Northern Illinois Weekender - 032021

Weekender NORTHERN

ILLINOIS

YOUR GUIDE TO ARTS & LEISURE IN NORTHERN ILLINOIS

SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2021 • ShawLocal.com

RUSTY GOLD

‘American Pickers’ to film in Illinois / 6

LIFE OF LEISURE

Canal Quarters coming to Heritage Harbor / 3

GO WITH THE PHO Pacifica Square adds a dozen Asian eateries / 5

UNCORKED

SHAW MEDIA

An expert taster shares favorite finds to consider adding to your own wine racks.

Shaw Media / ShawLocal.com • Saturday, March 20, 2021

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By JAMES NOKES

FEL Wines’ vineyard filled with character

F

rom a seemingly random assortment of vineyard rows, Ryan Hodgins has found greatness.

The Savoy Vineyard covers 42 acres in Anderson Valley, and about half the fruit is kept for FEL Wines and its winemaker, Hodgins. Planted

by Richard Savoy in 1991, and purchased by FEL founder Cliff Lede in 2011, the nontraditional row orientation has forced Hodgins to exit his comfort zone to figure out the nature of the vineyard.

Four outstanding FEL bottlings are featured in this column.

“The way it was set up is hard for me to manage,” Hodgins said. “Richard Savoy has an artistic background and was a constant tinkerer. I’m a scientist and a linear thinker. There’s just flagging tape or paint on a post, and that’s all that demarcates rows.

I’ve always thought of it as a Gran Cru vineyard.

It’s a special site that lots of different producers love to work with. There can be two or three different clones in a row, even for our smallest clients.”

With 34 different blocks, each managed individually, Savoy is loaded with character. It is located just above a river bench and overlooks the last strand of old redwood trees, whose needles Hodgins has always found in the savory notes of Savoy pinot noir.

The FEL Savoy Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018 ($70) is awesome right now, but with time in the cellar will gain a tantalizing set of complex flavors.

“There’s black cherry, cherry cola, savory and a wild minty pennyroyal that grows in abundance there along with a pine needle characteristic in Savoy Vineyard,” Hodgins said. “There were sheep there for hundreds of years before there were vines, and the sheep would eat the mint. Just a walk through the vineyard in the summer afternoon – and you can smell the mint in the air.”

While there are only 200 cases of the FEL Savoy Vineyard Chardonnay 2018 ($49), it’s worth the hunt.

There’s lemon rind, green apple and a sesame note on the nose. Flavors of Meyer lemon [and] citrus on a full-bodied mouthfeel emerge. A few of the 500-liter barrels go through malolactic fermentation, just enough for texture but not to disturb the salty, briny freshness of the wine.

Because the fruit from Savoy is sold to different producers, Hodgins often will do a horizontal tasting, where wines from the vineyard made from different producers are sampled. Even when different winemakers ply their craft with Savoy fruit, its traits still stand out.

“The Savoy presence is distinctive,” Hodgins said. “There’s a consistent thread in fruit profile and structure of the wines from Savoy.”

Nestled into what is either the beginning or end of a wine-growing region, Hodgins has found a sweet spot with the appellation blends of FEL, which stands for Florence Elsie Lede, Lede’s mother’s name. She was his very first inspiration in the industry with her homemade wine.

“Anderson Valley is a tipping point between California and the Northwest,” Hodgins said. “Even in the Valley, which is 5 miles long from Boonville in the southeast to Navarro in the northwest, there’s a variance. The north side of the Valley faces south

Photo provided

Ryan Hodgins is the winemaker at FEL Wines. and gets afternoon sun. It looks like classic California wine country with oak trees and grassy hills.

The south side is shaded by the ridge line. There are Douglas firs and 250-foot-tall redwoods. It’s the beginning of the Northwest, its great woods and the end of wine country.”

When it comes to responsibility, Hodgins is more of a hall monitor than a drill sergeant. He wants wines to naturally pass from the vineyard to the press and eventually the bottle with as little of his influence felt as possible.

If the work has been done during the growing season in the vineyard, then he can embrace a role that leaves as little a mark as possible.

“I’m the shepherd,” Hodgins said. “The grapes come in, we put them in tank and barrel, and don’t use a lot of new oak. It’s all about each site and place and allowing it to reflect its own personality.”

FEL’s appellation wines are an all-encompassing view because of the site from which they source fruit. Appellation wines, where there is no designated vineyard on the label, are often the best values in wine.

It’s a savvy purchase as well. If a winemaker were a visual artist, an appellation wine would be akin to having a large palette from which to choose colors for a piece of art. When Hodgins can choose from vineyards in the north and south of Anderson Val-

ley, he’s expanding his palate of flavors as he’s done with the FEL Anderson Valley Pinot Noir 2018 ($38).

