April 24, 2024 • 13 mins
Amid the Prairie State, street art, sparling wine and starved rock? Venture beyond popular Starved Rock State Park to discover the Illinois wine industry at August Hill Winery in Utica. Entrepreneur and vintner Mark Wenzel shares the secrets behind Illinois sparkling wine and its unique character shaped by the region's soil and climate. Delve into the vibrant street art scene in Streator, where over 40 pieces of public art adorn the cityscape thanks to the efforts of the Walldogs. Mayor Tara Bedei gives insight into Streator's transformation and the community's unwavering spirit. From sipping sparkling wine to marveling at larger-than-life murals, this episode highlights the passion of locals who are shaping the cultural landscape of their communities, inviting travelers to experience the heart and soul of LaSalle County.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Amid the prairie state, street art, sparkling wine and starved rock.
(00:04):
Cheers. Cheers.
We're exploring LaSalle County located a little more than an hour southwest of Chicago.
Many people adventure to this area to explore the state parks, including
popular Starved Rock State Park. But they may not know that just nearby they can also enjoy wine
tasting and street art. But we have more than 40 pieces of public art in Streator.
(00:25):
We're diving into the Illinois wine industry at August Hill Winery in Utica,
with Mark Wenzel tasting Illinois sparkling wine and exploring a community transformed by street art.
A place you might want to explore that's rich in history and photo opportunities.
It's the Travels with Darley Podcast. We're in Illinois.
Out of what is the county seat? High 80 runs straight across LaSalle County.
(00:57):
So pretty much on one end you have Ottawa and then it's Utica and then you start to get into
the clumping of communities. So there's Oglesby, LaSalle, and then we have street art downtown
LaSalle. And even though that they're kind of off the beat path they have, it's another attraction
within LaSalle County that you can enjoy. That's Curt Bedei with the La Salle County Tourism
(01:23):
Coalition who is just one of the locals we're meeting to better understand this area of Illinois,
not far from Chicago, including the cities of Utica and Streator.
You know they have Gatano's Vault. It was an old bank. Streator used to be called Unionville based
off the soldiers that fought in the civil war from that area. One of the founding fathers,
(01:46):
nephews opened up the bank and they called it the Union Bank. To all locals it's still called Union
Bank. You can actually sit in the vault of the bank and enjoy your meals there so it's quite
unusual experience. Just an hour and a half drive, southwest of Chicago, and only about 20 minutes
(02:06):
west of the charming city of Ottawa. You can learn about something you may not equate with Illinois.
Wine. A trip to August Hill Winery Tasting room in the small city of Utica is a fascinating
window into the wine industry in Illinois. The tasting room is complete with a tasting bar,
(02:27):
lounge, and outdoor patio where wine is paired with small bites. I'm going up to the bar in the
tasting room to find out from entrepreneur and vitner Mark Wenzel what makes Illinois wine unique.
How did you get into making wine here in Illinois? It's not what I first think about when I think
about Illinois. Well obviously it wasn't my first thought either but it being in the farm industry
(02:49):
started learning about growing grapes and was able to learn from some other people growing grapes in
Illinois and it kind of evolved into us starting our own winery. Is there a theme that runs throughout
Illinois wines? Well I definitely feel Illinois wine is unique. We have some of the richest
soils in the world and it's very good for the corn and soybean industry but where our grapes are
(03:12):
actually grown are along the Illinois River beds that actually is more clay which is not as
good for the corn and soybeans and which though the grapes really thrive on. We can't grow the
grapes that you find in Europe or in California but they're grapes that are grown in the Midwest that
can handle our climate. In general they have a little bit more acidity and also have a lightness to
(03:38):
them. We have the Illinois Sparkling Company which focuses on the traditional method which is also
the same process as what is done in Champagne, France. Cheers. Mark and I toast with a glass of Illinois
Sparkling. That's good I can taste the acidity but I like it. You kind of remember that first sit.
