My wife and her friends were disappointed when they visited Springfield’s Old Capitol Art Fair in mid-May.

There was not Wine Garden.

I don’t know when the first one was held, but I found a photo of the event from 2009.

At least as far back as 2009 there was a Wine Garden where Illinois wineries displayed and distributed their liquid refreshment.

I surmised that the subsidy for the Illinois Wine Growers Association was cut by Govenror Bruce Rauner.

The wine tasting event cost $10 a person, but I’m guessing that there was a state subsidy as well.

Sponsors of the Old Capitol Art Fair wine tasting.

I remember voting against a $500,000 annual subsidy for the industry in the 1990’s.