Category Archives: Indiana

Indiana’s Biggest, Oldest Winery Still Evolving

04 Saturday Aug 2012

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BLOOMINGTON, In. – It’s a bit of an old adage that as businesses age adaption to changing times can determine continued success. No one can accuse Indiana’s oldest and biggest winery of resting on it’s size or laurels.

Great Indiana limestone, landscaping which leads to tasting room.

Oliver Winery’s name is synonymous with Indiana wine. IU Law Professor Dr. Bill Oliver is one of the “fathers” of the Indiana wine industry. In a certain age bracket, author included, many probably remember Camelot Mead as one of their first ever tastes of wine.

After four years of wine writing I finally made my way to Oliver winery Friday to interview Bill Oliver, the founder’s son, for a story on Indiana wine I’m doing for Palate Press.

Too many Hoosiers only know Oliver for its sales powerhouse Oliver Soft Red and Soft White. Indeed, you can go in many supermarkets, Wal-Marts, and other such places and find pallets or stacks of their famous sweet wines.

But Oliver has always had a lot more to offer. Now they have an entire line of very well made traditional varieties under the Creekbend label. They’ve also jumped into the cider craze with delightfully refreshing fruit-flavored ciders.

Oh, and Camelot Mead – or honey wine – is still around. It’s clean and crisp and they’ve added a flavored line of honey wines as well. I was anticipating not liking those because of a pre-conceived notion of sweetness and Oliver. I loved the honey wines and the cider. They were some of the most refereshing beverages I’ve tasted in a long time.

Bill Oliver during our walk/ride through the vineyards.

My time with Bill Oliver was very productive. And I’ll save most of that material for the Palate Press story or other writing efforts afterwards. I’ve toured a lot of wineries in recent years but was really impressed with Oliver’s state of the art winery capable of producing more than 400,000 cases annually.

A real treat for me – educationally and as a wine enthusiast, was hopping in the car and driving over to the Oliver Vineyards. Bill and I jumped into a golf cart and rode around the 50 acres of vineyard. He showed me how the weather has stressed some vines and not others, how some varieties like Traminette thrive in the dry and heat and how Chambourcin has struggled.

We tasted grapes! Verasion (or ripening) is not quite complete but close. The grapes are formed but a few weeks from full ripeness. The Pinot Grigo tasted absolutely awesome right off the vine.

I tell wine friends all of the time that a good winery tour will really aid your understanding of wine. A good vineyard tour takes the education to a master’s course. Wine makers love to tell you that great wine is made in the vineyard and not the winery.

A few quick notes on the wines I tasted. I started with a 2010 Viognier. I’m a so-so fan of the grape but liked Oliver’s interpretation that gets stainless steel fermentation. The wine was not as floral on the nose as many and lighter on the palate. It was delightful at $14 a bottle.

I also liked the Creekbend Chambourcin Rose. Indiana’s best Rose wines, to for my palate, come from the Cambourcin grape. This one has a few drops of traditional white wines but had the hint of strawberry that most good Rose wines show. For $12, it’s among the better choices in Indiana Rose.

The always-busy Oliver tasting room

For those who only think of Oliver’s sweet wines, the skeptics should get a taste of the 2009 Shiraz Reserve. I loved the oak-aged Syrah for its dark coffee, chocolate, and vanilla hints. It reminded me of a Rhone Syrah, done in a much lighter style than most traditional American Syrah wines. It sells for $22. Oliver is also one of those wineries really getting Chambourcin right. It’s light on the palate with some characteristics of Pinot Noir but a spicier finish. The 2010 Chambourcin sells for $22 and well worth trying.

I’m generally not a fan of things like cider and honey wine. But now I willingly admit tasting the honey wines and ciders might have been the best part of the tasting room visit.

I sampled the Camelot Mead and the Peach-flavored version. I just loved the peach. It tasted and smelled like a fresh peach off the tree. It was really refreshing.

I was “convinced” to try the ciders and just loved them. A local artist came up with great humorous art work for the aluminum bottles. I tried the raspberry Beanblossom hard cider and enjoyed the freshness and effervesence,

I think sometimes Oliver is overlooked because of its longevity and those grocery store sweet wines. If you’re one of those folks, you’re making a mistake. They really make something for everyone.You might not like Soft Red and Soft White but if you like well made reds, specialty wines, crisp and light white wines — take a drive to Bloomington.

