grounds are beautiful and the vines surround the place. The people working there were super friendly and efficient. This is a must stop winery if you are doing the Shawnee hills wine trail.

We were extremely satisfied with our first time visit to Blue Sky Vineyard We stayed in their Tuscan Suite and sitting out on the balcony listing to the frogs serinating us along with the gorgeous view was absolutely breathtaking and peaceful. Our room was immaculately clean and well decorated which we felt we were in Italy. The grounds keepers and bar staff were extremely polite and such a delight to talk with. We will definitely be back again and share our experience with family and friends. The wine tasting was a delicious experience and we purchased 4 bottles to take home. The food was delicious and just enough for us. Absolutely an amazing experience!

We visited after a zipline trip nearby and were pleasantly surprised by this gem! The views are stunning, with beautiful vineyards surrounding the area. The atmosphere was lively and welcoming—lots of people enjoying the food, wine, and overall vibe. We tried the freshly made pizza, and it was delicious! Although we didn’t get a chance to try the wine, it seemed to be a hit with everyone else. Highly recommend for a relaxing and scenic stop.

Stunning Tuscan-inspired winery with breathtaking Shawnee National Forest views! Their hand-crafted wines truly showcase the unique flavors of southern Illinois. Perfect atmosphere for an evening of wine tastings. Highly recommend if you are in the area!

Check in was easy and the staff was very personable. Couldn’t ask for a better location! Perfect for exploring the surrounding wine trail. Food and wine selection at Blue Sky was perfect for our evenings and I appreciated the complimentary breakfast nibbles (Greek yogurt, mini coffee cakes, and breakfast wafers) and coffee that were provided. The room (Blue Sky Suite) was as described; there are only two small windows so there isn’t much natural light. There is some noise that you can hear from the winery below and kitchen/wait staff cleaning up after hours so I would recommend packing ear plugs if you are a light sleeper…but it wasn’t unbearable.

We have been down to the Shawnee Wine Trail and visited Blue Sky Vineyard many times. Location is beautiful, wine tastes amazing, and the staff are GREAT! This was our first time staying in the Tuscany Suite and the room was beautiful. We have to give a shout out to Mallory. She made us feel special and took care of all our needs. Thank you!

We love this place. Have stay at one of its 2 suites at least 6 times and we have never been disappointed. The rooms are perfect to stay at after a day on the wine trail. The grounds are absolutely beautiful and their wine are our favorite in the area. But the best is how the owner Jim and his crew of workers make you feel so welcomed there. It is by far our best place to go to when we are down there. You will not be disappointed. Looking forward to next year’s trip. Hopefully it will not be so hot as it was this year. Thanks again. Bob & Nancy Lemont, Il

Wow what an experience! A festival was going on, the place was packed, yet we didn’t wait longer than 5 min for service. Never felt rushed, super knowledgeable staff, Stephanie and Bella let us taste all the things, and tons of seating outside. We were desperate for a deck of cards to scratch the competitive itch and Mallory dug deep and came out with a crisp deck! Such a beautiful property! Oh yeah the wine is a 10.

A really beautiful space. Great views and nice seating area outside. The inside was pretty large but still crowded, must be a popular spot. Only 2 bathroom stalls which kind of sucked because the bathroom line was always long. The staff was very busy but still very efficient. I did a tasting which was okay - there was no guidance, they just pour it and give it to you more like a beer flight. The samples are given in small plastic condiment/sauce dishes. The wine was good but nothing really stood out to me. That said, the ambiance is worth the trip. Gorgeous space with friendly people and even a marimba player outside.

We had to limit the number of wineries we could visit on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail and we were glad to have picked this one. The building definitely stood out as it looks like it should be in Tuscany, but then the property outside was even better. There was a variety of seating options and a large area to wander around and see the vineyards. We enjoyed the wine, but honestly loved the bread and their special oil more. Several of us bought bottles to take home with us because it was just that tasty.

My husband and I made the drive from Nashville to here for their Eclipse viewing event and loved it! Wonderful wine selection, beautiful property, and lots of parking, not to mention all of the service was very friendly and pleasant! Would 100% visit again!

