Farmington Hills, Michigan (May 21, 2010) – Alto Vineyards, Ltd., the leading provider of locally grown and produced wine in Southern Illinois, today announced that they have received a Double Gold at the Great Lakes Wine Competition for their 2009 Cherry Berry, fruit wine. At this competition, a double gold is difficult to earn because it requires two tables of judges (not one table) to give the wine unanimous support. Alto Vineyards garnered 3 other gold medals for wine made from Illinois soil and the list includes their 2005 Chambourcin, Heartland Blush and Rocko Red. The Great Lakes Great Wine Competition, staged by the culinary instructors and students at Oakland Community College in Farmington Hills, Mich. deliver an accurate snapshot of quality in a region ever challenged by climate and birth place of wine east of the Rocky Mountains. Seven states and one Canadian province bordering the Great Lakes comprised the competition's geographic boundaries.

Alto Vineyards, Ltd. has continually demarked itself by the quality of regional wine grown and produced from Illinois soil. After launching its first vintage in 1988, Alto Vineyards has inestimably contributed to improving the quality of wine grown throughout southern Illinois, being the first winery bonded in southern Illinois and one of the original 5 in the entire state. “We are very pleased that our 2009 Cherry Berry has been recognized as one of the best fruit wines in a wine competition that offers competition throughout the upper and eastern mid western US, eastern US and Canada.,” said Elissa Hopkins- Renzaglia, Marketing Director. “My dad, Paul Renzaglia, is a fine winemaker”.

Alto Vineyards, Ltd. now plans to capitalize on the recognition it has garnered by the award winning results and looks forward to participating in the Illinois State wine competition being held in Champaign, Illinois at the University of Illinois June, 7 – 9 .


About Alto Vineyards, Ltd.
Founded in 1981 by Guy Renzaglia, Alto Vineyards, Ltd. is the maker of the popular wines; Heartland White, Heartland Blush, Heartland Red and Shawnee Gold. The company’s mission is to produce the best possible product beginning in the vineyard and finishing at your table. Alto Vineyards, Ltd. currently serves over 300 clients in the Midwest and employs 12 people throughout central and southern Illinois. It has won hundreds of awards for its locally produced wine.

ISBDC nominates Alto Vineyards for state honor

January 15, 2010

By Christi Mathis Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:14:52 GMT

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale has nominated an Alto Pass vineyard for a statewide business award.

Alto Vineyards Ltd., with Paul A. Renzaglia as winemaker and general manager, is the nominee for the Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Small Business award from the Small Business Administration. The Butland award goes to a family owned business with ownership passing from one generation to another as the company logs at least 15 years of successful operation.

The Illinois SBA presents the Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Small Business award and other small business recognitions during ceremonies each spring in Chicago. In addition to a plaque and special recognition, statewide winners are eligible for national awards presented in Washington, D.C.

“Alto Vineyards Ltd. is one of the true business jewels of Southern Illinois,” said Lynn Andersen Lindberg, director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center and director of manufacturing enterprise development and business innovation at SIUC. “I have had the pleasure of knowing for many years the Renzaglia family, who are the heart of Alto Vineyards, and I’ve had the opportunity to watch the company grow from one man’s dream to the foundation business of a tourism industry that reaches across Southern Illinois and throughout the state of Illinois. The development and success of Alto Vineyards truly exemplifies the importance of family owned businesses in the spirit of former SBA New England regional administrator Jeffrey Butland, to the Illinois and U.S. economies.”

Guy Renzaglia, Paul’s father, founded the winery in 1984. Working in viticulture is a family tradition tracing its roots to a small seaside village in Italy. Alto Vineyards produced its first wine in 1988. The company sold out its first 1,200 gallons of wine in just one weekend. The vineyard now employs 14 with annual sales topping $1 million. It became a third-generation business in 2003 with the addition of Elissa Hopkins-Renzaglia to the management team. Alto Vineyards now bottles about 30,000 gallons of wine each year.

Current general manager, president and winemaker Paul Renzaglia has twice been Illinois Winemaker of the Year. He’s an alumnus of SIUC, earning a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice in 1980 and completing coursework but not his thesis for a master of science in special education as well.

Alto Vineyards currently produces 21 different types of wine. Located on a 50-acre plot along Illinois Route 127, the vineyard includes acres of grape vines along with bottling and production facilities, coolers and storage rooms, a retail sales and wine tasting room, company offices and a large, open air locale for special events. Planning is under way for a 7,000-square-foot event facility offering seating for up to 200 people during festivals, banquets and special events. Alto Vineyards anticipates opening the new facility later this year.

Alto Vineyards is the recipient of more than 750 national and international wine competition awards. In addition, Guy Renzaglia was in 2004 the first recipient of the Guy Renzaglia Industry Achievement Award from the Illinois Grape Grower’s and Vintner’s Association, an award created to recognize longtime service in the industry. Paul Renzaglia won the same award in 2009.

“What makes Alto Vineyards special is not just its success as a small, family owned business. It is the support that they have given to other businesses throughout Southern Illinois,” Andersen Lindberg said. She notes that the winery has loaned equipment, provided storage, and even sprayed crops for other vineyards while also giving generously to the community and the region’s people and organizations.

“I am hard-pressed to think of another family owned business in Illinois that has become such a vital member of a rural economy and is more deserving of this award than Paul Renzaglia and Alto Vineyards,” SIU President Glenn Poshard said in his letter of recommendation for the award.