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Indy Wine Competition Always Learning Experience

03 Friday Aug 2012

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Staging area for 2,600 different wines

 A few years back someone in Jeanette Merritt’s office, probably Jeanette, had a great marketing/PR idea. The Indiana Wine and Grape Council, along with Purdue University, hosts the biggest wine competition in the United States outside of California.

Ann Miller and Todd Ranier between flights

Several years ago they started inviting “guest judges” to join a tasting panel for a few hours. The guest judges were bloggers, wine writers, foodies, and such. The guests taste right along with the judges and offer their opinions from no medal, bronze, silver or gold awards. But the guest’s vote doesn’t count.

I have done this several times now and besides great fun, learn a lot each time. Thursday at Purdue’s Memorial Union building I sat down at a judging table with Donna Adams, Winzerwald Winery, Indiana, Todd Ranier, Kahn’s Fine Wines, Ann Miller, St. James Winery, Missouri, and Don Crank, winemaker at Willamette Valley Vineyards, Oregon.

Donna was our table’s lead taster.

I was there for two hours and tasted through five flights of wines with the judging panel. The judges are only told the variety, vintage, and residual sugar of the wines place in front of them. The Thursday morning flights were American White Blends, Red Blends, Traminette, Chambourcin, and Vidal Blanc.

Judges rank the wines based on clarity, color, aroma, taste, aftertaste, and then overall opinion. Most flights range from five glasses up to 12-14. Let’s just say you learn how to taste wine and spit often in this game.

We had wines we hated, loved, and simply confused us. I like the experience because I learn so much. Crank makes wines at one of the Willamette Valley’s premier wineries and geeked us out several times even talking about a process or machine with “scorpion” in its name. Four pair of eyes were glazed over during that discussion.

Crank offered up plenty of technical expertise

But Dan also had the best line of the day I sent out via social media. We were talking about start up Indiana wineries and whether anyone hired professional help. Donna Adams shared one story of a start up which hired winemaking pro from U.C. Davis on a one-year contract to teach them all they needed to know.

“The wine business is very expensive but knowledge is a good thing to spend yr money on,” Don said. Ranier quickly suggested that was social media wisdom so I Tweeted and updatded. I wish more Indiana wineries heeded Crank’s advice.

I also have some comments from Crank about these wine competitions versus magazine point ratings. I’ll get that up in the next day or so.

The other thing I seek when attending this event is affirmation, not that I’m right in agreeing on a medal but do I taste, see, and smell the same things as the judging pros? Everyone is going to like different things whether you’ve ever judged wines or not. For the most part, I was right on this year and largely awarding the same level medal as the other judges. That gives me a little more confidence when recommending what I think is a well-made wine – whether it suits my palate or not.

Some numbers to ponder: 2,600 wines entered this year (up 200), 41 U.S. States, 14 countries. The competition started in 1992 with 454 entries. The contest was held for years at the state fairgrounds but moved to Purdue in 2010.

Jeanette will have the winners tallied and out in a press release very soon. I comb it for Indiana winners and other wines of interest.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

One Great Day in Southern Indiana Wine Country

23 Monday Jul 2012

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Ted Huber pours wine for the both of us to taste in the Huber tasting room.

A day in Southern Indiana to attend the Uplands Wine Trail “Uncork the Uplands” event was educational, informative, and productive.

I’m working on a story about Indiana wine for Palate Press – the National Online Wine Magazine. So I had daytime appointments with Ted Huber at Huber Orchard and Winery along with Jim Pfeiffer of Turtle Run.

I’m obviously sitting on most of that material for Palate Press. But the overwhelming feeling of the day was Indiana’s improving wine business. NHuber and Turtle Run are certainly two of the very best in Indiana so it’s not like I was hitting up a few Southern Indiana wineries I have panned in the past.

Check out photos from my day at Huber’s and Turtle Run.

Huber’s, which I’ve probably written as much about as any Indiana winery, really is a good benchmark for quality. Ted Huber is quick to point out the family considers themselves farmers first. The property, dating back well into the 1800s, has 600 acres of most every fruit and vegetable imaginable. Just 80 acres of the massive operation is in vineyard. That allows Ted and his winemaking team to produce about 50,000 cases of wine annually.

