Silent Forest Cabin

At a Silent Auction/Trivia night, My husband and I won a one night stay to the Silent Forest Cabins at Hidden Lake Winery.  We had been to the winery several years ago, but I was again surprised how close it was  – 30 minutes from our house in Fairview Heights, IL and about 45 minutes from downtown St. Louis.

This winery is very beautiful, large and definitely a wedding venue. When we arrived on a Saturday we saw two different outdoor weddings on our drive up to the main tasting room and restaurant.

Check-in was a breeze and they gave us a folder with instructions for the Silent Forest Cabins. We also did a free wine sampling while checking in. Wines are definitely on the sweeter side. We chose the Double Decker Red, which is made with Catawba and Fredonia grapes and was listed as “semi-sweet red table wine with hints of raspberry and cherry.”

We headed over to our cabin for the night to unpack. Everything was very clean and it was the perfect size for a weekend getaway. In the fridge they even had yogurt from local farm Windcrest Dairy in Trenton, IL. We loved that they are promoting local food, as fresh local food always tastes better.

Here are a few photos of the cabin:

After we dropped our belongings in the cabin, we headed over to the Barrell Room Grill for an early dinner. We started with a Cheese, Fruit and Sausage Platter. The cheese was delicious and was from local dairy – Marcoot Jersey Creamery in Greenville, IL. I then had the Barrell House salad with a 10 oz Filet smothered with mushrooms. My husband always says when I’m hungry I order everything off the menu and about half way through the Filet I was stuffed.  I also had a glass of their ’07 Silent Forest Reserve, their local Chambourcin.  For the complete menu visit their website.

After dinner we headed for a walk on their very cool “wine trail” around the lake. It had many little secret coves with benches to enjoy the view. The highlight was definitely walking under a waterfall.

Wine Trail photos:

Next, we headed out to their sprawling patio by the lake. The night we stayed was a cooler night, so we enjoyed an evening chatting with another couple around one of the many fire pits.

The next morning we started the day with their delicious Brunch, that was included in our one night stay. Brunch consisted of a huge buffet ranging from custom made omelets to fruit to biscuits and gravy. Overall a great stay that was perfect for a quick one night away. We also loved that it had a full restaurant, a beautiful setting and of course local wine.

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