Rustle Hill Winery

Their wine is OK, the food is pretty awesome– but it’s expensive! Great atmosphere inside and out. I don’t like when they have bands inside– way too loud, you can’t have a conversation with the people you’re with.
I have always had great service here. They offer cheap bloody Mary’s one day of the week (I forgot which day!) they are really hit and miss– if they aren’t busy, they take their time with it– meats, cheeses, and olives– soooo yummy! If they are busy, you’re just getting a plain out of a bottle not so great Bloody Mary.

One of my favorites in the Shawnee wine country. More of a pub than winery. Lots of local artists drink here. Sangria is D-​lish and the double crust thin with pesto and grilled shrimp is the best. This should be a must stop for anyone who likes Shawnee wine country.

Like some other reviewers noted, the service at Rustle Hill is deplorable. It was quite clear to me that this is a concert venue first, bar (not winery) second, and restaurant last.
I had already conducted some heavy online research before my husband and I traveled to southern Illinois for the weekend, and was put off by all the amphitheater-​type pictures featured on Rustle Hill’s web site, as my idea of wine tasting did not involve a rock or country concert with a hot dog on the side. However, my husband wanted to check it out and our B&B owner strongly suggested Rustle Hill for a meal, so against my better judgment, we went for lunch.
No one greeted us when we came in, and I actually wondered if we were in the right place, as there was a table of 10 guys drinking beer and high fiving each other to the left of the entryway. It was too hot to sit outside, so my husband and I made our way to the back, grabbing two menus along the way from the bar, and took a table. A good 10 minutes passed before anyone came over. The waitress, clad with an iPad, fumbled around for five minutes trying to put our order in. Here’s the thing, Rustle Hill: your servers cannot make a personal connection with your patrons when their noses are buried in an electronic device. Ditch the ridiculous iPads.
No one asked us about wine tasting (as I mentioned earlier, that doesn’t seem to be a priority here), and there were certainly plenty if opportunities, as we waited a full hour — yes, 60 minutes — for a chicken salad sandwich and turkey panini. I could have whipped them up myself in five minutes. When we asked the waitress (after waiting 30 minutes), she explained, «Oh yes, we are very busy today. When I took your order, we were already an hour behind. There are just a few tables ahead of you and then your order will go in,» which quite clearly told us that no one was even cutting the bread for our sandwiches yet! Seriously? And don’t you think you should have mentioned the hour delay before we ordered? I would have gone elsewhere… which is probably why you failed to let me know.
Meanwhile, the waitresses bumbled around, going in and out of the kitchen and otherwise wandering the room with absolutely no purpose whatsoever.
This brings me back to the iPads: you can have all the tech in the world, but if doesn’t put a sandwich on a plate in less than 20 minutes, it’s pointless.
After 50 minutes, another waitress brought out stale chips and salsa for the four tables in our area alone that had been waiting 50+ minutes for food. Gee, thanks. How about if you take a percentage off our bill as well?
I didn’t even finish the sandwich. First of all, I was beyond hungry, and second, my local supermarket makes a better version (it doesn’t cost $ 12 either — daylight robbery!)
It is apparent Rustle Hill has no clue what a classy, sophisticated winery looks like, nor can it manage to put out a quality meal, let alone in a timely fashion. This is definitely one to avoid if you have any interest in food, wine or ambience.

I have came to Rustle Hill Winery twice now, and my experience the second time around was so much worse than the first. My first trip was somewhat pleasant as we were there to have some drinks. The grounds are very nice and the location is convenient off the highway.
However, if you are coming for lunch, the service is horrible. My bachelorette party and I came to Rustle Hill because of their menu. It had a lot of options for a larger group. The food? Very good, actually. But just to order, eat, and pay took TWO hours. I can confidently say that 1 – 1.5 hours were spent with our waitress taking the orders and checking us out on her iPad. It was ridiculous.
Rustle Hill seriously needs to figure out a better system to check out guests. Making a waitress type out credit card numbers one by one instead of using a Square reader is NOT efficient, especially with people splitting bills. Our waitress was friendly, but it seemed like this was the first time she had ever used an iPad. Staff should have at least sent her some help.
I will not be recommending Rustle Hill and will not be returning. There is a lot of potential there, it’s too bad.

I would guess there are a lot of mixed feelings about Rustle Hill. I can’t tell you about the wine, because we didn’t even do a tasting. We pretty much had our fill of crappy wine on Saturday, so by Sunday we were like «How about something else — anything really.» The facility is nice — they really put some $$ into it. This was our first visit, our 3^rd time to the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail.
Since it was a winery, my expectations for the food were low, so we were quite surprised when the bruschetta and Marguerite pizza were both excellent (not sure I spelled that right — my friend ordered and it’s not on the online menu).
We sat upstairs, with a great view of the grounds — very nice. The service was friendly and pretty good given the remote location over the catwalk and out the door.
If we come back, it would probably be for a meal or live music.

The atmosphere is nice. Food was good. Service is good. Great hours for a winery. The only downside is they were out of every beer I asked for. This is the 2^nd time visiting this winery and both times they were out of the beers I asked for [ mainly wheat beers ]. The wine is good.

Ok, so we aren’t picky people BUT listen to the negative reviews… they were spot on! The wine was truly awful. The two stars was for the Italian panini my husband had. Good but expensive. After having the wine, we decided we would be safe with the beer; we were served beer that was several months out of date. Needless to say we will not be going back. Service was not good either.

The only winery to try on the Shawnee Wine Trail is ALTO. THEY GET A 3 compared to wineries in north america that I have visited. Rustle Hill gets 1 star because they focus on the «bus loads» of people that come in wreaking havoc on the staff. (According to the sommelier? Who rushed us through a r
Tasting). I think we tried 3 wines while being told that ordering a burger is a crapshoot and a lot of bother. The server was impressed with himself as he gave us a brief history of his career and regaled us about the rich clientele normally partaking of Rustle Hill’s wines… unless they are the busloads of drunken bridal parties. So. The wine is mediocre at best

First the bad. The wine is horrible. Sorry to the owners but I can drink pretty much anything but that. The sangria was horrible as well.
Ok the good– the atmosphere, band, and selection of local big muddy beers more than made up for the wine. Plus the pizza was great.
Summary– clearly the worst wine I’ve ever had, but I WILL be back. Because this place is fun.

Great winery o hang out and relax at. The wines are not top notch, but hey do make a slushy out of wine that is badass.

Great building although it is not being maintained very well. Reflects on the overall quality atmosphere. Wine is very good by S. Illinois standards. Being out of red chambourine really hurts. Food is too expensive to eat there and quality/​amount doesnt justify the price. Great place to loaf but not a destination type place.

I have mixed feelings on this place. As another reviewer noted, if you are looking for a traditional winery experience, this isn’t it.
However, if you are looking for some good local wine, a nice meal, and great entertainment, this is a good place to go.
I kind of expected to be able to go in, taste several wines, and purchase a bottle or two. That’s the usual winery experience.
Here, you can taste several wines, but you have to pay for them. There is also a wine glass deposit of $ 2 if you buy the wine by the glass (refunded when you return your glass). That was a little odd, but as long as you return the glass (es), you’ll be fine.
Anyhow, for what it is, it’s kind of a cool restaurant/​bar that happens to have its own homemade wine.
Good food. The wines that we tried were good, and we brought a bottle home. They also have a nice selection of beer, including several from a local brewery. The live band on Saturday night was a nice touch — highly entertaining.