“We have a 10,000-foot view of the Valley,” Hodgins said. “We source from vineyards that run the length of the Valley. It’s warmer to the south, and those ripen first and give off the classic California fruit profile of black cherry, sweet fruit and cola. When you get closer to the Pacific Ocean, it becomes more spice driven. The deep end of the Valley we can harvest there six weeks later than Boonville. We lose a degree off the daytime high for every mile closer to the ocean. The flavors are more savory with cigar box and tobacco. Because we pull from both ends … we get a sense of spice, black cherry and cola.”

The FEL Anderson Valley Chardonnay 2018 ($32), a flinty, nervous wine that plays its citrus off herbal, sage-green flavors, struck a chord.

“I’m looking for focus and freshness,” Hodgins said. “I like to have tension in my wines, I don’t want flabbiness. The biggest fault in a wine is if it’s too broad. I want precision and focus.”

He’s found it with FEL, even if the vineyard rows sometimes run askew to his thought process.

• James Nokes has been tasting, touring and collecting in the wine world for several years. Email him at jamesnokes25@yahoo.com.

STARVED ROCK COUNTRY

3 SHAW MEDIA Shaw Media / ShawLocal.com • Saturday, March 20, 2021

Dedicated to growing the awareness of everything the Starved Rock area has to offer

Image provided

A rendering of the new development is shared by Heritage Harbor.

Canal Quarters coming to Heritage Harbor

By RYAN SEARL

rsearl@shawmedia.com

W

hether you’re looking for a vacation home as an asset or as a seasonal rental that supplements your income, you’ll want to visit Heritage Harbor in Ottawa, where the newly introduced Canal Quarters condominiums offer an investment opportunity and an incredible location within Starved Rock Country.

The Canal Quarters is part of the newly introduced Navvy Town neighborhood, which features an outdoor pool and recreation hall for games, movie nights and other family fun. Priced from the $180,000s, these one- and two-bedroom condominiums are in two-story buildings consisting of four units. Interested investors may purchase a single unit or an entire building.

Two of the 12 planned buildings will break ground this spring. In addition to the condominiums, Navvy Town will include two-story cottages, up to 1,150 square feet in size, and

two-bedroom carriage homes, when complete.

Why should vacation house hunters consider Heritage Harbor? Resort Marketing Manager Pierre Alexander gives us the pitch.

“Location. Just 90 minutes from Chicago and within close proximity to the buyer’s primary residence. A recreationally rich environment. Situated along the Illinois River, centered [on] a 152-slip marina, and 15 minutes from Starved Rock State Park. A solid rental management program. The Harbor Inn handles marketing, bookings, check-in/out, cleaning, laundry, inspections, credit card and systems fees, appropriate hotel city and state taxes, homeowner statements of accounts and much more, thus providing a turnkey process.”

About 20% of the homes at Heritage Harbor are currently under Harbor Inn vacation rental management, which allows guests to book through the Heritage Harbor website, call to make a reservation, or simply book through popular third-party sites such

as Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO, Expedia and others.

Once confirmed, guests can check in at the welcome center or follow the after-hours automated check-in process.

Heritage Harbor also offers an on-site hospitality host who serves as a guest concierge seven days a week. Guests receive a digital vacation home guide app with information for their stay, including special excursion discounts in the Starved Rock Country area.

Besides The Canal Quarters condominiums, Heritage Harbor offers several distinct neighborhoods and housing choices that include villas, cottages, single-family homes and luxury, custom residences.

In addition to the marina, river and picturesque views, homeowners enjoy numerous neighborhood clubhouses and swimming pools, the Red Dog restaurant, access to the 97-mile I&M Canal biking trail, and the Heritage Harbor activity director who plans year-round events for residents and guests, including live music on weekends, crafts, cooking classes, tours, and

the weekly, Saturday 5K walk and run.

“Investors have added peace of mind with our Harbor Inn property management team and the owner portal which allows owners to request repairs or updates,” Alexander said.

“Vacation homes are also populated in our property management software so owners can view their property and bookings through their personal login, as well as block their own stay dates on the calendar.”

The location means visitors have easy access to top-rated attractions such as Starved Rock State Park, August Hill Winery and Illinois Sparkling Co. Tasting Room, Utica Electric Bike Rental, LaSalle Canal Boat tours and the Grand Bear Falls Indoor Water Park.

Heritage Harbor is at 111 Harbor View Drive in Ottawa. To schedule an appointment, call 815-433-5000, ext. 1, or email tammyb@heritageharborottawa.com.