I’ve talked with Huber on several occasions but our 30-minute appointment Saturday quickly turned in to two hours. Huber talked about reducing the sweetness in Indiana wine and guiding the sweet wine consumers to a better quality product. We talked about the industry in general, the weather’s impact on his vineyards, and more. And plan plenty of extra time if you want to ask about Ted’s brandy operation. It has become his passion. And though I admit to not being a big spirits fan, the 10-year aged Applejack Brandy was absolutely amazing!

Pfeiffer in his vineyard near Lanesville, IN.

Jim Pfeiffer is one of my favorite wine people in the state. His unbridled enthusiasm and willingness to break molds – well heck, Jim doesn’t break them he never used popular molds any way. But the man knows his chemistry and winemaking.

The thing that struck me was the similarity in thoughts and efforts between Pfeiffer and Huber. Both are moving their wines away from higher residual sugar while maintaining pleasant fruit Hoosier like and higher quality juice. The wines are far more approachable than the uber-sweet Concord, Niagra and similar wines which have been Indiana’s calling card.

I’ll have much more on these two in coming weeks.

Uncork the Uplands is just in its second year but already a great wine event, marketing idea, and should be a can’t miss for Indiana wine fans. The word Saturday is next year’s Uncork will be in Bloomington, In. That is a bit easier for Central Indiana folks certainly than the long drive down to Starlight atop the hills overlooking the Ohio River.

The Uplands wineries all pour a selection of their wines while Hoosier food product companies show off their edibles. The $75 admission is well worth the price when you consider a portion of the proceeds help several charities.

I didn’t make it to every winery’s table nor every food booth. But I did taste lots of interesting goodies that made the trip just that much more fun. I thought I’d share business names and links here for people always looking for good Hoosier food products. These were some of my favorites;

Peacetree Mountain Truffles – Dark chocolate and Chambourcin do mix! The truffles were to die for! Certainly many wine fans know the almost magical powers of a good red wine and dark chocolate. If you’re one of those fanactics check out the website.

Yours Truly wine cake

Yours Truly Foods – This company is making cake mixes which will be sold at wholesale to wineries. The samples were a hot commodity Saturday. I loved the rich dark chocolate. The owners Diiana Chamness and Betty Davis came up with the mixes and make a recommendation on types of wines to add to the mix. Unfortunately their website is very incomplete. But you can look for the product coming soon to an Indiana winery near you.

Steckler Grassfed Cheese, poultry, beef & lamb – This new business emphasizes pasture-raised products. I had the aged raw-milk cheddar and found it to be a great pairing with red or white wine. Not a fan of the pepperjack, but hey – I don’t/can’t like everything! Ha

Grateful Greens – While Greg Graft’s business is largely a wholesale operation based in Clarksville, Indiana, the basil pesto he served up with fresh mozzarella on a cracker was world class. It was one of the best things I had at Uncorked.

Fermenti Artisan – is an Indianaplis company that “puts the culture in your diet.” They specialize in artisan cultured vegetables, nutrition education, and urban farmers. Fermenti provided the Kraut on a marvelous small bite of Rene Bakery sour dough, along with Smoking Goose black truffle bologna! (Fermenti doesn’t appear to have a traditional website, but the link will take you to their Facebook page.)

de Tours Indiana Wines – Kyle Marcum introduced himself while I was scurrying about Saturday night. Marcus has started an Indiana wine country tour business. He offers a luxury limosine experience that would be great for groups not wanting to drive and taste. Packages vary in price but start at a reasonable $315 for up to 8 people.

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Great Visits with Two of State’s Best Winemakers

21 Saturday Jul 2012

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Ted drawing/pouring Brandy for me

NEW ALBANY, In. – “Best” is always a label best used infrequently but few in the know would argue Huber Wines and Turtle Run are among some of the best and most interesting wines in Indiana.

Tonight is the Uncork the Uplands food and wine event at Huber Orchard and Winery and I’ll be hitting it up in just a short bit. But I took the opportunity to come down early and spend some time with Ted Huber and Jim Pfeiffer of Turtle Run for a Palate Press story about Indiana wines.

I found Ted in a talkative mood and eager to share the processes he uses to make some of Indiana’s best wines/. We talked about the evolving consumer demand and palate for lighter wines, lower alcohol, and a bit less sweet. That’s right – Indiana consumer trends in tasting rooms are showing a developing palate for wines not as sweet as the typical concords and niagra wines of the past.

