Will County Mistie Hill Vineyard adds tasting room

Mistie Hill Vineyard has added a tasting room, giving wine drinkers an opportunity to sample wines made from grapes grown in the Kankakee River Valley.

The tasting room is located in Custer Park, a Will County village that lies along the Kankakee River.

Rich and Debbie Strylowski have been growing grapes and developing wines on their property since 2011.

They have been selling wines commercially. The opening of the tasting room in March marked the first retail opportunity for customers to sample the wines at the vineyards at 36921 Oldhues Road.

“You have a choice of a tasting of three or four flight options,” Rich Strylowski said. “We also serve by the glass. People can also purchase a bottle to go.”

Strylowski said the tasting room has seen “a nice steady flow of customers, especially on the weekends” since opening on March 14.

The tasting room also hosts meetings and events.

The tasting room is part of a 3,400-square-foot building that was constructed in the past year at the 5-acre vineyard.

The Strylowskis are the first to produce a commercial wine out of a Will County vineyard.

Mistie Hill Vineyard has won awards at state competitions for its wines. The Strylowskis have been able to place their wines in a number of restaurants, bars and liquor stores in northeastern Illinois.