Delivering to IL
Wine grapes shipped to Illinois
Fresh California wine grapes and frozen must delivered anywhere in Illinois — Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, Rockford, Springfield and everywhere between — on refrigerated freight out of our Livermore dock.
- Transit time
- 4 business days
- Freight lane
- I-80 through Omaha to Chicago
- Best format
- Frozen must
Why Illinois winemakers buy California fruit
Chicago is one of our highest-volume metros outside California, largely on the strength of its Italian-American home-winemaking tradition. Zinfandel, Alicante Bouschet, and Muscat move in real quantity here every September.
Locally, Illinois plantings run to chambourcin, norton, and vignoles in the southern part of the state. That is a different palette from what we grow — our fruit comes off Lodi, Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, and Sierra Foothills blocks, so you can make a varietally correct Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, or Petite Sirah without waiting on a vineyard that will never ripen it.
Fresh or frozen for Illinois?
Fresh grapes
At 4 business days, fresh fruit is possible but demands planning: an early-week pick, a confirmed delivery appointment, and someone available to crush the day it lands. Many Illinois customers do it successfully; just do not order fresh on a whim.
Browse fresh wine grapesFrozen must & juice
This is what we recommend for Illinois. Pails are crushed and frozen at the vineyard, ship as their own cold pack, and arrive still solid. Put them in a freezer and start fermentation the weekend that suits you rather than the day the truck shows up.
Browse frozen must & juicePlanning a Illinois order
- Order early. Fresh fruit is allocated against actual pick dates between September and November. Reserve by late summer for the varieties you want.
- Watch the calendar, not the clock. Picks shift with Brix and weather, so your firm ship date is confirmed by email roughly ten days out.
- Group up. Chicago clubs and co-ops routinely consolidate into one freight shipment, which spreads the flat freight charge across everyone.
- Have your cellar ready. Fermenters sanitized, yeast and nutrients on hand, and cold space cleared before the truck arrives — especially on a 4-day lane.
Illinois shipping questions
How long does it take to ship wine grapes to Illinois?
4 business days from our Livermore, California dock, routed i-80 through omaha to chicago. We dispatch Monday through Wednesday so shipments are never held in a terminal over a weekend, and transit days exclude the pick date itself.
Should I order fresh grapes or frozen must in Illinois?
Frozen must and juice pails are the practical choice in Illinois. At 4 business days they arrive still cold, thaw on your schedule, and avoid the risk of fresh fruit starting to ferment in transit.
Do you deliver to Chicago, Aurora, Naperville?
Yes. We deliver refrigerated freight anywhere in Illinois, including Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, Rockford, Springfield and rural addresses. Residential deliveries are scheduled with a call-ahead from the carrier.
Can I pick my order up instead of shipping it to Illinois?
Yes. Pickup at 6951 Southfront Road, Livermore, CA 94551 is free, and plenty of Illinois customers coordinate with a local club or co-op to make one trip for a group order. Call 925-599-1352 to arrange it.