(04:00):
Yes and that's much of what Champagne is all about is nice Christmas, lightness and it's a style
that we feel we can do well in Illinois. That's very good. Cheers. Cheers. To get further behind
the scenes, Mark takes me to his vineyard not far from downtown to see his sparkling wine-making
(04:21):
process. Following a traditional method that wine makers in France's Champagne region have been
using for hundreds of years, the discouragement is the most spectacular part. As the cap is removed,
pellet of frozen yeast shoots out. It's a true celebration and Mark lets me help,
making me see why making. It can be so rewarding. Champagne for everyone.
(04:46):
About 30 minutes southeast of Utica and 20 minutes south of Ottawa, just 81 miles from Chicago is
Streator Illinois. A popular spot for street art and a city that's in fact seen to Renaissance
from it. Mayor Tara Bedai sits down with me to share what's unique about this central Illinois city.
(05:07):
Streator draws in fans of public art as well as travelers seeking a mix of the arts and local restaurants.
The time nearby in Star Rock State Park. We do have some very
prominent residents. One of our favorites is Clyde Tombaugh. And that's who discovered Pluto in 1930.
I'm here as a young man at the time and was down in the little observatory but he grew up just
(05:33):
out the street around a farm and was watching these small plates and comparing them and can see one
dot moving. Different than stars would move. So we do have actually two murals dedicated to him,
an annual festival for Pluto Fest and statue a sculpture that's on the north side of
(05:59):
street in one of our golf courses. So we have a lot about Clyde Tombaugh and his discovery of Pluto.
So only American to discover a planet and then straighter. I know it was downgraded to a dwarf
planet but we still say it's a planet. So we we will claim that. So we're very passionate about Pluto
where we where we are. How many murals are there in Streator? More than 20 that our Walldogs
(06:26):
that we painted 18 in a weekend but we had previously had a handful and I'm one anywhere from a
small one to three stories tall. So there's a lot but we overall have more than 40 pieces of public
art in street. So it's pretty incredible. One that I think one of the most impressive
(06:47):
would be our heritage park mural. It is three stories tall. It's a backlit. So at night time it looks
different. It has you can see silhouettes in there so it looks like there's people in the building
and it's just it's pretty incredible especially the difference it made on the block. There is a
building that had fallen down where this is located and it became a pocket park and the wall was
(07:14):
probably in one of the it was in pretty poor condition. There was leftover plaster on it from
when the building was there and it was one of the biggest complexes as you're driving through our
downtown. You have this three-story terrible looking wall. And so this mural was through Westclox
Studios Ray Paseka led the project. It sticks out from the building for that backlighting
(07:36):
and it just transformed the bed block and our downtown and that was done in 2017.
Tell me about the Walldogs. How would you describe what they're doing? The Walldogs are just an
incredible group of artists and they get together once, twice a year and they'll go to a town,
volunteer a lot of them and we'll volunteer their time and they are so talented. I'm not an art
(08:02):
person so their work is amazing to me and but they will go and transport the community. I mean it's
incredible. We had 260 artists come to Streator in 2018. It was part of our
150th anniversary for Streator. It was Illinois's bicentennial and then the Walldogs 25th year.
(08:22):
So it was a really nice celebration of three universities at once and we had 31 US states and eight
countries represented. So it's a lot of planning to bring 18 murals in one weekend in a lot of logistics
and everything and finding host families for artists, working through meals and everything but
(08:46):
it's just so incredible and it really does bring you going from on a Wednesday night a wall with
disprime and white ready to go and then by Saturday morning you have this piece of art. It's
it's just incredible and we kind of joke it's people come to see it happen here watching,
(09:08):
well watching paint dry but it's no it's just the talent of people is just amazing. It's artwork that
that tells a story. It tells the history of your town and that's what I think adds that it's not
abstract. It's not you know people people get it they can look at that and say oh that you know that
depicts our history and so it brings I think it brings out a set of pride to our community as well.
