Prairie On State (unfortunately abbreviated as POS on their Facebook page) is the newer location for Prairie State Winery in Genoa. Having previously visited (and enjoyed) their other location, I was thrilled to see one opening in the more-accessible Sycamore. I am by no means a wine connoisseur; this is probably made clear by the fact that my favorite wines are always sweet. Luckily, POS caters to my tastes (and others as well). I have yet to dislike any of the sweet wines I have tried there. POS is the perfect place to come and check out different choices as well; you get a few free samples before you have to choose or pay for a full tasting. POS also offers a wine club, which allows you to receive a four-times-a-year selection of dry/semi-dry, sweet/semi-sweet, or mixed wines. While the prices vary a bit each time, they are reasonable at no more than $15 a bottle (and usually less than that). Another great innovation of both POS and Priarie State Winery is their Wine Downs--Friday-night events with wine and live music. These events are very popular and a great time to relax at the end of a long week. However, this is also the one area where I would rate POS as a 4/5 rather than 5/5. POS has minimal food options (bread, cheese and crackers are about it) and an early closing time (8 p.m. latest). This causes problems for anyone who wants to attend the Wine Downs because 1) there are few relevant restaurants nearby from which to bring in food (Mexican food and bar food are not the best wine pairings), 2) the store closes early enough that it is difficult to eat and get to spend much time relaxing, and 3) if you went out to dinner and then arrived at the Wine Down, you would not find a seat. Prairie on State is an excellent local winery option well worth checking out. If they could adjust their hours to stay open a little later and offer a few simple food options (basic pasta, paninis, or pizza options), they would be the perfect weekly hangout. As is? Still worth the visit--and the club. read more

I love all of their wines! I'm not a huge fan of heavy red wines but they've converted me! Over a year ago, I went in to buy around a dozenish bottles, the employee helping me suggested I join the wine club and I'm so happy I said yes! The discounts associated with the wine club are fantastic and I've been very happy with the "mix it up" option; a great selection of red, wine, and fruit wines. Whenever I have a party, my first stop is here to stock up on wines (Christmas and b-day shopping too;)). They are great about letting you taste the wines before buying and they have some very good deals on wine tasting. I highly recommend joining their wine club. I haven't been on a tour in Genoa yet but that's on my list of things to do at some point. For now, the Sycamore location is my main location for buying their wine. The store is nicely designed, everything is easy to find and the employees are extremely helpful (the main guy who works there -I'm terrible with names- has carried my wine to my car several times which I really appreciate). Overall, they know their wine, they're passionate about it and completely willing to help you. So glad they're in Sycamore (and Genoa). read more

First of all, the only reason this review is not 5 stars is because of the service, not the atmosphere, or the wine. The wine definitely deserves 5 stars, hands down. The first time I went there, I did a tasting. It was only $5 for 7 tastings and I felt like they were generously poured. I tried a nice variety of reds, whites, and blushes. If you want a nice gift, or wine for yourself, the wine here is unique and excellent. They also sell many of their varieties at Hy-Vee--this is where I plan to get the wine from now on. As for the service, I was not impressed. The first time I visited, there weren't very many people, so it was not crowded (probably one table and a few others at the bar), but I felt like the servers were annoyed by my friend and I when we sat at the bar. While the servers weren't rude, they were definitely not friendly and they did not offer any suggestions or advice. In fact, the customers at the bar told me more about what Prairie had to offer than the servers did. I let it go since it was the first time I'd ever been there, and the wine was really good. A few days later, I convinced my husband to try it again with me. I thought it might be a romantic date night, but he also was not impressed with the service. First of all, when we walked in, the chairs were completely removed from the bar. The servers just sort of stared at us when we looked at the bar confused. They did not say anything at all, and I immediately felt uncomfortable. There were a couple of other people sitting at the tables, so we decided to sit down figuring that perhaps they would come to us. After waiting for a long time (still no directives from the servers both behind the bar), my husband went to the bar and politely asked, "Do we come up here to order?" and one of the servers simply replied, "Yes, we don't serve you at the table." I felt like they could have said this to us since we were only seated a few feet away. Still, I let it go...AGAIN. When we wanted to do the tasting, they explained that it was not being offered that day. This was a bit disappointing, but we each ordered a glass of red wine. While we are not wine connoisseurs, we are pretty knowledgeable about wine. My husband was disappointed that they did not serve the red wine in a "goblet" style glass and filled the wine well beyond the bell curve. Ok, not a big deal (who doesn't want more wine, right?), but the people next to us had red wine AND traditional red wine glasses. They seemed like regulars, so maybe they bought the glasses? I wouldn't know because they weren't offered to us. Overall, the wine is fantastic, but I did not feel welcome or appreciated as a customer. The atmosphere is super cute, and I hear they have live music nights. I may try again, but I doubt I'll talk my husband into it. read more