Enjoy a virtual drive through the community by visiting www.visitheritageharbor.com.

Shaw Media / ShawLocal.com • Saturday, March 20, 2021

SHAW MEDIA

4 STREAMING THIS WEEKEND

AP photos

This combination of photos shows promotional art (from left) for the Netflix series “Country Comfort,” “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” and “Operation Varsity Blues,” a documentary available on Netflix about the college admissions scandal.

‘Justice League,’ ‘Country Comfort’ on tap

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.

Movies

Four years after “Justice League” underwhelmed both critics and audiences, filmmaker Zack Snyder has come back to finish what he started.

He left the original film amid a family tragedy and conflicts with the studio, and says he’s never actually seen it (Joss Whedon took over and finished the film that came to theaters in 2017).

This version on HBO Max is a fourhour epic about Ben Affleck’s Batman, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Ray Fisher’s Cyborg and more. There are new characters and plot lines and over 2,500 new visual effects, but amazingly only one brand new scene was filmed, with Jared Leto’s Joker. The Snyder army will no doubt be watching “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” in one sitting, but the good news for everyone else is you can break up the four hours however you like.

From Chris Smith, the man who brought us “Tiger King” and one of

the Fyre Festival documentaries (the Netflix one), comes the documentary “Operation Varsity Blues” about the wild college admissions scandal involving children of immense privilege. The story is told with the help of transcripts of wiretaps and actor reenactments.

Matthew Modine plays the admissions mastermind Rick Singer. It is on Netflix.

“Community’s” Joel McHale and “Halt and Catch Fire’s” Kerry Bishé star in the new dark rom-com “Happily,” about a married couple whose honeymoon phase has continued in earnest for 14 years. Directed by BenDavid Grabinski, who was behind the recent “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” reboot, “Happily” takes a turn when the couple realizes their friends resent them. There’s also a dead body in the mix. Co-starring Stephen Root and Paul Scheer, “Happily” is available to rent on demand.

– Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

Music

Zoom has become the top communication tool for the world in the pandemic era. And Ringo Starr worked with his collaborators remotely to complete his new EP “Zoom In.” The Beatle recorded the project at his home studio between April and

October of last year. The first single, “Here’s to the Nights,” was written by Diane Warren and features all-stars like Paul McCartney, Joe Walsh, Dave Grohl, Jenny Lewis, Lenny Kravitz, Sheryl Crow, Corinne Bailey Rae, Chris Stapleton, FINNEAS, Ben Harper, Steve Lukather, Yola and Eric Burton of Black Pumas.

Loretta Lynn’s new album is a celebration of women in country music, and it features collaborations with Tanya Tucker, Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire and Margo Price. “Still Woman Enough” was released Friday, and the 13-track set was produced by Lynn’s daughter, Patsy Lynn Russell, and John Carter Cash, the son of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash.

– Music Editor Mesfin Fekadu

Television

Children who stutter and an organization that takes an unusual approach to help them are profiled in “My Beautiful Stutter,” streaming now on the discovery+ service. The documentary focuses on five children, ages 9 to 18 from across the U.S., who have been stigmatized for stuttering. They join with other children in an interactive, arts-based program, The Stuttering Association for the Young in New York,

and are introduced to the association’s tenet: It’s OK to stutter. The film details the program’s effect on the youngsters over the course of a year.

Katherine McPhee, of TV’s “American Idol” and “Smash,” plays an aspiring country singer, Bailey, who’s suffered career and personal setbacks in the Netflix series “Country Comfort.”

Enter rugged cowboy and widower Beau (Eddie Cibrian) and his five musically inclined children, who might help her find an unexpected path to stardom. Turns out Bailey, although an untested nanny, has something to offer the family as well: a can-do attitude and Southern charm.

Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard are back as deeply stressed parents Paul and Ally in the 10-episode sophomore season of FX’s comedy series “Breeders,” debuting at 9 p.m.

Monday, March 22. There’s a new set of challenges for them to face, with offspring Luke and Ava (Alex Eastwood, Eve Prenelle) fast-forwarded from childhood to their early teen and tween years. Paul and Ally’s parents are older as well, creating new demands on their time, patience and the strength of their relationship.

– Television Writer Lynn Elber

5 SHAW MEDIA Shaw Media / ShawLocal.com • Saturday, March 20, 2021 Photos provided

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A lion dance helped mark the opening of the new restaurants at Pacifica Square. The Food Court off the Park to Shop grocery store offers a wide variety of Asian dishes at Pacifica Square. Vivi Bubble Tea is among the new restaurants. Park to Shop is an expansive Asian supermarket, offering those hard-to-find culinary ingredients.

