Category Archives: Indiana

Vintage Indiana still packing them in

04 Sunday Jun 2017

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INDIANAPOLIS – Don’t let anyone unfairly bad-mouth Indiana wine based on what any observer would see at the annual Vintage Indiana festival.

Hoosiers still turn out by the thousands the first weekend of June at Indy’s Military Park for a sip of Indiana wines. They turned out Saturday despite the warmest day of 2017 and the usual wait in line to get that sip.

 

vintage

A busy day for Indiana wine!

I had not visited Vintage in several years due to a work conflict, as I mentioned in my Vintage preview post on this site. I was a bit shocked Saturday by the number of “artisan booths,” as the Vintage website calls them. It seems as though they could be better vetted. There are some which felt appropriate but apparently if you’ve got the check you’ve got the space. It makes for a sprawling array of tents. There were far more ‘artisan vendors’ listed on the Vintage website than wineries.  Additionally, there are food trucks and food stands galore.

 

Now, this isn’t an effort to trash the wine fest – it’s clearly a huge success. I have always called it Indiana wine’s biggest moment in the spotlight. But it’s gotten a bit too big for all the wrong reasons. And, the number of wineries participating is slipping – down to 23 this year. Indiana now has 92 wineries. Even its most ardent supporters would have a hard time arguing that something is amiss when two of Indiana’s biggest three wineries are missing – Oliver and Easley.

 

crowd

There is a considerable wait in most lines.

Vintage is put on by the Indiana Wine and Grape Council and it creates revenue. The Council needs the revenue to promote Indiana wine. The festival is well organized and seems to run smoothly. The fest also brings in an impressive number of volunteers. The long lines at the winery tents is a difficult problem to solve. I stood at one winery’s booth while six people blockaded the pouring table for 15-20 minutes sipping wine after wine while a crowd behind them waited. I don’t have a great answer – maybe you get one pour and go to the back of the line. While on the surface it seems like a petty problem, go stand in line over and over in early summer heat and get back with me.

 

I was not able Saturday to taste much wine as I recover from some recent personal health issues. I tried to take a few small sips and say hello to some of the Indiana winemakers and owners I know and enjoy catching up with. Unfortunately, the heat and a couple of hours on my feet was a bit taxing.

Vintage Indiana is a great wine fest. I think it could be better if it would re-focus its efforts. I’m going to ask some Indiana winemakers what they think. We’ll see how many are willing to go on the record and offer ideas.

New faces score at wine competition

02 Friday Jun 2017

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Indiana wines performed well in the 2017 Indy International Wine Competition at Purdue University. Nearly 2000 wines were entered from 11 countries and 40 states were considered, according to the competition’s website.

The competition has become something of a measuring stick for Hoosier winemakers as they stack up their product against other states not named California, Oregon, or Washington. Wines do come into the competition from the big three but not in significant numbers.

The competition, hosted by Purdue, does have Indiana categories as well as national award winners. Many Indiana wineries scored multiple medals from the 50 judges from across the country. You can go online to look up the wins for your favorite Hoosier winery.

With Vintage Indiana in downtown Indy tomorrow (June 3), I checked out some top winners and whether they’ll be at Vintage this year.

 

country heritage image

Country Heritage wines scored big.

Top honors – or the Indiana Governor’s Cup – went to relative newcomer Country Heritage Winery and Vineyard, LaOtto, In., (near Fort Wayne.) Heritage had won Indiana Farm Winery of the Year the past two competitions. Heritage won three double gold medals (top honor), 12 Golds, 15 silvers, and 12 bronze.The farm winery award is for wineries producing less than 50,000 gallons of wine annually. This year’s Farm Winery of the Year was Buck Creek Winery, just south of Indianapolis along I-74.

 

The Indiana Wine of the Year was won by French Lick Winery for their estate-bottled Cabernet Franc. The Indiana Traminette of the Year (the state grape) was Tonne Winery’s CF2016 vintage. Tonne is located just north of Muncie.

Buck Creek won best dessert wine of the competition with its 2014 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine. Brown County won the contest’s best fruit wine with its 2016 Strawberry Wine.

