Galena Cellars Vineyard

I cannot say enough good things about Galena Cellars Vineyard. Gorgeous vineyard, amazing and friendly staff who are willing to talk to you and answer all your questions about wine, and great selection. We did the vineyard tour last year and learned all about the history of Galena Cellars, the owner, the wine making process and even how they bottle their wines. We routinely come here for tastings, where you can sample 6 wines for around 5 $ (I think that’s right? It’s around 3 or 5 dollars). I normally hate fruity, sweet wines, but they make some of the best fruit wines that have convinced me to buy more than a few bottles of their blueberry wine. Their seasonal oktoberfest wine is one my favorites, in a stunning royal blue bottle, it’s crisp, light, and a little sweet. Another seasonal favorite is their apple cider wine, which tastes great over ice, basically it tastes like a hard cider drink. They have a great porch which you can sit on during the warmer months to sample your wines, which overlooks the vineyard. You MUST stop by here versus the downtown tasting room if you’re ever in the area! The downtown tasting room is still great, but the vineyard is the true Galena Cellars experience.

This was the 2^nd time I’ve been to this winery and it continues to put a smile on my face. The wine selection is extensive for a winery that does not have lots of output in terms of cases per year. The vineyard is set in a fantastic location not too far away from Galena proper. The tasting is a great way to explore their many wines and for only $ 3 it’s a bargain. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly; they are ready to answer all your questions at a moments notice.
After the tasting, you can buy wine by the glass (portions are VERY generous) or bottle. If you’re looking for some time to kill, you can sit out on their porch or one of the many tables adjacent the vines.
The winery also has a 2-​bedroom house and a 1-​bedroom suite available to rent out for overnight stays. It’s a great way to spend a quiet weekend away from the big city.
Check this place out for some good local wine at a reasonable price.

I LOVED THIS PLACE! The wine was plentiful and hit the spot! I adored the little wine holders which the flights were served in. Gorgeous view with pleasant and knowledgeable staff! It is only ten dollars for a sampling of six wines plus a cute tour. Unlike many vineyards, this location also grows some wine on sight. Beautiful vineyard where you can practically sit in the vineyard enjoying wine, massages, picnics, and music!

I was not very impressed with the wine here– it was not bad, but it was not good either. Perhaps my expectations of this place were too high based on the reviews I read… Either way, again based on reviews, seems to be the go to vineyard in Galena. If you do go here, you should probably stay away from dry red wines. The dry whites on the other hand were decent.
Hope you have a better experience than I did!

This is my absolute favorite place in galena!
Not only is the staff super friendly, they are knowledgable! I’ve taken the tour twice and thought it was lovely each time.
I found new wines I like that I would’ve never tried if it weren’t for their wine tasting. Their wine is wonderful.
My favorite? Wedding cake wine with a sprinkle of chocolate port. Ohmygosh. The sweet woman that took us on our tour had is try her concoction and it was amazing. I bought both bottles and can’t wait to drink them!
I was excited to find out they actually have a store in Geneva IL, which isn’t far from my, so I think they will become my go to wine from now on!
I’ll be back!

I absolutely LOVE this winery. We were introduced to Galena Cellars on our trip last year to Galena. We have visited the tasting room in Geneva countless times. All that was left to do was visit the actual winery and I am so glad that we did.
The location is a little tricky to find, but once you do, it is well worth it. The views are breath taking. I could have sat and enjoyed the view for hours. We also took a tour with a group of friends which was really nice. We got to sample a few of the wines, Spiced Apple and Oktoberfest while we learned more about Galena Cellars, their bottling machine and where they get their grapes (some grapes are grown on site). Also found out their sparkling wines are bottled elsewhere, at August Hill which we’ve been to too!
After the tour, we had a tasting and I was happy to see that they were offering my beloved wine slushies. We also walked around the property and took some pics.
This would be a great location to hold an event as you would let the scenery be the main attraction.

Hands down one of our favorite wineries to-​date. I have been here more than once and I love the service, the flights are served beautiful, they possess some of my absolute favorite dry reds.
Tip: Get the Illinois Marquette before it sells out. Seriously, stock up. It went down as one of my absolute favorite wines… ever.
Proprietor’s Reserve. Amazing.
We love this place and the vineyard is absolutely gorgeous. We had a gorgeous and romantic day running around in the vineyard toting our little heartshaped flight carriers. Bought cheese, crackers, and a chips. The weather was perfect and we truly enjoyed everything about being here.
The tasting room is lovely and intimate and the tours are fun, too! We were more than pleased with the service and the staff was extremely knowledgeable and pleasant.
Will return, for certain — worth the visit if you’re anywhere even close to Galena.

