Prairie State Winery is a winery

Winery

A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...

 located in Genoa

Genoa, Illinois

Genoa is a city in the north-east corner of DeKalb County, Illinois in the United States. It is located on the historic Galena-Chicago stagecoach route. At the 2010 census the city had a population of 5,193, up from 4,169 at the 2000 census.-History:...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. Founded in 1998, it is the oldest winery in DeKalb County, Illinois

DeKalb County, Illinois

DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 105,160, which is an increase of 18.2% from 88,969 in 2000. Its county seat is Sycamore. DeKalb County is part of the Chicago metropolitan statistical area.-History:DeKalb County...

. It is owned by husband and wife, Rick and Maria Mamoser, who gave up careers in high-school teaching to start the business.

The winery produces wines made exclusively from Illinois-grown grapes and has won both silver and bronze awards from the Beverage Testing Institute

Beverage Testing Institute

The Beverage Testing Institute is a marketing service company that provides reviews for spirits, wines, and beers. It uses numerical scores and publishes books of its test results.-Reviews:...

. Additionally, the winery utilizes wind turbine

Wind turbine

A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...

s for powering its bottling and production facility. The business produces organic wine and utilises environmentally-friendly packaging.

In 2002, the winery led an effort to preserve Grape View Farm in nearby Elgin

Elgin, Illinois

Elgin is a city in northern Illinois located roughly northwest of Chicago on the Fox River. Most of Elgin lies within Kane County, Illinois, with a portion in Cook County, Illinois...

, which was believed to be the state's oldest continuously producing commercial vineyard (since 1924), and to use some of the yield for a sweet red wine. After Grape View's owner died, however, the vineyard's location in encroaching suburbia was sold at auction in 2004, although Prairie obtained clippings to preserve at their own vineyard.

The wines of Prairie State Winery have received a number of medals and awards at various levels of wine competitions.