A few of the usual suspects did well as expected. Huber Winery, which has claimed several Governor’s Cups, won 23 medals. Oliver Winery claimed 28 awards.

The competition also has a category for amateur winemakers. The amateur Wine of the Year was won by David Phillips of Sugar Creek Vineyards (just outside Crawfordsville). Phillips’ winning entry was a 2016 Chambourcin Rose’.

Of those winning awards, Buck Creek and French Lick are the only two pouring at Vintage according to the Vintage website.

Many Indiana wineries won multiple awards. Check out the details online.

 

Take time to explore Indiana’s wine

30 Tuesday May 2017

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Vintage Indiana has been a grand idea to introduce the Indianapolis market to Indiana wineries. It remains a great Saturday event but it also appears to be facing challenges in its 18th year.

grape-sense-logoThe Indiana wine event is set for noon to 6 p.m., Saturday, June 3, at Indianapolis’ downtown Military Park. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the gate. A VIP, early entrance, ticket sells for $50. The festival features more than 20 Indiana wineries, almost as many food options and a bevy of ‘artisan vendors.’ Those wishing to attend can search the internet for Vintage Indiana and get the link to order tickets before the event.

The festival has long suffered from overcrowding which leads to long lines for a one-ounce pour of Hoosier fermented grape juice. There have been years, particularly with nice weather, that the lines to get in the door have been longer than anyone could have expected.

Additionally, Indiana winemakers have privately grumbled about their cost to participate in the annual event. A quick glance at sites like Yelp shows a mixture of high praise and grumbling about long lines from several different years. Indiana’s Wine and Grape Council sponsors the event with proceeds going to the council charged with promoting Indiana wine.

I have not attended because of an annual work conflict for the past several years. I hope to visit June 3 but probably won’t be tasting. The Vintage Indiana website shows only 23 wineries this year. Last year, with a bit of searching on the web, there was approximately 30. The state’s largest winery, Oliver Winery, no longer participates. Indy’s only downtown winery, Easley, is missing from this year’s list as well. That means two of the states three biggest wineries opt out. Huber Winery will be pouring.

Again, if you’ve never attended or enjoy the event it’s a must. But there are some signs that it may be time to re-imagine Vintage Indiana.

Tips for attending would include getting there early, drink lots of water, and bring your patience. A tip for sorting through 200-some wines is simple. Ask the booth attendants if their winery grows their own grapes and taste those wines.. After all, its an Indiana wine fest. I do that when I visit Indiana wineries. There are lots of wineries buying juice or fruit from out of state and there is nothing wrong with that. But if I’m sampling Indiana wine, with few exceptions, I want to taste Indiana grown grapes.

There are quite a few wineries on the list I have not visited. But if a visitor wanted a couple of don’t miss recommendations I’d suggest Butler Winery, French Lick, Huber, Turtle Run, and Winzerwald.

I hope to see you there.

Email legislators to stop terrible bill

02 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by in Indiana, Uncategorized, Wine Education/News/Updates

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What is it with many state legislatures passing bills best described as a solution looking for a problem?

The Indiana legislature has two such bills under consideration right now. Wine lovers and those who believe in free enterprise need to react now. It’s just not looking for a problem but these two bills will cause substantial harm to several successful Indiana businesses.

So, this requires a short explanation. Senate Bill 358 and House Bill 1496 would essentially require specialty or gourmet food and wine stores to have 51 percent of their annual sales attributed to food. That change in the law would cause several stores to close almost immediately.

Grapevine Cottage of Zionsville, Tasteful Times in Fishers, and Broad Ripple’s Cork & Cracker would face immediate closure or bankruptcy. The Senate reported the bill out of committee with a House committee scheduled to take it up Monday morning.

The chairman of the Public Policy Committee due to hear the bill is Rep. Ben Smaltz (h52@iga.in.gov). Write him immediately to stop this bill that’s bad for small business. It’s also a good idea to write your own local representative. Then, copy your email to Senate President Pro Tem David Long at senator.long@iga.in.gov  and House Speaker Brian Bosma at h88@iga.in.gov

A brief bit of back ground is essential. The discussion started when state officials learned that Ricker’s gas stations found a legal way around the law to open a small “restaurant” in their stores in order to sell cold beer.