Pfeiffer shares that passion for less sweet wines as a winemaker and as a health concern. Pfeiffer is more mad genius than Huber’s calculating step by step wine making but both turn out bottles of wine that would stand up to many others not just across Indiana but the nation.

Huber also has an over-the-top passion for brandy. Before today I believe I had tasted Brandy one time while in Germany. Today I barrell sampled brandy in oak for two months, two years, five years and the final product with more than 10 years aging. I admit, that old stuff is pretty tasty!

Pfeiffer picking out wines I should taste

Pfeiffer is an enthusiastic guy that go on and on about the chemical properties of wine – glucose vs fructose – and then more. But he makes a compelling case about reducing sugar in wines which not only are more palate pleasing but healthier.

Jim makes interesting blends and is part Picasso and half mad scientist with some crazy blends that come out tasting like magic.

Both winemakers produce the best Chambourcin I’ve had ever. When done correctly, Chambourcin has Pinot Noir like qualities with nice body, a light mouth feel, and pleasing fruit. When done poorly, as it often is in the Hoosier state, it comes out smelling like an old musty shoe.

It’s off now to Uncork with Upland Wine Trail wineries, Hoosier food producers, Bloomington Chef Daniel Orr, a mixologist, and more.

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Indiana’s Uplands Wine Trail Event Saturday at Hubers

15 Sunday Jul 2012

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For Hoosier, there is a great Indiana wine event in southern most Indiana Saturday, July 21. The second-annual “Uncork the Uplands” food and wine pairing event is set for Huber Winery.

The event features food from south-central Indiana paired with wines from the nine Uplands Wine Trail wineries.

Chef Daniel Orr

One of the highlights this year is featured guest Chef Daniel Orr from FARMbloomington restaurant. He will be doing a presentation during the evening’s events.

We are thrilled to rpesent “Uncork the Uplands” once again this year, an entertaining experience for the wine and food lover in all of us, said Kim Doty, President of the Indiana UPlands Wine Trail and owner of French Lick Winery. She added in the press release, “the selections we will present from the wineries of the Uplands Wine Trail are notable  … we look forward to sharing them all, along with out wonderful regional food offerings.”

The Uplands Wine Trail includes Best Vineyards, Brown County Winery, Butler Winery, Carousel Winery, French Lick, Huber, Oliver, Turtle Run and Winzerwald.

Tickets can be ordered in advance at the Uncork the Uplands website but are also going to be available the day of the event. Tickets are $75 per person.

A portion of the evening’s proceeds will go toward Ivy Tech of Southern Indiana’s Viticulture Enology Sciene & Technology Alliance and TheFARM Fund raising future culinarians at Ivy Tech in Bloominton.

Olinger Indiana, Monarch Beverages, Indy Wine Competition, Ivy Tech, Innovative Labeling Solutions, The Sunnyside of Louisville, Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Monroe County Convention and Visitors Bureau are sponsors.

To to the website and check it out. Huber’s Winery is worth the visit any time of year but this special event makes it doubly worth your effort.

As of now, I plan on attending. I hope to see you there.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

A Look at Vintage Indiana through Younger Eyes!

07 Thursday Jun 2012

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I don’t write much here about my real job too often but one of the joys is getting to know so many interesting young people who are students at Wabash College. Tyler Swaim, a young man who worked for me as a blogger his freshman year, was at Vintage Indiana a week ago. My schedule prevents me from attending each year. He recalled my blog and asked if I’d like him to share some impressions! I thought it was a great idea. So here is Guest Blogger Tyler Swaim, Class of 2013. He’s from Indy’s southside.

Tyler – I got got my hands on a few of the featured wine lists and we (he and girlfriend) visited about half of the booths, so I can recall some of the more interesting selections, but for us the main enjoyment was found in meeting new people. 

Swaim

Upon arriving at the festival, we took a few minutes to get oriented with the aid of a map and soon jumped into the shortest line we could find. All things considered, the first line we waited in seemed like the longest line of the day, although perhaps the progression of our wine tasting adventure granted us more patience. The first lady we met was a frequenter of wine and beer festivals and, taking note of our “festival virginity”, soon explained all the ins and outs of sneaking in line, including a cunning tactic for beer festivals which involves having the girlfriend politely ask inebriated men to jump ahead in line and then inviting the boyfriend to join her when she gets to the front. Although we did not take advantage of her well-learned advice, the conversation itself set the tone for several others we had with strangers throughout the day, including a discussion with an older couple regarding their trip to New Orleans. 