(09:32):
It just really they're recognized things that we thought were important to our history and that
people would be excited to see. So it's if any if any community ever has a chance take it because
they're it's it was fantastic for street or we absolutely loved it and people still talk about it
the fun with it. It's when I you know learned about it I was thinking wow I had you know love these
(10:00):
the murals in Ottawa and then now I'm thinking well Streator is for street art. Streator's for murals
because there's so many. There are there's said we did we did 18 18 so it's amazing and we had kids
art so we have a couple of children's murals as well that were painted that weekend and we had over
(10:21):
200 Streator kids were painting on our murals. So main street in Monroe would be a definitely a
place for people because today it's so popular as you know to travel around and get photographs for
your social media for Instagram do some videos for your TikTok you want to be in Streator and you
want to be on. Yeah main em in the road. That's where you want to go. Yeah. Yes we have there's a
(10:43):
little concert center hosted there every Friday from June through end of August and it's a lot of
people sit and enjoy that park. You're the mayor of Streator. Yeah share with me what you think
the vibe of streeter is if you were saying Streator has this vibe. Streator is I will put our volunteers
(11:03):
up against anyone in the world. They're incredible. We have every festival every event is all done by
volunteers and the the caring of of people when there's someone in street that needs something
they come out and they they make it happen. It's just said it's incredible but the events
(11:27):
that could put on and anything that happens in streeter how will we help each other. I would put that
that against anybody in the world. I really would. I think that's one of the things that I
really pride ourselves on but we're a close knit blue collar small town and in Illinois and
I think we're on the move. We've had just a spur of women that are opening their own businesses
(11:52):
a lot of boutiques, home stores, cooking, kitchen stores so there's a lot going on and so that's
pretty incredible to see that difference in 10 years. It's all so nice when you hear about
a community coming together. Yeah small businesses. Small businesses are what make us make me
(12:13):
well. I want to I want to meet the people. Yeah. Where are you from originally? I was born and raised.
Born and raised in Streator Okay. Now the mayor got in the mayor. Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. I
never said I would. I never thought I would grow up that was not my aspiration but I've I went away
(12:35):
to college and worked a couple years away and came home and just wanted to do something to improve
my town and that led me to running for council and joining this organization and that and that's
kind of on my path. What would I know? It's truly a gift to travel especially when you meet passionate
locals making a difference in their communities. A trip through LaSalle County has shared a
(13:00):
history of people coming together to produce American sparkling wine and Walldog art that inspires
them and their communities to share it with the world and that's truly special.
Thanks for joining me in Illinois for another Travels with Darley podcast adventure
and if you like this episode search for the Travels with Darley episodes on Illinois as part of
(13:21):
our PBS and streaming series and if you want more of this podcast please subscribe.
Amid the prairie state, street art, sparkling wine and starved rock.
(00:04):
Cheers. Cheers.
We're exploring LaSalle County located a little more than an hour southwest of Chicago.
Many people adventure to this area to explore the state parks, including
popular Starved Rock State Park. But they may not know that just nearby they can also enjoy wine
tasting and street art. But we have more than 40 pieces of public art in Streator.
(00:25):
We're diving into the Illinois wine industry at August Hill Winery in Utica,
with Mark Wenzel tasting Illinois sparkling wine and exploring a community transformed by street art.
A place you might want to explore that's rich in history and photo opportunities.
It's the Travels with Darley Podcast. We're in Illinois.
Out of what is the county seat? High 80 runs straight across LaSalle County.
(00:57):
So pretty much on one end you have Ottawa and then it's Utica and then you start to get into
the clumping of communities. So there's Oglesby, LaSalle, and then we have street art downtown
LaSalle. And even though that they're kind of off the beat path they have, it's another attraction
within LaSalle County that you can enjoy. That's Curt Bedei with the La Salle County Tourism
(01:23):
Coalition who is just one of the locals we're meeting to better understand this area of Illinois,
not far from Chicago, including the cities of Utica and Streator.
You know they have Gatano's Vault. It was an old bank. Streator used to be called Unionville based
off the soldiers that fought in the civil war from that area. One of the founding fathers,
(01:46):
nephews opened up the bank and they called it the Union Bank. To all locals it's still called Union
Bank. You can actually sit in the vault of the bank and enjoy your meals there so it's quite
unusual experience. Just an hour and a half drive, southwest of Chicago, and only about 20 minutes
(02:06):
west of the charming city of Ottawa. You can learn about something you may not equate with Illinois.