I’ve been to better wine tastings, though I have no legitimate «complaints» about this place. We opted to visit the vineyard over the tasting room for the experience. We passed on the tour because if you’ve been on one winery tour… you’ve seen them all — bottling, labeling, etc. they are pretty much the same thing. We did, however do the tasting. I felt a bit rushed through it and the pours were a little on the small side. We were a group of four, there were two other groups of two doing tastings as well. We weren’t asked which we liked, or ANY pressure to buy… I felt like just walking out after our tasting but I really liked a winter wine that I tried, and figured since I won’t be back before winter I’d pick it up.
The wine is good though, and there are many to choose from. I also liked the back patio overlooking the vineyard where you could enjoy a wine slushy :)
I doubt I’ll be back to this location… if I’m in the Galena area again maybe I’ll stop by the tasting room because there are some tasty wines to be had at this place.

What a great way to experience the art of wine-​making! For $ 5, you get a tour of the vineyard and a very clear explanation of the process of making wine from start to finish — from someone who actually participates in the process.
The best part is the glass of wine at the end of tour, accompanied with a tutorial on how to successfully taste wine. I found the whole experience to be very educational and the knowledge of our tour guide was invaluable. $ 5 is a very small price to pay for such great information. Galena Cellars Vineyard is a must-​see on your trip to Galena.

This was our rendezvous point for our family reunion (says a lot about our family) and it was an excellent springboard into the experience that is Galena.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so relaxed during a family gathering before…
We did not do the official tour, but we poked around a bit. I would like to take the tour next time for sure.
We found the tasting room quite easily and we each selected 6 wines from the list which was awesome because they cater to peoples’ unique pallates. The only down side is that not everyone has the same tasting experience so you need to rely on the taster’s description. I’m sure you could purchase another taste but I was the driver so I had to behave.
I ended up purchasing a bottle of their award winning General’s Reserve which is one of their popular offerings and one of my favorites.
After our tasting, led by a very knowledgable volunteer pourer (I learned where the term ‘port’ comes from), we sat on the deck which overlooked the vineyard and the farm across the street, and we ate the finger foods we packed and drank local, delicious wine.
Note to self: buy a vineyard and enjoy it.
I have been to tastings and vineyards/​wineries in the past but Galena Wine Cellars was my most enjoyable experience to date. I’m anxious to return because it seems like a lot of fun can take place there, they have lawn games and fire pits and grills and more wine. I can’t really argue with that.
I couldn’t give 5 stars due to the fact that we didn’t do the tour, so hopefully I can update my review in the future and slap that last guy up there.
Enjoy!

We’ve enjoyed Galena Cellars tasting room on Main St. in the past, but on this Galena weekend visit we decided to take the 15-​min drive out to the beautiful vineyard. We were impressed by the quality of the tour & tasting, including the depth of knowledge by the guide during the narrative and Q&A, as well as fun attitude and care displayed by all the staff for their guests. It’s definitely more enjoyable to sample the wines in this environment.
Info from the tour included the family history surrounding the founding of the business and the importance of family that still exists today. While Galena Cellars is commercially successful (2^nd largest production in IL), that commercialism doesn’t spoil the customer’s ability to witness production up close. We were lucky to view the bottling machine while in use. We saw how buildings on this original farm, and much of the dairy equipment were reused & re-​purposed for the wine business without destroying the historic value.
Finally, the wines themselves are most enjoyable, with both serious ones for every occasion, as well as fun everyday values. We will be retuning to the vineyard often.

First and foremost I’m not a wine person. I don’t drink wine. Beer is my adult beverage of choice and I would rather go to a micro brewery and enjoy hand crafted beers then sip fermented grape juice. But, because of my wife’s wants, and that I love my wife and want her to be happy, I followed her to this vineyard and got to see first hand all the ins and outs of wine making. And I can safely say I’m a changed man. Not fully converted, I’ll still drink beer before wine, but because of the tour, the tastings, and the great experiences I’ve had here, I’ve really grown to appreciate wine and in particular the many great wines Galena Cellars has to offer. The other reviews are true. Tour is great. Tastings are great. The atmosphere is great. The prices are great. I had a lot of fun being taught the true way of tasting a wine and then heading to the tasting area and trying my newly learned skill. This place is so welcoming and declicious that it is pretty difficult not to spend money. From buying wine by the bottle or getting some sangria to enjoy on the porch, there is plenty to purchase and enjoy. The only one negative, that has been mentioned in past reviews, is that it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere so finding it can be a challenge. Using the address provided from the website our GPS took us on gravel back roads and through areas where there was nothing around and then had us arrive at some residential house. Luckily we were close enough to the actual location that we could just follow signs to Galena Cellars & Vineyard but those few minutes of not knowing exactly where we going were a little stressful. Happily this little directional hiccup was easily forgotten by the help of the great experiences we had at the vineyard.