As we moved from booth to booth, we discovered we both favor semi-sweet wines to sweet wines and that, with a few exceptions, do not like dry wines. Having only recently turned 21, we were both new to wines in general and looked at this event as an opportunity to learn more about our tastes than about the specific wines. We were both surprised at the variety of wines Indiana has to offer. From mango and pomegranate to blackberry and cider, the bouquet of flavor was overwhelming. I made a point of trying the Chambourcin at each booth as a means of gauging differences between wineries and found that, while I liked the White Chambourcin at Indian Creek Winery, there were very few others that satisfied my taste as effectively. Overall, there were three wineries that really stuck out: McClure’s Orchard, Carousel Winery, and River City Winery. 
McClure’s Orchard specializes in hard ciders, but the variety within that class alone was vast. In particular, they had a jalapeno cider which was unlike anything I had ever tried, and to be honest I didn’t know what to make of it. The sweetness was very characteristic of a cider, yet the smell of jalapeno was thick and robust; it was as if I were eating a piece of apple pie with a piece of melted pepperjack cheese on top. To be sure, it was a far stretch from the Woodchuck I have come to know and love and probably something I will never try again, but the lesson learned was that wine, unlike most alcohols, has the potential to be anything. 

Carousel Winery on the other hand, was a far more traditional taste, though again very eclectic in flavor. Included in their vast selection were mango and pomegranate wines that did not disappoint, but for me the crown jewel was called Lady Luck. For fans of the Harry Potter series, this wine is what I imagine the felix felicis potion to look and taste like. To assign it any traditional flavor description would not do it justice, so I describe it as thus: the golden liquid caressed my palate, gently holding it in an embrace where time stopped. I never thought I’d speak of a taste as such, but the wine definitely did justice to the name Lady Luck.

Although River City Winery offered one of my favorite selections of wine, including a dry red blend very aptly named The Robert E. Lee and sweet red blend called Colonel’s Legacy, the main point of interest was in the winery itself. From the brief conversation we had with the volunteer school teacher serving wine samples, I learned that the winery is owned and operated by a couple in New Albany. The wife is a teacher as well and the husband is a police officer. It was at this point in the day that I began to really understand how unique Indiana wineries are. Unlike my previously held stereotype of wine aficiondos as being exclusively rich snobs (no offense, Howard), I began to see a side of wine that included a class of small business owners and community fellowships. This is a group that devotes extensive time, energy, and resources to providing a drink which in turn brings people together. Above all, this is what I learned from the Vintage Indiana Wine Festival. 
Upon entering the festival, everyone received a souvenir wine glass which many were wearing on a lanyard around their necks. Although I thought this was a neat idea, the woman we met in the first line seemed to view them as a stigma for identifying alcoholics, suggesting that only that group of people would consider carrying the glass in their hands as too much of a burden.
While waiting in line for one of the wineries, we were approached by a reporter for Hoosier TV on Comcast and interviewed. We were asked a few questions relating our shared interest in wine to our interest in each other (e.g. What one word would you use to describe both your favorite wine and your significant other?) and then we played a game called “Wine or Not a Wine” where we were given several names and asked if it was the name of a wine or not. Being new to wine, we did not fare so well in the game.

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Indiana Wines Improving, Still Room to Grow

30 Monday Apr 2012

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Ignoring hard rain in Central Indiana and a Saturday morning two-hour drive, off I set for Story, In. Saturday morning and the 10th Indiana Wine Fair.

Fortunately, the rain ended nearing the small Brown County town nestled in a valley southeast of Nashville. So I knocked out a video interview as guest of Ole Olson, dean of Indiana wine writers, for his Hoosier Wine Cellar Blog which runs in Bloomington and other Southern Ind. papers. I’ll note here on the blog when that interview goes up.

Then it was off to taste some wines. I pretty much decided to stick with whites and Rose’ wines and avoid the reds. There are a few good dry red wines made in Indiana, usually blends, but when Hoosier winemakers try to bottle a 100 percent Cabernet they aren’t doing themselves or other winemakers any favors.

Jim Pfeiffer of Turtle Run Winery.