Pause for a second to understand and recall Indiana has some of the most restrictive laws regarding alcohol sales in the nation. Our legislators were upset someone found their way around the law. They were outraged with the State Alcoholic Beverage Commission for issuing the licenses. Interestingly, Gov. Eric Holcomb defended the agency for following the letter of the law.

And now the real crux of the issue for those who don’t keep up on such things – it’s about lobbying and candidate cash. The package liquor lobby and wine/beer distribution lobby own our state legislators. They get their way on every major issue. The lobby restricting alcohol laws has prevented Sunday sales, direct wine shipment, and continue to protect decades old ‘blue laws.”

Any reasonable Hoosier must guess reasonable heads will prevail and legislators will fix this terrible bill before legislating wrath against Rickers.

It’s all so silly but all paid for by those protecting their greed – legislators and the anti-free market distributors and package liquor store owners.

Write your reps today – not tomorrow. If you don’t give a hoot about beer or wine sales that’s fine. Write your representatives to protect these good small businesses.

I always through the GOP stood for the small businessman? Perhaps not when a big business man is filling their pockets. 

 

Could Southern Ind. be next Napa?

19 Sunday Mar 2017

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No, Southern Indiana will not, and cannot, be the next Napa Valley. Geez!

After more than 200 Grape Sense columns over eight years, it’s time for a rant. Get a glass of something bold like a California Zin, a Central Coast Syrah, or Ted Huber’s Bordeaux-style blend called Heritage.

grape-sense-logoIn the last few months a couple of newspaper pieces on “Indiana wine” have surfaced in Midwestern media. The most recent Indiana wine story appeared Feb. 28 in the Louisville Courier-Journal. That story featured the headline I’m mocking above. As a 20-plus year newspaper veteran and 8-year wine writer, it’s important to note that almost all newspaper headlines are written by copy editors and certainly not writers or reporters.

The headline, and unfortunately the story, does little for the Indiana wine industry. And even worse, does little to inform readers about Southern Indiana wine. There is nothing wrong with a puff piece when you get little media attention. But in theory the writer got paid for the story and the newspaper took it as a credible feature.

The story in question begins like this:

“When most people talk about great wine, they often refer to vino from Napa Valley, France or Italy. But locals will tell you that some of the best wines come from the rolling hills of Southern Indiana.”

Who are those locals who say some of the ‘best wines’ come from the rolling hills of Southern Indiana? It’s certainly not a single winemaker or consumer in Southern Indiana because none are quoted in the story.

Who is the mystery source so enamored with Indiana wine?

There is an argument to be made, by an old newspaper curmudgeon perhaps, that the headline was condescending.

The story’s writer did quote one winery’s marketing representative. There was a single quote from Purdue’s Bruce Bordelon about Indiana’s growing season. That’s a good and authoritative source. The author also quoted the Wine and Grape Team’s new state marketing spokesperson, a very recent college grad, who added that Indiana is a very nice place.

The story, which you can read for yourself here, doesn’t say anything quantitatively or qualitatively about Indiana wine.

The truth is there are some very good wines being made in Indiana and particularly down south. Will they ever be as good as Napa or Bordeaux? Wine is about the region where it’s grown. Wine regions can be compared for contrast or similarities but wearing the ‘next best thing’ title doesn’t help anyone making fermented Hoosier grape juice.

Indiana winemakers, owners, and marketing folks must be smarter than to fall all over any reporter for any piece of public relations. Those people need to offer up winemakers and winery owners for interviews. They need to do everything to get the writer or PR person to taste the wines and educate them what constitutes good Indiana wine. Well-informed wine writing can boost the Indiana wine industry.

The puff pieces are better than nothing but when an opportunity arises to tell Indiana’s story, Indiana wineries must do better.

Napa be damned! Give me a glass of Vignoles or Chambourcin, please!

Marrow Continues Adam’s Indy Success

07 Saturday Jan 2017

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duck

Smoked duck leg with seared duck breast – delicious!

 

Restaurants come and go but occasionally someone comes along with just the right touch. Perhaps a clichéd analogy of getting all the ingredients just right is the best description for a fine dining, long-term success in any city.