Wine. A trip to August Hill Winery Tasting room in the small city of Utica is a fascinating
window into the wine industry in Illinois. The tasting room is complete with a tasting bar,
(02:27):
lounge, and outdoor patio where wine is paired with small bites. I'm going up to the bar in the
tasting room to find out from entrepreneur and vitner Mark Wenzel what makes Illinois wine unique.
How did you get into making wine here in Illinois? It's not what I first think about when I think
about Illinois. Well obviously it wasn't my first thought either but it being in the farm industry
(02:49):
started learning about growing grapes and was able to learn from some other people growing grapes in
Illinois and it kind of evolved into us starting our own winery. Is there a theme that runs throughout
Illinois wines? Well I definitely feel Illinois wine is unique. We have some of the richest
soils in the world and it's very good for the corn and soybean industry but where our grapes are
(03:12):
actually grown are along the Illinois River beds that actually is more clay which is not as
good for the corn and soybeans and which though the grapes really thrive on. We can't grow the
grapes that you find in Europe or in California but they're grapes that are grown in the Midwest that
can handle our climate. In general they have a little bit more acidity and also have a lightness to
(03:38):
them. We have the Illinois Sparkling Company which focuses on the traditional method which is also
the same process as what is done in Champagne, France. Cheers. Mark and I toast with a glass of Illinois
Sparkling. That's good I can taste the acidity but I like it. You kind of remember that first sit.
(04:00):
Yes and that's much of what Champagne is all about is nice Christmas, lightness and it's a style
that we feel we can do well in Illinois. That's very good. Cheers. Cheers. To get further behind
the scenes, Mark takes me to his vineyard not far from downtown to see his sparkling wine-making
(04:21):
process. Following a traditional method that wine makers in France's Champagne region have been
using for hundreds of years, the discouragement is the most spectacular part. As the cap is removed,
pellet of frozen yeast shoots out. It's a true celebration and Mark lets me help,
making me see why making. It can be so rewarding. Champagne for everyone.
(04:46):
About 30 minutes southeast of Utica and 20 minutes south of Ottawa, just 81 miles from Chicago is
Streator Illinois. A popular spot for street art and a city that's in fact seen to Renaissance
from it. Mayor Tara Bedai sits down with me to share what's unique about this central Illinois city.
(05:07):
Streator draws in fans of public art as well as travelers seeking a mix of the arts and local restaurants.
The time nearby in Star Rock State Park. We do have some very
prominent residents. One of our favorites is Clyde Tombaugh. And that's who discovered Pluto in 1930.
I'm here as a young man at the time and was down in the little observatory but he grew up just
(05:33):
out the street around a farm and was watching these small plates and comparing them and can see one
dot moving. Different than stars would move. So we do have actually two murals dedicated to him,
an annual festival for Pluto Fest and statue a sculpture that's on the north side of
(05:59):
street in one of our golf courses. So we have a lot about Clyde Tombaugh and his discovery of Pluto.
So only American to discover a planet and then straighter. I know it was downgraded to a dwarf
planet but we still say it's a planet. So we we will claim that. So we're very passionate about Pluto
where we where we are. How many murals are there in Streator? More than 20 that our Walldogs
(06:26):
that we painted 18 in a weekend but we had previously had a handful and I'm one anywhere from a
small one to three stories tall. So there's a lot but we overall have more than 40 pieces of public
art in street. So it's pretty incredible. One that I think one of the most impressive
(06:47):
would be our heritage park mural. It is three stories tall. It's a backlit. So at night time it looks
different. It has you can see silhouettes in there so it looks like there's people in the building
and it's just it's pretty incredible especially the difference it made on the block. There is a
building that had fallen down where this is located and it became a pocket park and the wall was
(07:14):
probably in one of the it was in pretty poor condition. There was leftover plaster on it from
when the building was there and it was one of the biggest complexes as you're driving through our
downtown. You have this three-story terrible looking wall. And so this mural was through Westclox
Studios Ray Paseka led the project. It sticks out from the building for that backlighting
(07:36):
and it just transformed the bed block and our downtown and that was done in 2017.
