MAKANDA, ILL. — You can huff and puff and not knock this straw house down. In fact, the Makanda Inn held up to the fierce winds that caused havoc in the Shawnee National Forest last May, a month after the inn opened.

Innkeeper Janelle Weber said straw bales were chosen as a construction component to build a "retreat that was eco-friendly but still had all the luxury and comfort of a B&B." The lower level is concrete forms, but the exterior walls of the upstairs are made of hay bales, held in place by chicken wire and sprayed on both sides with stucco.

"We used wheat straw bales — we had to go to Missouri to get them," Weber said. "The insulation is great, very comfortable, which should reduce our energy bill."

With a motherlode of wineries, orchards and geologic formations, Southern Illinois is worth an overnight visit. Several of the wineries on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail offer lodging, including Blue Sky, Hedman, Kite Hill, Rustle Hill and Von Jacob. Other cool places to stay are the Davie School Inn at Anna (davieschoolinn.com), Windy Hill Acres Inn at Cobden (windyhillacresinn.com) and Skyline View Cabins near Alto Pass (skylineviewcabins.com.)

For a complete listing of area lodging, visit the wine trail's website at shawneewinetrail.com/bed&breakfasts.htm.

The Makanda Inn is the newest, and one of the most innovative.

The basics — The inn has four guest rooms, each with a king bed, flat-screen TV and walk-in shower. Each room has a wrap-around porch with chairs for checking out the surrounding forest.

If you like wood textures, you'll love the interior. Local artisans Paul Frank, Andy and Kyle Kinser made much of the furniture, stairways and counter tops from locally harvested woods. The dining room table, the stair steps and the free-form vanity tops in the bathrooms were made from black walnut. The interior posts are from cedar, poplar, pine and silver maple, much of it cut on the property.

The unique — The inn incorporates environmentally-friendly building materials, including natural stone floors and a recycled-plastic roof. The large lobby, lounge and dining area are heated by a wood-burning stone fireplace that also has an oven for making pizzas and bread.

High point — It is in the middle of the action on the wine trail, within minutes of wineries and Giant City State Park.

Low point — The inn is a work in progress. Still to be built outside are a stage, fire pit and a "natural" swimming pool.

Bottom line — Rates range from $129 to $159 in the fall. Specials are available.

Information — 1-618-697-7929 and makandainn.com.