John Adams has had such a run in Indianapolis. Now outside big-time foodies the name John Adams probably doesn’t mean much – other than that Revolutionary War guy. Right?

adams

Chef Adams

John Adams is unquestionably one of Indy’s best chefs and has helped draw lots of national attention to Indy’s food scene. Adams helped open and establish Bluebeard, in Fletcher Place near Fountain Square. Bluebeard is a chef-driven, local and fresh food spot that some might argue started the Indy food boom. Bluebeard, while under Adams’ chef knife, garnered a 2012 James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant.

Adams next project was a seafood-focused restaurant on 9th and Pennsylvania called Plow and Anchor. But his latest efforts seem to be what he’s been looking for all along. Marrow, in Fountain Square, allows the chef to focus on his “globally inspired cuisine made from the freshest locally sourced ingredients.”

I had a reason to celebrate Jan. 6 so it was time to explore Marrow since its now been open over a year. How many times in life can you say, “That was the best meal of my life.” I’ve dined in many fine dining restaurants and the Marrow experience is at the top in Indy and one of best I’ve had.

We decided to explore the menu. Since I was celebrating we started with Camille Braun Cremant D’Alsace Brut Rose. It was about $50 and awesome. It was beautiful Loire Valley bubbly Rose’ of Pinot.

We chose pickles and corn muffins as our table snacks. The muffins were small with a nice crunchy exterior. But the sorghum-miso butter took them to extraordinary. The pickle plate feature squash, daikon, mushrooms, and pineapple. The snacks were $10 combined.

 

crab

Crab and Avocado

We ordered a hot and cold appetizer. The cold was Jonah Crab and Avocado Salad ($17). The avocado salad was bright and refreshing while the small crab claws provided fresh tasting crab meat that took a little work but well worth it.

I ordered the Seared Foie Gras ($17). My dinner mate was certain she did not want to try it but I insisted – then she came back for more. The foie gras was seared beautifully to add texture and flavor. It was served with cheddar polenta, bourbon braised fennel and pear, crispy shallots and a slow poached egg! It was packed with flavor and a mixture of textures.

Our two main dishes arrived with a nice entry-level Elk Cove Pinot Noir ($54). The Pinot was really rich, smooth and minimal acidity for an Oregon Pinot Noir. This wine is widely available in Indiana in the mid-$20 range.

scallops

Scallops atop lobster risoto

My friend  order Duck Duo ($32) – a smoked duck leg and seared breast served with scallion pancakes, leeks, apricot hoisin, peanuts and steamed rice. That leg was smoked wonderfully with deep smoky flavor. The breast was cooked just right leaving a juicy bite that really countered the smoky leg.

I ordered Seared Scallops ($34) that was one of my all-time favorite dishes. The scallops were perfectly seared but it was the lobster risotto base that we both gushed over. I’d like a bucket to go, John! The dish included cucumber, pickled carrot and daikon, toasted peanuts, papaya rum sauce, sambal, and boiled egg.

dessert

We wrapped up with a couple of desserts. My friend enjoyed a really light Meyer Lemon Budino ($8) that was a nice palate cleanser. I’m always a sucker for Panna Cotta. I had the Buttermilk Pana Cotta ($8) with pomegranate and orange relish.

You follow along, you can see it’s not an inexpensive meal but it is one that will deliver on every dollar. We went all out because it was a special occasion. I have criticized a number of Indy restaurants – nary a negative word about Marrow. It’s worth your hard-earned, high-end, dining dollars!

Grape Sense Column Expands Reach

07 Saturday Jan 2017

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In recent years, I have to admit I haven’t worked as hard at expanding the reach of the column as I did in the early years. There is no real excuse other than I’ve been doing this eight years. At one point, I had hit 23 newspapers in three states and circulation in more than  300,000 homes.

It’s hard keeping  track of who is and  isn’t running it – I just send it out. I know a few papers have dropped by the side but most of those 23 still run the column. A few of those papers regularly post Grape Sense to their websites.

I got a real boost this week when  I learned CNHI, a newspaper ownership group with a dozen or more Indiana  papers, is posting the column to their papers’ websites. Some of those papers download the column for print but some just let it run on  their web presence. I was urging papers to run the column as an “online extra” years ago.

