If there’s one thing my husband and I look forward to when the weather gets chilly, it’s Glögg from Glunz Family Winery & Cellars in Grayslake.
“Wait, stop!” you say, “There’s a winery in Grayslake?!?“
Tucked away in an office park on the Northwest corner of Belvidere Road and Atkinson Road you will find the Glunz Family Winery & Cellars Tasting Room. They produce many different types from fortified wines to table wines and they have been family-owned and operated for 120 years!
Despite all the varieties available, where the Glunz family has really stolen my heart is their seasonally available Glögg.
Glögg is a fortified, hot spiced wine that tastes like Christmas in a cup but has a kick like New Year’s in Vegas. Its origins date back to 1st Century Rome, but Glögg is the term used in Nordic Countries for this specialty beverage. This, of course, is according to my exhaustive scholastic research on the subject, i.e., I googled it, and that’s what Wikipedia told me.
Glunz’s version, “Vin Glögg: A Winter Wine,” is made from a blend of California Port and Red Wine and infused with fruit flavors and spices. It’s blended and bottled right here in Grayslake. Shopping local never made me so giddy!
My husband and I break open our first bottle every year around Halloween to warm up after Trick-or-Treating. (Simmer down, the kids get hot chocolate.) Additional bottles find their way onto our Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s tables, including the stockings of several friends and business associates. Pick up a bottle on your way to your next holiday party as a hostess gift, and you will make a memorable impression.
Save your bottles and return them to Glunz, and you get a nice discount off of your next purchase. Look at you, buying local and being green. You just might save the world one mug at a time!
I want to thank the Glunz family personally for creating what has become a welcome seasonal tradition in our family. I also want to thank them because, frankly, I never get the chance to use enough umlauts in my writing. Hooray for Glögg!
Put some roses in your cheeks and spread holiday cheer to the grown-ups in your life.
Glunz Family Winery & Cellars Tasting Room
888 E. Belvidere Road, Ste. #107, Grayslake, IL 60030
(847) 548-WINE (9463) | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest
By Loralie
Hainesville
When Loralie isn’t out exploring with her two pint-sized adventurers you’ll often find her in front of her computer plotting to take over the world (or at least Lake County.) She appreciates good friends, good food, expensive shoes and parents who make two lanes in the drop-off/pick-up line at school. Her spirit animal is The Hobbit. She invites you to join her on her quest for unique distractions, diversions and deliciousness in this county we call home.
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