Alto Vineyards rents its tasting room for weddings, reunions, corporate events and nonprofit gatherings of up to 250 guests, and adds four outdoor spaces for groups of 8 to 75 plus ceremony sites in the vines for 70. The winery sits at 8515 Highway 127 in Alto Pass, in the Shawnee Hills of southern Illinois.
Seminars and company events
The winery lists corporate events, business gatherings, nonprofit meetings and reunions among its rentals, with the indoor tasting room as the main setting. A company dinner, a team outing or a fundraiser can take the room with tables and chairs for 100, extended to 250 when needed. Smaller groups can use the covered Vine Deck or the Pavilion for an afternoon session followed by a tasting. The site does not describe presentation equipment, so a speaker program should be checked with the events team.
Weddings and receptions
Ceremonies are a specialty, held near the pond or in the vines. The ceremony setup includes a movable wedding platform, a wedding circle that can be dressed with flowers, two wine barrels and 70 guest chairs. The Gazebo can serve as a small stage for vows or a performance. Receptions then move to the Tasting Room, which comes with tables, chairs, a bar, a music setup and a wooden dance floor, or to one of the outdoor spaces for a smaller party.
Rooms and capacities
The Tasting Room covers 5,000 square feet and seats 100, expandable to 250. The Pavilion takes up to 75 guests and has a porch over the pond and the vineyard, with heaters when the weather calls for them. The Vine Deck, also for 75, is covered and looks across the Shawnee Hills. The Pergola, shaded by a large oak, holds 30 guests. The Gazebo seats eight and suits a private toast, a musician or a very small gathering.
Catering
The Tasting Room serves a food menu alongside the wines. The rental page does not set out catering rules for outside food, so the menu and any caterer should be agreed with the winery when booking.
History and setting
Guy Renzaglia, with Skip Cosgrove and Ted Wickman, bought 50 acres in Alto Pass and planted 10 acres of grapes, the start of the first vineyard and winery in the Shawnee Hills. The winery dates its first vintage to 1988. Its Chambourcin earned its first medals at an international competition in 1989, and Paul Renzaglia co-founded the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail in 1995. In 2001 the family opened a second outlet in Champaign, near the University of Illinois, which gained two outdoor decks and an events space in 2021. The Alto Pass estate keeps its rural setting of vines, a pond, oak trees and wooded hills.
Getting there
The winery is on Highway 127 in Alto Pass, a small town in the Shawnee Hills of southern Illinois, reached by car. Groups should plan transport from their hotel, since the site is in open countryside. The events team answers at the Alto Pass number and by email.