But this week’s news was Kokomo, Terre Haute, Goshen, Jeffersonville, Logansport, Greensburg, Batesville, Hendricks County, Zionsville, Anderson, and Lebanon all have the wine column posted. (Those papers in  bold face were already running the column.)

Additionally, Grape Sense will be one of the features in a new Elkhart area entertainment weekly. The Hart will hit newsstands in the coming weeks.

The column, in many ways, has far exceeded some of my hopes from when I started in 2007. The reach across the Hoosier state has given me a platform I never dreamed possible.

Thanks to all of my editors and newspapers for sharing Grape Sense.

 

 

 

 

 

Another Winery Distilling Spirits

18 Sunday Sep 2016

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Distilled spirits like whiskey, bourbon, brandy, and more have become the rage in the adult beverage world of late. Indiana has been part of the boom with distilleries starting to pop up and more on the drawing boards.

French Lick Winery is the second Hoosier winery to jump into the fray with initial releases of their Spirits of French Lick products this fall.

grape-sense-logo“Ted Huber and I have been talking about this for about 10 years because we both wanted to make bourbon,” said John Doty, owner of French Lick Winery. “I’ll be honest, Ted has a lot more pull in the legislature than I do so he did the lion’s share of getting that law changed in July of 2013. Our distillery has been in the planning ever since.”

Huber’s Orchard and Winery has been in the business for some time and built a building specifically for the distillery. Earlier this year, Ted Huber confirmed more construction is going to be needed for his booming business.

flstill

Fench Lick’s still.

French Lick is uniquely positioned to do just as well as Huber’s, a tourist destination near Louisville but with few other attractions in the area. The French Lick Winery and Distillery is just across the street from the fabulously renovated West Baden Springs and French Lick Springs Hotels. French lick also boasts a a casino, prestigious 18-hole golf course, and a water park.

“A lot of distilleries specialize in just one or two spirits,” Doty said. “We’re going to be unique in that we already have an Italian restaurant and have the winery. We have so many people who come in and want beer or cocktails so we’re going to make a wide selection of spirits so we can pour them in our restaurant.”

John and Kim Doty started small in 2008, and have grown, with the wine lineup now reaching 23. “We’ve always been customer driven with our wines,” he said. “We visit so many wineries and so many wineries are guilty of making wines the winemaker or owner likes. You go to distilleries you see the same thing.

“It doesn’t matter what I like, it’s all about what the customers like. When you come in we want to have something you will like. We want the same with our distillery.”

spirits-of-french-lickTo achieve that goal Doty is determined to offer a variety of spirits. “We’ll concentrate on what we think we can keep up with like the vodka, Aquavit, and specialty bourbons.”

He wants to do some unique offerings like oak whiskey and buckwheat bourbon. “We won’t make a lot of these but enough for our tasting room. Most of our whiskies and bourbons are 51- to 60-percent corns and rest of the flavoring will be these flavoring grains.”

Doty was able to hire a master distiller Alan Bishop who hopes to see the product line expand to fully occupy the 18,000 square feet set aside for the distillery.

The Doty family is growing some of the grain and plans to grow even more. What they can’t grow they plan to source locally whenever possible.

During a late summer visit the vodka was on the winery shelves while other products were tasted for a VIP preview event. The winery plans an Oct. 15 grand opening for the Spirits of French Lick .

 

2016 A Strong Hoosier Vintage

26 Friday Aug 2016

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FRENCH LICK, IN. – Learning about wine means spending time in the vineyard. The next best thing is talking with the men and women worrying about rainfall, leaf canopy, and sugars in hot August fields.

Grape Sense LogoThe Indiana Uplands, nine southern Indiana wineries in the state’s only AVA, held its annual Uncork the Uplands tasting event the last weekend in July at the fabulous French Lick Springs Hotel. Muck like plants, flowers or an herb garden in many Hoosier backyards, the 2016 growing season has been a strong one.

“This year everything is growing, growing, and growing,” said Bernie Parker, vineyard manager for the 55-acre Creekbend Vineyard of Oliver Winery. “We’ve been applying some fungicides because of the wet weather. We’ve had more than eight inches of rain in July and we normally have half that.

