ISC wines are passionately created on a quiet hillside overlooking the Illinois River. Founders Mark and Teri Wenzel founded ISC in 2011.
While developing wines for August Hill Winery, Mark realized that the grapes in their 4-acre vineyard were high in acid and low in tannins, similar to those in the French Champagne region (which resembles their Illinois land in climate and geography). In 2007, Mark immersed himself in learning the Traditional Champagne Method from the masters. Though ISC’s grapes are not the same varieties used in Champagne, the winemaking method is. This combination creates a truly unique sparkling wine.
Mark’s passion for sparkling wine and dedication to the Traditional Method could be called a (healthy) obsession. From selecting and tending to the grapes, to dreaming up and crafting unique blends, Mark is ISC’s visionary force and has a hand in every step of creating ISC bubbly.
A perfect partner to Mark’s palate and process, Teri is ISC’s visual taste-maker. She’s the creative eye behind everything from the product packaging to the Tasting Room environment, ensuring a delightful customer experience.
The attention to detail involved in Traditional Method is unmatched in other wine-making methods. As the original process developed to create sparkling wine, each bottle is personally handled from beginning to end.