Tell me about the Walldogs. How would you describe what they're doing? The Walldogs are just an
incredible group of artists and they get together once, twice a year and they'll go to a town,
volunteer a lot of them and we'll volunteer their time and they are so talented. I'm not an art
(08:02):
person so their work is amazing to me and but they will go and transport the community. I mean it's
incredible. We had 260 artists come to Streator in 2018. It was part of our
150th anniversary for Streator. It was Illinois's bicentennial and then the Walldogs 25th year.
(08:22):
So it was a really nice celebration of three universities at once and we had 31 US states and eight
countries represented. So it's a lot of planning to bring 18 murals in one weekend in a lot of logistics
and everything and finding host families for artists, working through meals and everything but
(08:46):
it's just so incredible and it really does bring you going from on a Wednesday night a wall with
disprime and white ready to go and then by Saturday morning you have this piece of art. It's
it's just incredible and we kind of joke it's people come to see it happen here watching,
(09:08):
well watching paint dry but it's no it's just the talent of people is just amazing. It's artwork that
that tells a story. It tells the history of your town and that's what I think adds that it's not
abstract. It's not you know people people get it they can look at that and say oh that you know that
depicts our history and so it brings I think it brings out a set of pride to our community as well.
(09:32):
It just really they're recognized things that we thought were important to our history and that
people would be excited to see. So it's if any if any community ever has a chance take it because
they're it's it was fantastic for street or we absolutely loved it and people still talk about it
the fun with it. It's when I you know learned about it I was thinking wow I had you know love these
(10:00):
the murals in Ottawa and then now I'm thinking well Streator is for street art. Streator's for murals
because there's so many. There are there's said we did we did 18 18 so it's amazing and we had kids
art so we have a couple of children's murals as well that were painted that weekend and we had over
(10:21):
200 Streator kids were painting on our murals. So main street in Monroe would be a definitely a
place for people because today it's so popular as you know to travel around and get photographs for
your social media for Instagram do some videos for your TikTok you want to be in Streator and you
want to be on. Yeah main em in the road. That's where you want to go. Yeah. Yes we have there's a
(10:43):
little concert center hosted there every Friday from June through end of August and it's a lot of
people sit and enjoy that park. You're the mayor of Streator. Yeah share with me what you think
the vibe of streeter is if you were saying Streator has this vibe. Streator is I will put our volunteers
(11:03):
up against anyone in the world. They're incredible. We have every festival every event is all done by
volunteers and the the caring of of people when there's someone in street that needs something
they come out and they they make it happen. It's just said it's incredible but the events
(11:27):
that could put on and anything that happens in streeter how will we help each other. I would put that
that against anybody in the world. I really would. I think that's one of the things that I
really pride ourselves on but we're a close knit blue collar small town and in Illinois and
I think we're on the move. We've had just a spur of women that are opening their own businesses
(11:52):
a lot of boutiques, home stores, cooking, kitchen stores so there's a lot going on and so that's
pretty incredible to see that difference in 10 years. It's all so nice when you hear about
a community coming together. Yeah small businesses. Small businesses are what make us make me
(12:13):
well. I want to I want to meet the people. Yeah. Where are you from originally? I was born and raised.
Born and raised in Streator Okay. Now the mayor got in the mayor. Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. I
never said I would. I never thought I would grow up that was not my aspiration but I've I went away
(12:35):
to college and worked a couple years away and came home and just wanted to do something to improve
my town and that led me to running for council and joining this organization and that and that's
kind of on my path. What would I know? It's truly a gift to travel especially when you meet passionate
locals making a difference in their communities. A trip through LaSalle County has shared a
(13:00):
history of people coming together to produce American sparkling wine and Walldog art that inspires
them and their communities to share it with the world and that's truly special.
Thanks for joining me in Illinois for another Travels with Darley podcast adventure
and if you like this episode search for the Travels with Darley episodes on Illinois as part of
(13:21):
our PBS and streaming series and if you want more of this podcast please subscribe.
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