Some of the best wines I've had made in Illinois, with super knowledgeable staff who know the wines in and out. Try the Chambourcin Reserve and Cattleman's Red! read more

Fantastic wine options, cute atmosphere......major fan! You can do wine tours at their Genoa location. They have a deal for wine tasting: 6 wines for $6.99. read more

This was so much fun on a Saturday afternoon! Steve introduced us out-of-towners to how the wine tasting worked and gave us samples of a couple of reds and whites. I went with the red pomegranate slush and my dad and sister got the moscato and the bubbling white. They kindly took a picture of us and our family and were just generally sweet and informative. Thank you for a great experience! read more

Some of the best local wineries in the area!! Really enjoy the wine tastings!! Very accommodating!

There are many perks to this place but their wine is definitely the best! It is very smooth with low acidity so it's easy to drink. They also have some unique blends that are worth tasting. It's a nice place with a small town charm. The only negatives were that the pours were literally just two sips so it seemed like the bare minimum amount of wine (our server was nice and the tasting fee is only $5 so it's not horrible). I don't know if I missed this but it didn't seem like you could order any food to go with the wine or even to cleanse your palate, so a few of the wines did seem to blend together. Overall it was a good time and if you are out this way, it is worth a stop. read more

Love this place! My friend and I were out and about this past weekend visiting a few wineries and tasting venues and we ended up stumbling upon this little gem in downtown Sycamore. What a classy place! We were welcomed within minutes of walking in and decided to try a tasting - $3 for 7 wines...how can you say no?? The wines were wonderful - I couldn't find one I didn't like! I would, however, highly recommend the "Snap" wine (would be amazing with sushi!!) and the Cattleman's Red (they recommended this with BBQ). The atmosphere was delightful and everyone was so friendly. I know I'll be back soon! Hopefully for one of their live music nights! read more

Go to Genoa instead. More fun, better service. We walked in to Sycamore 45 mins pre closing, were left sitting for 10 mins by the server while she served everyone else, then were told we couldn't do a tasting as "you need the full 45 minutes". She then disappeared into the back for ages - more worried about closing up than operating it - disappointing, as we really like to support Prairie. The one on Genoa is great fun though food options are indeed limited. The wines are good but come on, that's not fair... Genoa it is! read more

Just went to Prairie on State on Saturday for the first time. I was the first one there and was greeted by Glenn who is one of the owners. Prices are very reasonable. $3 for 7 one oz. pours if you want to do a tasting. There is a wide variety of white and red wines. Everything from dry to sweet and anything in between. Glenn is knowledgeable about the wines and history. After I selected seven wines, Glenn chose the order of the wine he served. More people came in but it was not crowded. I myself have lived in Sycamore for a long time and this is the first time I have been there. It has been opened for a year. They have live music, which they call Wine Downs. Wine Downs are the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month. (There are Wine Downs on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of the month at their Genoa location). The atmosphere is great and definitely clean. I will for sure be back again. read more