CulturalFLAVOR

Pacifica Square adds a dozen Asian eateries

P

Cuisine for Chinese dishes; Ding Dang Japanese Bento; Sweet General for desserts, custom cakes and acifica Square is a lifestyle center celebrat- patisserie; Spades Tealife for bubble tea, coffee and ing Asian cultures that recently launched a tea; Strings Ramen; A Tasty Hot Pot; Levee Karaoke & BBQ; and Hyderabad House Biryani Place, servdozen more restaurants in a mall development at East New York Street and Route 59 ing Indian cuisine.

The food court is a project of the expansive Asian in Aurora on the Naperville border. grocery store called Park to Shop at 4334 E. New The new eateries line a food court York St. The 50,000-square-foot supermarket boasts where you can create your own fusion experience. a large seafood department among its specialty Among the businesses are PHO Noodle Station for Vietnamese cuisine; Lao Sze Chuan; Vivi Bubble offerings, and the food court is off its entrance. The grocery store opened last summer.

Tea; Crab Boil Express for Cajun seafood; Night The mall also is home to conventional retail Market – Lisa’s Taiwanese Bistro; Red Pepper offerings, such as home decor, electronics, clothing, for Chinese fare; Ah Yin’s Chinese BBQ for Hong Kong-style barbecue; Julia Bakery; CM Chicken for salon and spa services, dog training and daycare, children’s swim lessons, a fitness center, and The Korean-style fried chicken; Chi Noodle; Lao Liang

SHAW MEDIA

Chill’Axe Throwing entertainment destination.

The city of Aurora conducted ribbon-cuttings for the dozen new restaurants during the recent Lunar New Year festivities.

“Today is a celebration of culture, equity and economic development,” Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin stated in a news release about the event.

“We look forward to celebrating with our Chinese community – and all in our Asian American Pacific Islander community – as we bring in the New Year and shine a spotlight on the hard work of entrepreneurs who have successfully opened new businesses amid the pandemic.”

Several future phases are planned at Pacifica Square, which would make it one of the largest Asian-themed shopping centers in the nation.

Shaw Media / ShawLocal.com • Saturday, March 20, 2021

SHAW MEDIA

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‘American Pickers’ show to film in Illinois SHAW MEDIA The “American Pickers” team is excited to return to Illinois. They plan to film episodes of The History Channel hit television series throughout the area in May 2021.

“American Pickers” is a documentary series that explores the fascinating world of antique “picking” on The History Channel. The show follows skilled pickers in the business, as they hunt for America’s most valuable antiques. They are always excited to find sizable, unique collections and learn the interesting stories behind them, a news release stated.

As they hit the back roads from coast to coast, the Pickers are on a mission to recycle and rescue forgotten relics. Along the way, they want to meet characters with remarkable and exceptional items.

They hope to give historically significant objects a new lease on life, while learning a thing or two about America’s past along the way.

The Pickers have seen a lot of rusty gold over the years and are always looking to discover something they’ve never seen before. They are ready to find extraordinary items and hear fascinating tales about them.

The “American Pickers” television show is looking for leads and would love to explore your hidden treasure. If you or someone you know has a large, private collection or accumulation of antiques that the Pickers can spend the better part of the day looking through, send your name, phone number, location and description of the collection with

Photo provided

Mike Wolfe of “American Pickers” plans to come to Illinois in May to film new episodes of the documentary series. The show is looking for leads to antiques collections around the state. photos to: americanpickers@cineflix.com or call 855-OLD-RUST. “American Pickers” takes the pandemic seriously and follows all guidelines and protocols for

safe filming as outlined by the state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the show plans to be in Illinois this May, it will reschedule if conditions change.

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By PAM OTTO

Taking interesting dives into the natural world around us, Pam Otto opens new avenues of exploration.

Each song sparrow shares unique melodies

“S

weet, sweet, sweet … blah blah blah yada yada.

“Sweet, sweet, sweet … blah blah blah yada yada.

“Sweet, sweet, sweet … blah blah blah yada yada.”

Sound familiar?

No, it’s not the talk of some crazed sugar fiend craving yet another dessert. (Though I think I did babble something similar around month 10 of The Quarantine. Details are hazy, but cookies and cake, plus a large bag of Bit-O-Honey, were involved.

Afterward, I vowed I’d never eat candy again. But I digress.)

Getting back to those sweet, sweet notes. They are the masterful work of the male song sparrow, Melospiza melodia.