Great tour and we learned a lot about wine!
The tasting was fun too! Just wish there had been more bar space.

We ended up here doing the tour based on some recommendations. They did a private tour for the group of us (10) which was really nice. The woman conducting the tour was super informative and answered our questions easily.
The grounds are just lovely. It’s a great place to come, do the tour, buy a bottle (or two… or three…) of wine and sit on the deck and enjoy.
Due to my bun in the oven, I didn’t do the wine tasting with the rest of the group but they all said it was a great deal for $ 3 and pretty much everyone ended up walking away with a bottle or two (or 6!) of wine.
My only complaint… and it’s not a big one… is that the tour is $ 5 each and includes wine… but I didn’t get to drink it! haha. They gave us non-​drinkers glasses of their sparkling grape juice which was a small consolation but a nice touch.
I’d definitely recommend!

Let’ s just put it like this – ever since my girlfriend and I discovered the Galena Cellars Vineyards/​store/​tasting room just on the outskirts of Galena, there has not been a single time we’ve left Galena without picking up a case full of delicious wines from their Ford Rd location.
All of their wines are absolutely delightful and are priced very reasonably. If you’re going to be buying wine – why get it from a grocery store?!? Head here to find just about anything you’re looking for, and be sure to do a tasting. 6 wines for $ 3 – you just can’t beat it.
In addition to the delicious wines, beautiful scenic location, and affordable wide selection, the staff here are top-​notch. I always learn something new and interesting about the wines I’m enjoying, and then usually walk out with a full bottle to enjoy later. They also offer tours and wines-​by-​the-​glass, so if you have a spare afternoon, be sure to sit out on their porch and enjoy a delicious glass of wine and let the time pass you by!

A great place to drink wine with friends!
Went up to the vineyard this weekend, which I guess is normally closed this time of year, but they opened up for Wine Lover’s Weekend. We got there on Sunday just before 2pm, we were the only ones there for a while but about 12 more people showed up for their tour.
We decided to skip the tour and try the tasting. You get to taste 6 wines for $ 3! They have a great selection of tasting wines to choose from. We also got some colby jack cheese to munch on while we were tasting, the cheese was $ 5.
The wine was yummy. My favorites were the bubbly blanc, the cracklin’ apple, the cabernet, and the chocolate port.
It was a little chilly outside, but after the tasting we bought some glasses of wine (they range from $ 4-​$ 6/​glass) and sat outside and enjoyed the view, which was pretty, but I can imagine is gorgeous when there’s leaves on the trees.
The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. They not only recommended great wines to try, but they gave us some info about other things to do while we were in town. They also put some tunes on for us when we moved inside to drink wine. They also let you keep an open tab here, and have more than two glasses, more than Lynfred will let you.
I will say this place had a bit of a creep factor when we pulled up. It’s in the middle of nowhere, and you drive past some pretty dilapidated shacks getting there. When we pulled up, it seemed kind of deserted, and they make you walk to a separate building to go to the bathroom, which was a little nerve wrecking to do alone. There were also three women standing by a back building holding three yellow balloons. I don’t know what they were doing, and they never came into the main building. but that added to the creep factor. I’m sure this place is much busier when it’s open in the warmer months, and the creep factor goes away.

I had recently paid a visit to the Galena Cellars shop in Geneva, IL and when I ended up in Galena to celebrate my 2-​year anniversary I knew I had to make a stop to one of my favorite wine producer’s locale. The Galena Cellars Vineyard is among the random Illini lush hills hidden by a dirt driveway. Don’t worry, it’s easy to find from downtown Galena. Just follow the blue tourist attraction signs. The winery is only made up of about 4 barns, yet produces some awesome local wine.
Other than a short hour-​long tour, you mustn’t miss out on the Wine Tasting that costs only $ 3 for 6 tastings! Can’t beat that!
(Psst…The tasting is cheaper at the actual vineyard than any of their shops) The wine conessuir was super sweet and knew everything about each of the wines. She also was sure not be bad company by leaving us to drink by ourselves and took sips of her own while chewing on Wisconsin cheese curds. There are fridges too to pick out any fresh cheeses, meats, chocolates or other accompaniments for your picnic in the vineyard’s backyard. (They ask that you do not bring items from outside sources). Be sure to try their newly released Red & White Sangria. Galena Cellars Vineyard is a MUST VISIT in Jo Daviess County!