When people think about going to wineries in the midwest there are a lot of mixed reactions. Most of the time people default to knocking the quality of the wine or treating it like some sort of provincial activity not on par with the refined tastes of vineyards in better areas. I will be honest, I find most people that are really into wine utterly pretentious. I've been to Napa and I honestly found the experience commercial, over hyped, and over priced. When you are thinking about going to a Vineyard in Illinois or Missouri you just want a nice day out in the sunshine with your friends. You want to relax, take in the view around you, chill, and just enjoy yourself. Without a doubt Blue Sky sets the bar for each of the boxes. The scenery is beautiful, with a ton of tables set on a sloping hill looking down on a small lake. The main building is built in a design that harkens to Tuscan villas and it just sort of works in the hills of the Shawnee Forest. On weekends there is often live music, there are plenty of tables, and the food and wine is reasonably priced. I've always enjoyed the food, they have sandwiches, pizzas, and some light fare and appetizers. There are also a selection of prepackaged cheeses you can buy along with crackers. The wine is decent, I typically get white wine or sangria, but again I'm not a particularly snooty wine drinker. I've never had a bad experience at Blue Sky, and it is one of my favorite places to meet up with high school friends or have a mini get away with my wife. I would highly recommend it.

We loved visiting this Vineyard. We stopped there on the way to visit Rocky Comfort Cabins. The day was absolutely gorgeous and I'm so glad we stopped. I have to be honest we did not try the wine as we were driving out of town, but even if the wine was just alright, I highly recommend strolling the grounds and trying wine there. It was one of the most beautiful places we visited down in Shawnee National Park area. There is a large pond out in the back and the view of the trees and area is gorgeous. There is a beautiful outside sitting area, and it is a beautiful spanish style building inside and out! We would like to go back an relax and sip some wine soon!

Ten stars from us! I was roaming around online looking for a place to watch the eclipse when I came across someone suggesting Blue Sky Vineyard to another person. It was only 2 1/2 hours from my home so I googled and thought it looked nice, plus they weren't charging to park there. I had never heard of them until then. We decided to go and Blue Sky Vineyard did not disappoint! We absolutely enjoyed our time there. (PRO'S) Plenty of parking! Plenty of seating! (Bring your lawn chair and sit outside to enjoy the great outdoors!) Beautiful view. The staff were all super friendly and attentive. The wine was delicious and when you asked a question about the wines offered, they all were very educated on it. It's a beautiful vineyard with a pond out back. It's a true vineyard and you feel that! Little scenic drive from interstate. Entertainment (Check schedule) It's the perfect spot for a date day or date night! Perfect for gathering with friends. Handicap accessible. Plenty of space to bring your outdoor games while gathering with family or friends and making a day of it. Kid friendly. Pet friendly (*must be leashed and kept outside due to health code regs. There are shade trees to keep them out of direct sun) (CON'S) *They close at 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on weekends. (just grasping here, but staying open later would definitely be a plus for the patrons.) To add, what we liked about the vineyard is that during the eclipse, they didn't price gouge everything nor charge you to park or view eclipse from their business. They didn't force you to buy anything but had items if you chose to. You didn't feel pressured to buy anything. That was what initially drew us to going. To me, it said a lot about who they are, and, it was great marketing to bring in folks! Win-win for everyone all around. When you bought wine, you had a souvenir glass that was a one time $5 fee. To me, that was zero issue!! I mean, most other establishments were charging to park, Blue Sky Vineyard did not, so a $5 glass was nothing! If you are traveling with kids or a dog and need a place to stretch and run the kids and leashed pets, this would be perfect. There is plenty of room and they also offer non alcoholic drinks for the driver and a nice glass of wine for the passenger! If you're looking for a nice, relaxing place with a view and good atmosphere, this is it!

We have been here a couple times. Great place we love to sit outside and listen to music. The wines have plenty of choices. Definitely and great place to hang out on weekend

Nice ambiance, excellent service. Unfortunately that's where it ends! The wine is nothing to be excited about. Would recommend a visit to experience the property and service.