These past few weeks, these fellows have really kicked into high gear. At a wetland park, for example, in between the persistent songs of red-winged blackbirds, I counted three different male melodias singing their notably dissimilar songs from prominent points around the park’s eastern half.

The sun was shining, the temperature was mild – clearly, it was a great day to get out and sing claim to the best breeding territories.

Which is exactly what these guys were up to. I don’t know whether they were recently arrived migrants or year-round residents (song sparrows can be either in our area), but one thing was sure, these tuneful songsters were definitely living up to their name.

Song sparrows are one of several kinds of birds that learn their songs from “tutors” – older members of their species that serve as models for younger birds. Because it’s learned and not innate, each bird’s song is just a little bit different from those around it.

(Think back to when you learned how to write in cursive. Did your letters look the same as the teacher’s?)

Song sparrow songs often start out the same; perhaps evolution has favored those particular notes. (I know someone singing “sweet, sweet, sweet” would definitely get my attention, especially if I was hungry.) But from there, the lilting song veers off into a variable series of clear notes and trills, an exclusive composition created by the singer.

These gifted, song sparrows aren’t shy about exhibiting their talents. Nor are they lazy. In one often-cited study, a male song sparrow repeated his tune 679 times over a three-hour period.

Photo provided

Young male song sparrows learn their songs from older “tutors” – typically other males singing nearby.

That’s just over 226 songs an hour, or four songs a minute. (Faster than I can eat Bit-O-Honeys, for sure!)

Multiplied out over a 15-hour day, these numbers tally up to more than 3,000 songs a day. Yow. It’s a wonder they’re not called hoarse sparrows.

But for birds like song sparrows, singing is a necessary part of life. Like the “occupado” sign on the door of an airplane lavatory, the songs serve as a warning to other birds that a particular territory is taken. Further, like the song “Indian Love Call” in the old movie “Rose Marie,” the songs also serve to attract a mate.

I don’t know if you’ve seen that film but, in the end, Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald end up together and presumably live happily ever after.

For song sparrows, happy and ever after aren’t always a given.

For one thing, it’s been noted that

male song sparrows tend to want to sing more than help out around the nest. In one study on nest building, an activity supposedly shared by a mated pair, the male was “more inclined to shirk his share, picking up material, dropping it and picking it up again, singing meanwhile.” In another, researchers wrote that “the male devotes himself more to song than to labor.”

Provided the female doesn’t get fed up and kick her trilling troubadour to the curb, the pair will work together to raise their young, providing food in the form of seeds and insects while continually keeping an eye out for danger.

Because their nests generally are placed lower in trees or shrubs, and sometimes directly on the ground, song sparrows are vulnerable to many types of predators, including outdoor and feral cats. Other threats include

egg predation by mice and shrews, and nest parasitism by brown-headed cowbirds – those roving rabble-rousers that leave their eggs in other birds’ nests.

Hazards aside, song sparrows are one of our area’s more successful bird species.

In fact, chances are good you’ve got at least a couple pair in your neighborhood. Look for a “typical” sparrow – brown in color, but with streaky breast markings that converge into a central spot, the “tie tack” on the chest. And don’t forget to listen for that song.

Males singing to attract females – now isn’t that sweet, sweet, sweet?

• Pam Otto is the outreach ambassador for the St. Charles Park District.

She can be reached at 630-513-4346 or potto@stcparks.org.

SHAW MEDIA Shaw Media / ShawLocal.com • Saturday, March 20, 2021

GOOD NATURED

Shaw Media / ShawLocal.com • Saturday, March 20, 2021

SHAW MEDIA

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WOODHAVEN LAKES Private Recreational Campground

So Much to See. So Much to Do.

Hiking Trails. Woodlands. Nature. Lakes. WiFi. Pools. Crafts. Movies. Fitness Center. Prairie. Deer. Pavilions. Arcade. Mini Golf.

Day Camp. Tennis. Basketball. Live Music. Theme Activities. Fireworks. Painting Parties. Open Markets. Social Events. Volleyball.

Shuffleboard. Teen Dances. Car Show. Paddleboats. Sledding. Farmers Markets. Night Hikes. Campfires. Fishing. Tournaments.

Pickleball. Acoustic Nights. Wine & Cheese Social. Road Rally. Golf Outing. 5K/3K. Haunted House. Canoing. Anything That Floats.

Horseshoes. Petting Zoo. Wagon Rides. Aqua Zumba. Playgrounds. Karaoke. Family Fun Night. Coffee Hour. Clubs. DJs. Scavenger Hunts. Kayaking. Tug of War. Food Fairs. Picnics.

Sublette IL | 815-849-5209

www.woodhavenassociation.com

Call us for a tour!