Category Archives: Indiana

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

Posted by in Indiana, Napa/Sonoma, Newspaper Column 2017, Uncategorized

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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

Posted by in Food & Travel, Indiana, Uncategorized

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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

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2016, Uncategorized

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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

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 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.

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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

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2016, Uncategorized

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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

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 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.

 

 

Celebrating an Important Milestone

16 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2016, Uncategorized

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Everyone has milestones in their life. Think of events like birthdays, anniversaries, new job, retirement, a first date, maybe even getting fired or divorced. As a society we’re pretty good at celebrating life’s events.

Grape Sense LogoToday’s Grape Sense represents the 200th piece I’ve written since starting an every-other- week newspaper column in October of 2007. At one point I had 23 newspaper in three states, it is a few less now but something I view as a great achievement and I’m proud of what I’ve done with this idea.

Milestones deserve, no let’s make that require, celebration. How else would Grape Sense propose a celebration – but with wine, of course!

Writing 200 columns about wine hasn’t always been easy but always enjoyable. I don’t really run out of ideas as often as fall short with the proper motivation. I’m working on that.

My celebration wine will be one of two choices. I’ll either open a bottle of Rochioli Pinot Noir from Sonoma’s Russian River Valley or Joseph Phelps’ Napa Valley Cabernet. Those are two great bottles of wine. The final choice will come down to what’s for dinner!

The point here is to celebrate your life and celebrate whether you feel like it or not. Time goes fast and pausing to really reflect on certain points in your life is rewarding and sometimes even educational. No, you don’t have to go out and find a $65 bottle of Cabernet. Just find something you know is really good.

Find a wine you really like and enjoy it. It doesn’t matter if it’s red, white or pink. It doesn’t matter if you Happy Milestone Grape Sense readers! Column No. 201 is just two weeks away!

Indiana Restaurant Wine Award Winners

If you’re a foodie and like wine, you certainly appreciate a good wine list. There are plenty of good wine lists in Indiana but not a lot of great ones. I’m often shocked by the number of really bad wine choices.

WineSpectator Best of Award LogoThere were only four Hoosier restaurants recently recognized with a Wine Spectator Best of Award Excellence. That’s the second-highest honor. Indiana had no Grand award winners (the top honor). The awards of excellence went to McGraw’s Steak, Chop & Fish House, South Bend; Peterson’s, Indianapolis; St. Elmo’s, Indianapolis, and The Capital Grille, Indianapolis.

The third-tier ranking of Award of Excellence found a few more restaurants – most of them in Indianapolis including, Black Market, Fleming’s Steakhouse, Fogo de Chao, Harry & Izzys, Morton’s

Steakhouse, Ocean Prime, Seasons 52, Shula’s Steakhouse, Sullivan’s Steakhouse, and Tastings (a wine Award of Excellence winners elsewhere around the Hoosier state, Ciao Bella, Schererville; Heston Supper Club, LaPorte; Ford’s Black Angus, Terre Haute; Janko’s Little Zagreb, Bloomington; Joseph Decuis, Roanoke; LaSalle Grille, South Bend; Tapastrie, South Bend; Carriage House Dining Room & Gardens, South Bend; William B’s, Michigan City.

Summer Whites for Hot Days

30 Monday May 2016

Posted by in France, Indiana, Newspaper Column 2016, Oregon, Uncategorized

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One lesson from eight years of wine writing is recommending types and style of wine instead of specific bottles. Many often think of summer as a time for big Cabernets, Syrah, or Malbec with outdoor grilling.

Grape Sense LogoThe annual pitch for readers to try dry Rose’ was the previous Grape Sense column. Today the topic is summer white wines by varietal and style. A good, chilled, white wine is great with summer foods and perfect for late evenings on the patio or porch.

Let’s start with French whites. One of the greatest values of the wine world is Bordeaux white wines. The traditional white Bordeaux is a mix of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon and/or Muscadelle. Sémillon is used in dry and sweet wines in the south of France.

It’s seems odd that a region known for the world’s most expensive reds would offer up the most drinkable and affordable whites but that’s just part of the paradox of French Bordeaux. It’s unlikely you’ll find Bordeaux Blanc in most liquor stores. But better wines shops will have a few different labels. Really good Bordeaux Blanc is often found for $10-$18.

The wines are refreshing and often described as light and fruity. White Bordeaux pairs really well with salads, seafood-stuffed ravioli, grilled tuna or shrimp, and try it with asparagus or sushi. A personal favorite is the Bordeaux Blanc from Entre-Deux-Mers and the Saint Emilion region.