3 stars. We had a great time at the winery. Everything was outside and socially distanced, so we were able to sit back and relax. The live acoustic duo was a nice touch. They weren't the best musicians, but for a cover band it was perfect. Anybody who can do an acoustic rendition of T-Pain's Apple Bottoms is aiight wit me! Very entertaining! Prolly the highlight... I've got the giggles just thinking about it! They have pitchers of sangria... I tried the white sangria with a concord floater. Honestly, not my favorite. But, on a hot summer day, it would've been just fine. You can do a tasting flight for $5. I would recommend this in order to find one you like. I tried all of the estate sweets - and I didn't like any of them. Super Bummed. BEWARE: There's a deposit for the glassware. So, if you don't take it back, you will lose your money. Or, you can keep it as a souvenir. The labels on their wines are simply breathtaking. You are gonna wanna buy some just to have a pretty bottle in your wine fridge/rack. Of course, when drinking you need some food, right? I can say that I enjoyed the food more than the wine. The spinach and artichoke dip was pretty tasty. I wish it has been a bit warmer - it was pretty chilly out. Also, the sandwiches are huge! I had enough to pack up and eat later. The best part of my day was the chocolate cake!! Hands down the most moist delicious stuff you ever did eat. And get this, it's only $5.50!!! And it's big enough to share. Tinkle before you go. Bathrooms are small and the line gets long. Wear a mask! Cheers!

Blue Sky vineyard is a beautiful vineyard with a large welcoming space. This space however was filled like a high school cafeteria with a band tucked into a too small of a space. The tall cathedral like space only helped to make the music resonate even louder and with the noise from the many many patrons enjoying a tasty beverage made this a tasting that was better to be had outside. The space inside along the bar was packed, similar to sardines in a can. (I've seen pictures of sardines in a can.) However the wine tasting carrier wood paddle board thing was just not user friendly. The carrier made it too easy to spill. Moving away from the bar was not user friendly. Remember it wasreally loud too, so saying "excuse me" didn't result in the sea parting for me. I didn't spill but getting through the door with both hands full relied upon the generosity of another customer to hold the door open. There was a breeze outside and there was enough of a breeze that I had to gold down the flight before it blew away. What we had asked for wasn't what was provided on the flight, one pour had been poured twice. The bartender did rectify the mistake and provided us with one more taste of the missing taste. There are t-shirts available and snacks too. I felt rushed at the bar. I didn't feel welcomed and it was too crowded of a space to feel otherwise.

Went to Blue Sky with an old friend to enjoy some quiet time and see Makanda. The mini looked good so we hopped on down from Carbondale. I ordered a flight of 4 sweet/semi-sweet wines to try. My friend had their sangria. I ordered a charcuterie board and she had chicken salad sandwich. It was all good and fresh. I had a hard time choosing one wine to purchase (a bottle) but chose Mysterioso. Lovely place, friendly staff. Wish this place was here when I was planning my wedding 31 years ago.

Beautiful setting, Sunset was amazing and romantic from the patio deck. Highly recommend

The venue was not open inside because of COVID so We would say hard to rate. Their Pizza was fantastic! Wine - 3.5 Beer - they only have a limited selection Overall 3.5

Every time I visit southern Illinois a trip to Blue Sky is on the agenda. This is a beautiful winery and vineyard and they have amazing selections. The menu offers food, wine, and beer so there is something for everyone. I had the Chambourcin Blush on this specific day which was very good. My mother in law had the Riesling and everyone else had a beer. They have local beer selections as well as your domestics. I highly recommend their sangria as well. It comes by pitcher (maybe glass too) and is great for sharing. There was a fun live band playing while we were there. If you check their website they have a list of events and they also offer private suites, event space, weddings, etc. The staff was engaging and even had a deck of cards they let us borrow. When we left to grab some Mexican for dinner they recommended a place nearby. These are the reasons we continue to come back time after time! They won't disappoint.

I feel like this is what Napa vineyards were like before they got so commercial. First of all- Covid- everyone wore masks, tables sanitized between guests. Loved it. Only 4 stars because the food wasn't amazing. My favorite thing was the bread and olive oil- if it's not actually, it should be famous. The spinach artichoke dip was also good. The hoagie was alright. We did wine flights- to get a taste. Lots of sweet wines, but really some pretty good dry wines as well. My favorite was the Hysterica- seriously tasted like grapes from my grandmas backyard. Concord tastes just like grape juice- also tasty. My favorite red was the montage. We also tried both sangrias and preferred the red. Live music, lots of tables, nice view - friendly staff- great afternoon.

This is a wonderful place to sit and eat their food and drink their wine. The ambiance here is not topped anywhere. Go there!!!

