August Hill Winery and
Illinois Sparkling Co.

Project Brief

For our client at August Hill Winery and Illinois Sparkling Co., wine making is about science, a lot of physical labor, hours upon hours of planning, and a ton of passion for what they do. Teri and Mark, like most small business owners, took a hit during the Covid Pandemic when they were forced to temporarily close their wine tasting room in Utica, IL. They didn’t let this deter their passion for bringing great wine to the people of the Illinois Valley and beyond. They used the resources at their production facility, which includes a beautiful view overlooking the Illinois River and an expanse of green lawn just below their vineyard, to create “Wine on the Hill”. They quickly found out that if they built it, people would come. We began work with AHW & ISC in the Spring of 2021 to help Mark and Teri create a vision for what the Winery could be, expanding on the assets they already had in place. As production had increased and a need for outdoor venues became apparent, we formed a team that included studioK and Bergfeld Studio, as the landscape Architect, to provide conceptual planning & schematic design services to determine the feasibility of using the existing building, building additions, site flow and use of the available outdoor space to envision a master plan which we could then develop into a phased construction approach. As important as the end product is that we deliver to a client, the process to get there is just as important. Along the way, we develop a passion for our client’s work and strive to learn as much as possible about what is important to them in the work that they do so that the space we create emulates the same feeling. We are tasked with creating an environment for their creativity and passion to shine, a space where they spend most of their time and where their employees can be productive and fulfilled.