Alpana Singh's latest finds: dry and delicious Illinois wines

Master Sommelier Alpana Singh has found two quality, locally produced Illinois wines for Big Bowl - a light and crisp seyval blanc and a robust cabernet franc.

The new additions, says Singh, defies conventional thinking that the area can only make apple or other sweet, cloying wines.

"You don't associate dry wines with our area but these grapes which aren't typically planted here, fare well in cooler climates like Illinois," says Singh, who oversees Big Bowl's wine list.

The new wines made with grapes grown in Illinois join the Big Bowl list that Singh revamped two years ago to feature a variety of organic and sustainable selections. She is currently researching wines produced where other Big Bowl outposts are located.

The new white selection is a Seyval Blanc from August Hill Winery in Peru, IL. Grown in the Illinois River Valley, the French hybrid grape is made in a style reminiscent of pinot grigio. The 2009 is a light bodied, semi dry wine with hints of citrus, tropical fruit and floral aroma. It's on the list for $24.

The red selection is a Cabernet Franc from Prairie State Winery in Genoa, IL. "This is a very tasty wine and is a great starting point for a fine cab franc," Singh says of the $30 wine. "Cabernet franc does well in our marginal climate - it has a great future here. If you look at Napa and where it started decades ago, everyone had a starting point."

The new selections, which are both award-winning wines, are available in Illinois at Big Bowl in Lincolnshire, Schaumburg and the two locations in downtown Chicago.

To stay in step with Big Bowl's commitment to eco-friendly practices, the wineries are taking turns carpooling each other's deliveries to Chicago and the the suburbs, keeping those carbon emissions to a minimum.

"What excites me about these new wines is to be able to meet the owners as they hand deliver their product," says Dan McGowan, president of Big Bowl. "That's very cool."