Fantastic place on the Shawnee wine trail!! Everyone working here was very helpful and pleasant to talk to. There is seating near the pond (lake?) And the scenery was gorgeous. Wines were delicious and very well priced. A definite stop if you're touring the wine trail

Definitely five stars for this winery! We loved everything about it. We stayed in the Tuscany suite, it was beautiful, sat on the balcony in the mornings and evenings after the winery had closed. We enjoyed a walk through the vineyard, breathtaking views, great wines and good food! We visit from central Iowa a few times a year, definitely worth the 9 hour drive. Excited for our trips this summer and fall.

I was here about three weeks ago and it was beautiful. Very Tuscan style and beautiful grounds . We couldn't go inside except for one side that had restrooms because of COVID. They did have a window where you could order food, we had lunch there and walked down to the waterfall, a beautiful place for a wedding. One of the nicest winery that I have been to

Sangria is refreshingly delicious for an early lunch out on the grounds. Opportunity to stroll the grounds and view the ornamental art work. The grounds look like a villa out in the southern Indiana farm lands. There is ample areas to walk about or sit by the pond making for a nice afternoon of a few white sangrias.

Great view! Wine was good! The girl that helped us was super friendly and we had an overall nice time. Would return.

Stopped in at this beautiful vineyard on our wine tasting trip. While the wine was delicious, the service was disappointing. They didn't even have a wine list posted. We had to ask for a list to choose from. The staff didn't seem knowledgeable about the wines or offer pairings. The flights were served in tiny plastic ketchup cups! Also, we were not allowed inside the facility and had to purchase our items outside. It's a beautiful location with plenty of outdoor seating.

Blue Sky Vineyard is one of the largest and more industrialized wineries in this area. The winery itself takes you back to feeling like your in Italy and they have a wine selection for everyone. They off dry, sweet, and even bubbly wines for you to try at your visit! Don't forget to walk over by the waterfall for the perfect picture opportunity!

Great place to relax. The artichoke dip was good and the wine made it perfect. The staff was pleasant and accommodating.

6 hours ago NEW Our wedding experience with Bluesky was horrible. Not only did we almost lose our date that we put a deposit on. We were told we would get a refund for going under with our guest list and that wasn't honored. We were also quoted one price for our wine to have that not be honored the day of our event. We wouldn't recommend having your wedding event here.

Location: BEAUTIFUL vineyard. Gorgeous lake with a cascading fountain, tons of greenery, and plenty of outdoor seating. I could just sit and take in the views here all day. Wine: We went with a group to do wine tasting. You get 5 tastes for $2, plus they charge a 100% refundable $3 fee for the glass if you choose to return it. (We kept our glasses as a souvenir, which they totally don't mind either.) They suggest you start as dry as you like and work your way to sweet. They have at least 5 wines for each category: dry, semi-dry, sweet, and dessert + sangria. Everything I had was spectacular, but the sangria was such a standout; easily the best I've ever had! Service: We started our service with one woman who seemed distracted and not as present and attentive to our group. When we switched servers about halfway through, I felt much more taken care of. This woman offered suggestions, joked around and seemed happy to be working here. They share a communal tip jar, so be sure to bring some singles! I would definitely go back the next time I'm in Carbondale!

My favorite winery of all time. Never have a bad experience here. From the gorgeous Tuscan inspired tasting room, to the beautiful scenery outside, this winery does not disappoint. Staff is always so friendly and knowledgeable. Spent a weekend here in January in the BlueSky suite. Will definitely be staying again! Can't wait to come back and bring friends. Wines are some of the best I've had. The offer the sweets that most enjoy but have great dry options! Vinters select was my fav dry white. Do not miss a chance to experience BlueSky!!

My son and daughter-in-law booked this beautiful vineyard for their vow renewal ceremony. The first sign that things were not gonna go right is when the double booked the venue and then even though we had booked it before the other couple. My son and daughter-in-law were offered a refund but we ended up getting to keep the venue for their ceremony. My son and daughter-in-law signed the contract and put a deposit down for the venue. We met the coordinator of the venue and were quoted one price for several things that ended up being more expensive then what was quoted. The week of the ceremony we were getting invoices for things that we thought we had already paid for. The day of the event the original coordinator was unavailable so we got a different staff members who were great and very knowledgeable about everything). We were told about refunds if we went under a certain number of guests which was not honored. The only real positives we got out of this is the great pictures of the ceremony and the after pictures of wedding party by the waterfall and gazebo. If after all of that you still want to book the venue for your special event make sure before you sign the contract that the price that is quoted to you and the "final" price are the same otherwise you won't get your money back. Good luck!!

