When you think of vineyards, Illinois might not be the first place that comes to mind. Al and Jackie Becker started one of the first wineries in Central Illinois in the early 2000’s.

“We had a planting in 1998 that was our initial planting, and in 2000, we planted the main part of our vineyard. In 2002, we planted seedless table grapes. We grow three varieties of grapes here: we grow juice and jelly grapes, wine grapes and we also grow seedless table grapes for eating,” Al Becker said.

Any Economics 101 student knows business is driven by supply and demand. It’s not often a company succeeds in creating demand for its products – and changing the way people live in the process. Kozy’s Cyclery has done just that, and this year its owners have received the Illinois Retail Merchants Association’s “Retailer of the Year” award.

Illinois is home to the nation’s third largest number of farmers markets. These local markets allow consumers throughout the state to take full advantage of one of Illinois’ leading industries—agriculture.