Uncorked in Illinois: Galena Cellars produces unexpected flavor profiles

Gray fuzz started to poke out from the unpruned vines at Galena Cellars.

Under a crystal blue sky with a crisp spring breeze whipping through the rolling hills of the Galena Cellars vineyards, winemaker and president Eric White detailed the direction he and his sister, Britt White, have steered the winery since taking over for their mother, Chris Lawlor-White, five years ago.

“I want to push the envelope on what an Illinois winemaker can do,” Eric White said. “I want to showcase the diversity that exists in the Illinois wine industry. For a long time, we’ve been written off as a sweet-wine area only. But, I want to prove that we can make serious wines, as well.”

Which is what he’s done with a new barrel regimen in the cellar. He also introduced sourced fruit from highly coveted Illinois vineyard sites. There’s a new tasting room in downtown Galena that also offers small food plates, and an expanded tasting room at the winery at 4746 N. Ford Road in Galena. The Galena Cellars wine club has reached new heights, and was an instrumental revenue source as the winery braved the COVID-19 pandemic.

During my April visit, the sleeping vines were a few weeks away from being pruned, since Eric White didn’t want to wake them up while the area was still susceptible to spring frosts, but Galena Cellars itself has been wide awake. Under Britt and Eric White, it’s an exciting time of change with new boundaries being established.

As the Galena Cellars Brand Ambassador, Britt White draws on her experience in Sonoma, where she worked for five years. Eric White spent 11 years in Napa Valley, when he worked at Heitz, at BRAND Napa Valley with consultant Philippe Melka, and in Paso Robles at Four Vines.

There are three mentors Eric White said are instrumental in his winemaking.

“First off, my mom, she gave me the idea, ability and philosophy that this could be a career for me,” Eric White said. “Second is Joe Heitz, who was trained by his dad who was trained by André Tchelistcheff. That’s just legendary. My third mentor – and I had to give up the job I didn’t want to give up at the time to come home – is Philippe Melka, whom I worked under for three years. Between these three, they all have a different philosophy, but I use a little of the ideas of all of them.

“I don’t want to make all Philippe-style wines,” he said. “I don’t want to make all Heitz-style wines, even though I love Heitz’s acidity, Old World style, freshness and how they are true to their characteristics. I want to make Midwest-style wines using those philosophies.”

For Britt White, it’s a chance to build upon the family legacy.

“My mom welcomed the fresh perspective and how we wanted to proceed,” Britt White said. “We’re very lucky that we’ve been able to move forward with some outside-the-box thinking.”

A new barrel program furthered the creative shift of Galena Cellars. The cellar has sprawled into a separate building, as Eric White has added French oak, Hungarian oak and a collection of American oak barrels with site-specific cooperages. He’s also added terra-cotta eggs to the cellar for fermentation, along with hybrid French and American oak barrels to his never-ending experiment.

Branded onto the American oak barrels are their heritage: Appalachia, West Virginia, Ozarks, Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania.

As we tasted through southern Illinois cabernet franc grown in Shawnee Hills, subtle differences emerged from each barrel. It’s a compelling test program that will offer Eric White another option when blending and bottling.

“I took an Illinois wine and put them in all these different barrels, and said, ‘Let’s do something fun,’” Eric White said. “I knew I wanted to buy more French oak, and we have tons now. But, when I present to Midwest winemakers, they don’t want to pony up and buy French oak, they’ll use oak chips. I want American oak to be like French oak, where it’s sold by a specific forest.”

Five years ago, Chris Lawlor-White passed a wine thief testing tool to Eric White like it was a baton in a relay race to signify the changing of the guard at Galena Cellars. Since that day, Eric and sister Britt haven’t stopped running.

The future is bright at Galena Cellars.

• James Nokes has been tasting, touring and collecting in the wine world for several years. Email him at jamesnokes25@yahoo.com.

WHERE TO GO IN GALENA

Fried Green Tomatoes, 213 N. Main St., Galena: It felt like a walk through grandma’s kitchen, with owner Fred Bonnet’s restaurant standing the test of time. A Wine Spectator award-winning wine list continues to thrive; the Frank Family Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a bargain at $89. The thinly sliced carpaccio melted away with a slight chew, and yielded rich flavors of iron and salt. The fried green tomatoes were lightly breaded, and were coated with creamy mozzarella. Salty, briny and moist airline chicken breast used for the free-range chicken piccata had a white wine sauce that was the right mix of butter and acidity. The Tuscan Mac and Cheese was an indulgent, creamy, cheesy creation, and the flourless chocolate cake was delectable.

Galena Garlic Company, 311 S. Main St., Galena: A trip isn’t complete without sampling every flavor of balsamic and olive oil imaginable. The diverse collection of salt and spice packets is a bonus to any kitchen.

Great American Popcorn Company, 115 N. Main St., Galena: While it seems like every popcorn flavor ever conceived is packaged on the shelves, only one has a salty, cheesy, crunchy, savory mix that is finger-coatingly spectacular: the Galena Mix, the ideal combo of cheddar and caramel-coated popcorn. Get a second bag, the first will not make it through the ride home.

Poopsie’s, 402 S. Main St., Galena: Self-described as a “fun, funky shop,” it offers fun, wine-themed gear. But, even better are the books, knickknacks and pieces of house flair that are a mix of whimsical, inspiring and comical.