BSV is a very successful business. Witness the many visitors and activities being served (successfully) the time we stayed overnight. Staff is well trained, adaptive and capable. Kudos to the GM. Minor point: suggest reserve parking Suite guests near the walkway. A simple "T" stand should suffice.

This is a review that I wish I could rate different things, not just as a whole. We stopped by Blue Sky on a suggestion again and it was extremely packed. So packed to the point where there wasn't enough staff to service everyone so we didn't get a chance to get up to the tasting bar. We decided to go outside and look around and grab a table as we could see live music starting up. What we loved about this winery was that they had tents and tables up all over the grounds and there was plenty of those to go around. We found some shade, found a table and settled in to listen to the musician that played. The group was great! We attempted a 2nd try at the tasting bar as we kept seeing people coming out with these huge pitchers of what I later found out was sangria. This time I got up to the bar but got zero attention from the staff. Overall, music = 5 stars. Views and seating = 5 stars. Wine = 0 stars because we never got to try it.

One of my favorite spots to go and relax. Nice peaceful area during the day. Evenings and weekends is a great social place with friends. We stayed in the Tuscany suite this past weekend and it was so quiet and relaxing. We had their pizza and sat by the lake until after sunset. Wine and sangria is really good. Owner is super nice.

This is always our first stop on our BAG reunion/bff's Jasmine's pre-birthday celebration. The staff is great, the wine is delicious and the ambiance is magnificent. We did not order any food because we were full from breakfast. Wine tasting is so inexpensive.

Best Winery in Southern Illinois. We enjoyed a bottle of their Cabernet Franc while sitting under an umbrella on a sunny afternoon! Did I mention that Blue Sky features live music every weekend? This is a great location for a reunion, family gathering, or just a nice relaxing afternoon.

I've had many positive experiences at Blue Sky over the years from coming with my parents when the winery first opened to it being a must hit stop on college wine trails. Wine food and sangria have always been excellent and promptly served even in a big college wine trail day where we arrived on a bus My husband and I like this winery so much we had our wedding here on October 5, 2013 this was a wonderful experience too. Our event coordinator, Rebecca, was behind helpful and does her best to get back to you as soon as humanly possible if we had any questions or concerns. The morning of the wedding my bridal party got ready in the Tuscany suite, where the husband and I were staying that night. Since the husband had been there the night before there was a freshly chilled bottle of wine in the fridge which us girls indulged on during our morning. The Tuscany suite has a balcony overlooking the tasting room and my photographer opened it for artsy shoe pictures and soon the amazing smell of pizza began wafting upstairs so the girls and I decided we needed one. So one of my girls went downstairs and placed the order an while she was there mentioned that we needed wine glasses, maybe it was the fact that she was wearing a "team bride" shirt but the staff gave her as many glasses as she could carry up without a deposit then the pizza was delivered right to our door. The room itself was beautiful and bigger than one of my girls' apartments in Chicago. The fixtures and view were exquisite, the husband and I are already planning an anniversary trip back to blue sky to stay in the same room in the future

I recently met a group of friends there and had a fantastic afternoon out on the back lawn. We enjoyed the live music, people watching, and most definitely the Sangria! The setting is beautiful and is one of the nicer wineries on the southern Illinois wine trail. It has an Italian look and feel...southern Illinois style. You'll enjoy yourself while you're there, and then again when you're home when you open all those bottles of wine you bought!!

There's a place called Shawnee Canopy Tours - which is 3 hours of ziplining through trees and great for teenagers. So... what do parents do that don't want to suspend themselves on a cable above a gorge and sail through the air? What else? Go drink some wine. What was here? 1.) Enough to keep occupied for 3.5 hours 2.) A large selection of good, fresh, local wines 3.) Great tasting food to go with the wine - so one can be functional after 3.5 hours there 4.) A friendly staff

One of my favorite places to go in Southern Illinois when the weather is nice or if I'm hanging out with a group of people. The building and grounds are more beautiful than some wineries I have visited in California. The bar is sometimes busy, but I have not found myself waiting too long and I usually just buy a bottle to avoid multiple trips to the bar. I've never had a problem finding tables outside to sit at and enjoy the wine. My taste tends toward the drier wines. My favorite is the Seyval (a semi-dry white). If I'm drinking a red, I really like the Chamburcin.