“We have a great crop out there and as long as it dries out in next five to six weeks, we’re going to be harvesting a great vintage and full crop.”

Easley Winery 1

Traminette being delivered to Huber winery in 2014. The whites come first.

That’s really good news for the Oliver operation. Late frost cut the 2014 Creekbend crop by 70 percent and the 2015 crop by about 30 percent.

The story is very similar regardless of vineyard size. John Doty, owner of French Lick Winery, said the 2016 crop is going to be excellent. “We’ve had plenty of rain but it can rain another couple of weeks. Then it needs to quit raining; if it quits raining last two weeks of August and first of September I’ll be a happy man. We have a beautiful crop hanging.”

Doty’s 8-acre vineyard is actually in Martin County on family property on the hillside of one of the highest points in the area. The vineyard suffered some trunk damage to Chambourcin vines and lost a planting of Tannat over the past two years with the early chill but 2016 appears to be delivering a stellar crop.

Butler Winery also benefit from location during bad weather years. Butler sits atop a hill just north of Bloomington. Jim Butler said his 6 acre vineyard is better suited to withstand a late frost because of its elevated position.

“We have a great crop,” the veteran Hoosier winemaker said. “We’ve had a lot of rain, but if it dries out, and that’s what we look for in August and September, we’re in great shape.”

Times have been good in recent years for most Hoosier wineries despite the two years of frost damage in a few areas. Wine sales across the country continue to rise and Indiana wine quality continues to improve.

Winemakers across the state are now at a point where they’re ready to push the envelope and try new grapes. Butler is experimenting with the cold-climate Marquette. Doty and others are planting the hardy Norton grape. Ted Huber, in the state’s southern-most region, continues his work with traditional Bordeaux-style varietals.

A warm and dry late summer will apparently deliver one of the best crops of recent vintages for Hoosier wine drinkers.

 

‘Uncork’ Shows Indiana’s Best

26 Tuesday Jul 2016

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Indiana’s top wine event is unquestionably Vintage Indiana held in Indianapolis in early June each year.

Vintage Indiana brings 30-plus Hoosier wineries to Military Park in Indianapolis and gives thousands an opportunity to sample hundreds of Indiana wines. Unfortunately, the event was nearly drowned out this year with a day of heavy downpours. (Pun intended).

Grape Sense LogoIndiana’s second-best wine celebration might be Uncork the Uplands, Saturday, July 30, French Lick, IN. Uncork celebrates the nine wineries of the Indiana Uplands Agricultural Viticulture Area or AVA.

The AVA thing is significant. The Uplands is the only AVA in Indiana. If you’re a wine drinker and like Pinot think of the Willamette Valley’s Dundee Hills, or Howell Mountain in Napa. An AVA is a federally-recognized agricultural area which produces quality grapes for quality wines.

The 6th annual event runs 4-7 p.m. at the wonderful French Lick Springs Hotel. Last-minute tickets are $60. Wine fans can find a lot more information on the official website uncorktheuplands.com Unfortunately, getting a hotel room in French Lick on this summer weekend might be tough. The two resorts are sold out. But there are other small chain hotels nearby.

The event features wines from all nine wineries. Visitors have the chance to talk to winemakers and winery owners. Past Uncork events featured plenty of small bites of food and even entertainment. The 2016 early evening wine tasting is the first not to be held at Oliver or Huber wineries.

French Lick is a great location, though a bit of an effort to get there in the Hoosier heartland. French Lick Winery will become something of an official/unofficial host. The Doty family has a long history with Indiana wine and the Uplands event. The French Lick Winery is using the Saturday event to introduce its new distillery. The VIP event is sold out but signals another Indiana winery entering the competitive distillery business. Ted Huber has been the real pioneer among Indiana winemakers to jump into the distilled spirits business. French Lick seems like a natural with the two fabulous, Indiana landmark hotels and a bustling casino.

There is another event coming up that seems to get less attention. Indiana wineries pour their wines throughout the Indiana State Fair, 1-9 p.m., each day of the fair, Aug. 5-21.

State Fair attendees, who are also wine fans, should definitely stop by the Grand Hall across from the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The event showcases wine and Indiana beer. Attendees must be 21 to enter.