They’re light and refreshing, perfect for a hot summer day. Just look for Entre-Deux-Mers on the label.

langeOregon Pinot Gris is much easier to find in the Midwest than Bordeaux Blanc. Pinot Gris is equally affordable with plenty of choices in most wine shops. The most notable characteristic of Oregon Pinot Gris is a bright and pronounced acidity. That makes the wine a good pairing with seafood. Most bottles offer bold tropical citrus flavor with balance achieved from that pronounced acidity.

Most Oregon Pinot Gris wines are in the $14-$20 range. For years Oregon winemakers had a hard time giving the stuff away. But in more recent years many wineries have upped their Pinot Gris production. Chardonnay has also been hot in the Willamette Valley. Most are made in a Burgundian style with little or no oak.

The classic Oregon Pinot Gris or the stylistic Oregon Chardonnay are great summer white wines.

Finally, a plug for Indiana. One of the most under-appreciated whites is the hybrid grape Vignoles, originally from France. Vignoles is grown and produced by many Hoosier winemakers. The wine scares some people off because it’s often categorized as a semi-dry or semi-sweet wine. When Vignoles is well made the wine has pronounced fruit with a dry finish.

On the palate Vignoles offers up hints of pineapple, melon, peach, and if you concentrate on the mid-palate and finish you might find a hint of banana. Vignoles won the Indy International Wine Competition top wine in 2012 and 2013.

Deano Living the Winemaking Dream

07 Saturday May 2016

Posted by in California, Indiana, Napa/Sonoma, Newspaper Column 2016

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Wilson, Dean

Dean “Deano” Wilson at a recent tasting at Mass Ave. Wine, Indy

Any wine geek living around Indianapolis the past 15 years knows Dean “Deano” Wilson. Deano had a couple of retail wine operations, a restaurant, and served as one of Indy’s “bon vivants” when it came to all matters wine.

His robust sense of humor and passion turned a lot of people into oenophiles. His story continues today in California pursuing a winemaking dream. Deano, wife Vicki and kids, picked up and moved to wine country nearly three years ago.

Wilson had industry connections and started working for winemaking icon Joel Peterson at Ravenswood.

Grape Sense LogoAfter two more stops, he started his own label – “Scribble, Scribble” – and debuted his whites last year and reds recently in hometown Indianapolis.

Wilson poured his Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Red Blend during several April stops. The wines were full bodied, a tad lighter in alcohol than normally expected and had a palate-friendly silkiness. The wines are distributed in Indiana, Tennessee and California.

Scribble, Scribble wine got its name from Wilson’s young son. The boy came home from school with some marks on a paper and explained it was Scribble, Scribble wines. Wilson added the phrase, ‘every scribble tells a story.” Indeed the wines are named for his children and mother.

Wilson feels lucky, with a bit of karma, since his initial departure to the west coast. “I’m from Indy and the first place I looked to make wine was Mare Island near Vallejo. Mare Island is an old naval base. The USS Indianapolis took out its last time from there. I’m from Indianapolis so it just felt right.”

Deano wants to permanently locate his family near that area at the heart of California wine country. To finish living the dream, he expects to grow his winery from the 700 cases of the latest vintage to 5,000 cases by 2020.

“Vicki is a chemistry teacher,” he said. “Our dream is by 2020 she gets to retire. Then she goes work a crush with a winery like Ravenswood and learns the wine analysis part of making wine. She comes back and we start our winery in the hills of Cloverdale in northern Sonoma County.”

His current and future location is a perfect spot for buying grapes. Deano bought Muscat Canelli white grapes from Lake County, north of Napa, and his Zin and Petite Sirah from Lodi west of San Francisco.

The location would give him the opportunity to buy grapes an easy distance away from Sonoma, Napa, Lake county and Lodi. The location would even make sourcing grapes from the California Central Coast a possibility.

A couple of steps in the winemaking process helped him achieve a wine style pleasing to customers wanting full flavor, a bit lighter alcohol, and a silky mouthfeel. First he picks grapes earlier than many to get more acidity. He uses oak aging to create balance and mouth feel. He co-ferments his Zin and Petite Sirah for his red blend. Fermenting the wines together “melds flavors and gives you deeper flavors,” Wilson explained.

This Indy wine icon hasn’t forgotten his Hoosier roots. He’s just living the dream from the coast. “If this is work, clock me in,” he cackled. “I don’t feel like I’m working and I don’t ever want to clock out.”