I really like this place. The vineyard has a charming personality. It has a small chateau situated on open, grassy grounds overlooking a lake. In the distance is a small rock fountain formation. Intricate bold art work is displayed throughout. A friend recommended this place for the Total Eclipse of the Sun 2017 and we weren't disappointed. The grounds were full of people, food, live music and just a great atmosphere. It's was NASA's point of longest duration of totality. I recently returned with my two girlfriends for a girl's night out at the vineyard. We stayed in the Blue Sky suite. It was quaint and cozy and although small, it is actually larger than it appears in their photos. Next time I would like to stay in the Tuscany Suite as it has a balcony that overlooks the lake. They provided a free wine tasting and a complimentary bottle of wine as part of our stay. My only complaint is that the food was not very good. They only had pizza and sandwiches on their menu. The sandwiches were very dry, plain and just not flavorful. It's a shame cuz this place could benefit from a good restaurant. The bread and dipping olive oil were decent though. Also, the whole place closes down at 6pm so if you are a guest here, that's that. No food, no wine, nada after 6ish. A fire pit by the lake would have been awesome, but no such luck. It would be nice to have a late night restaurant and wine bar. Just a few suggestions because we plan on coming back. All in all it's a cool place in the heart of Shawnee Forest.

Girls behind the counter were great! Good sample menu and very clean! It was gloomy today but want to go back and enjoy the patio!

When people find out I grew up in Southern Illinois and that I like wine it is always shocking for them to learn that I had never been to a single winery on the Shawnee Wine Trail. To be honest, I was scared. After some of my experiences with Missouri wineries I suspected the wine probably wouldn't be very good. I finally decided to give Southern Illinois wine a try this past weekend so I packed up my car and away I went with one of my favorite drinking buddies. About a two and a half hour drive from St. Louis, Blue Sky is quite a bit off the highway but my GPS got me most of the way and then the signage was pretty good as well. The structure is quite impressive with a beautiful Tuscan architecture. When I walked inside I was a little taken aback by the tasting room. It was quite nice, rivaling some I have seen in California. The thing that shocked me the most about Blue Sky is that they actually grow most of the grapes that make their wines on property, & the wines are really pretty good. My friend & I tasted 5 wines each and I liked all of them. We had a Rose (nice-not too sweet, slightly dry), the Villard Blanc (citrusy and refreshing), a Montage (a drinkable red blend), a dry Norton (a classic American grape that makes a beautiful red wine), and our favorite the Cabernet Franc, a delicious, dry red wine bursting with flavors of berry and coffee. Since we stopped by on a beautiful early May Saturday afternoon they had live music so we sat outside where they have plenty of seating both on the patio and down the hillside. They also had this wonderful proprietary olive oil you could buy with a loaf of bread that was perfect for pairing with some cheddar cheese and a good bottle of wine. They have a menu containing sandwiches and pizzas and they also sell cheeses & sausages, waters, soda and some beer. The service was pretty decent and everyone seemed very friendly despite how busy everyone was. Blue Sky is a beautiful winery that I highly recommend you check out.

My wife liked the dry red wine but we also ordered some food and it was not that great...$8 turkey sandwich with a piece of lunch meat and a few plain chips....Very slow service even though there were hardly any people in the place...Not very friendly service....

I got to try 4 wines in my flight, I liked 2 of the 3 the server chose for me when I described what I liked, which I thought was good. I like that the semi-sweets were a little tart and had layers of flavor

I want to love this place, but we keep having bad experiences. The service is absolutely awful. The wine tastings are not free. I can understand charging college kids that aren't probably going to buy anything. But, my family buys wine by the case. I've heard that Orlandini makes the wine for Blue Sky...so I'm sure it's delicious!

Staff is super friendly here and upbeat. Winery was within walking distance of our cabin so we popped by. Plenty of outdoor seating. Nice food menu also. My husband liked the wine. I had the nonalcoholic sangria and that was good too.

As others have noted the service is lacking, especially when they get busy. The solution to that is to come at off-peak hours, and call ahead if you're a group. What's not lacking is the wines: I've spent months trying to find a similar Concord Grape Wine, and their bubbly isn't too bad either. The sangria, as has been commented on, is a great recipe and one that works well at home also. If you like wine for wine you'll enjoy your stop here.

My boyfriend and I took advantage of a deal at Blue Sky for "over night stay in Tuscany Romance Suite, Breakfast, Bottle of Wine, VIP tour of Wine Cellar, tasting given by wine maker and 10% off coupon to use for purchases during your stay. " We were extremely disappointed with our visit. We booked the trip in early December and stayed over MLK weekend. When we arrived there was one young man at the bar and another young lady working in the back of the house. There were about ten patrons attempting to have tastings at the bar. (I say attempting because the young man couldn't seem to keep track of who was drinking what and often would forget about other people at the bar.) My boyfriend and I decided instead of waiting twenty minutes between 1 oz pours of wine, we would just order a glass and some food and wait until he was less busy. The menu was limited and disappointing. After settling on the chicken pot pie and chicken salad, we were surprised when the food came out on paper plates after clearly being microwaved (side note - It also gave me food poisoning later that night). When we were finally able to check in (an hour after arriving), we realized they hadn't placed us in the Tuscany Suite as stated in the deal, but the smaller Blue Sky Suite. Other general complaints: We never received our tour of the Wine Cellar. We overheard staff mentioning on several occasions that they were hungover. A sign in the room says that breakfast will be delivered at 9am. We called down at 9:15 and a man told us the woman responsible for breakfast had just pulled into the parking lot and would bring us something once she got settled. After purchasing a bottle of wine, the bartender treated himself to a pour FROM MY BOTTLE ("We can't get this by the glass, so I have to wait for someone to buy a bottle.") Hopefully this is not representative of their service year round, but our experience was so disappointing, I won't be giving them another try. It's a shame, too, since several of my colleagues were waiting on my report from the trip so they could possibly book their own. . . needless to say, they won't be visiting Blue Sky either.

My group of work people took a 2 hour bus trip to the wineries in this area - the first two treated us very well. The third -Star View not so great -due to having 17 people. So we stayed outside. We then went to Blue Sky where took our very large order for food and drinks (this is where we planned our dinner stop) and then asked how many people do you have? My boss said how many is allowed? She said 9 and he said we have double basically. So he asked if we should cancel our order and they said no. We sat outside in an area away from any other people and only one person went back in forth with our food and drinks and wore a mask. We were spoke to like criminals basically (I personally tried to help the situation with my boss and the workers were just very rude in general) "put your mask up" "we can't hear you" so my boss takes his mask down to repeat himself and all they say is "put your mask back up and above your nose" we were very disappointed because we looked so forward to this visit. A worker went out to our bus and confronted the driver about how many people we have. He is from Effingham area where that is not a rule they have or were made aware of on an websites or phone calls we made in advance to this trip. At this point we didn't feel welcome and decided to leave. They tried to charge us $500 dollars. We only received about half of our items. They tried to lie and say they didn't have enough bottles to pour the wine, seal it and let us take it home. When we asked for a refund instead they went inside and got the bottles and came out to fill them for us. They didn't want to give us an itemized receipt when we asked so instead them refunded us $200 because they could not show us why we were charged $500 originally. What a terrible experience - I will never go back and I know the 16 others I was with won't either. I would suggest sticking with Von Jacob and Alto Wineries if you make a trip!!

Alto Vineyard gets my highest Shawnee Trail rating of 3. Blue Sky has such potential yet falls (far) below expectations. Such promise with the visual pleasure of the structure as you prepare for a wine tasting. Sadly, what invites you in ends up to be an empty shell. That gorgeous facade brings you into a cultural wasteland with amateurishly painted tables and harsh diner-style chairs and scatterbrained sommelier to add insult to injury. This establishment seems to have something other then wine on their mind $$$$$$$$

This is a fun place. A must stop on the Shawnee Trail. I don't konw that the wines are any better than anywhere else, but they have some really good sangria. The staff was really friendly, even though we didn't arrive until about 6:30 (they close at 7:30 on Saturday). The building and grounds are easily the nicest on the trail - they've put a lot of money into this place. It attracts a big young crowd on Saturdays. I would say this is a great place to meet women, as they outnumber men probably 2 to 1. So stop by, taste a couple of their wines. Be sure and taste the sangria, then have a glass or two and join the party! The only reason it's not 5 stars is because we don't like the wines. They are representative of the area, though, so it might be an acquired taste. We also don't care much for sweet wines.