The state has two wine fairs each year, the other is Vintage Indiana in Indy, but the Story Wine Fair has grown to be a big event. The rain all over the state didn’t keep the vino fans away from the Story Inn grounds. The mob wasn’t as big as I remember during my last visit but the crowds were good (as you can see from the photo at the top).

Okay, to the wine. The Wine Fair has a judging competition on Thursday each year before Saturday’s event. I went straight to Huber Winery’s stand under one of several tents to try the Catawba semi-sweet Rose ($11.99). It was the rated the top wine by a panel of independent judges.

I’m a big Huber fan and the wine didn’t disappoint. The judges rated it 98 points on a 100 point scale. The wine had a nice tart and fruity flavor, perhaps a tad sweet on the palate for some but not a sweet wine as compared to many other wines on the festival grounds.

Ted Huber knows how to make wine and he knows the Midwestern palate. This is great Rose for less-sophisticated tastes or new wine drinkers. I liked it, but it bordered almost too sweet for me but that’s because of the Catawba grape. Catawba more frequently is used in sweet wines.

Huber wines are some of Indiana’s best made. Huber’s reds are consistently some of the best.

The second-place wine in the Blush (or Rose) category was Brown County’s Vista Rose. It was similar to the Huber offering with a bit more pronounced fruit.

For my palate, neither of those Rose wines was the best I tasted. Just a couple of years ago Jim Butler won top honors at the Indianapolis International Wine Competition for his Chambourcin Rose. I tasted Butler Winery’s most recent vintage and it’s outstanding. It was dry Rose with lovely hints of cherry and delightfully tart. At $13.99, it’s an outstanding Hoosier wine.

I tasted several whites I liked and several insipid offerings. Turtle Run’s Jim Pfeiffer makes a $12 Dry Traminette that is one of the best wines made in Indiana. Everyone makes Traminette and almost everyone makes it sweet or semi-sweet. Not Jim! He also knocks out a crazy barrel-fermented Traminette that is just as good from the same grape and couldn’t be more different because of the oak. You really have to try it.

All three Rose’ wines I tasted prove Hoosiers can make great wine.

One of the day’s biggest surprises was a Pinot Blanc from Chateau Pomjie, in southeastern Indiana. The $25 Pinot Blanc comes from estate grown Pinot Noir. The nice woman assured me they really grow the Pinot on their property. I’ve only had one white Pinot before and that came at the highly respected Domaine Serene in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The Pomjie’s Pinot Blanc showed promise. It was really nice and light wine with the distinctive Pinot flavor. The finish had a wee bit of funk but very promising wine.

I dislike trashing any winery’s efforts but some things just shouldn’t happen. Back to the aforementioned Cabernet. It’s not going to work in Indiana. And why would you want to grow the stuff when consumers can pick up good $10-$14 Cabs from the grocery. Indiana can grow Chambourcin and other reds which can be made into great dry wines.

I read that the top-judged red was a Malbec. Hmmmm?? I went to the booth to see the tasting menu said Chilean Malbec. I asked about the source and a server told me they bought ‘bagged juice” from Chili. Now ask yourself, do you want to drink anything called ‘bagged juice?’

How the judges missed so badly on this wine is hard to figure out. Perhaps the bottle I tasted from was tainted. The wine was beyond bad it clearly had chemical issues.

I also tasted a Silver medal white that that had a lovely onto-on-the-palate light apricot to dissolve into an off-putting sour (not tart) finish.

Indiana wine has come a long way. Do not let one bad wine or winery skew your judgment against midwestern states’ wines. Support the state industry! There are plenty of good ones and still plenty of bad ones. But do your homework and you can buy wonderful Indiana wines!


Here are the judges picks from the 2012 Indiana Wine Fair:

Dry Red – Gold: Harmony Winery, Malbec, NV (89 POINTS); Silver: Huber Winery, Heritage 2008; Bronze: Oliver Winery, Zinfandel 2009

Sweet Red – Gold: Best Vineyards, Concord NV 87 POINTS; Silver: Indian Creek Winery, “Cardinal Red” NV; Bronze: River City Winery, “Colonel’s Legacy” NV

Blush – Gold: Huber Winery, Catawba NV (BEST OF SHOW, 98 POINTS); Silver: Brown County Winery, “Vista Rose” NV; Bronze: Monkey Hollow, “Pasture Limit” NV

Dry White – Gold: Huber Winery, Vignoles (88 POINTS); Silver: Cedar Creek Winery, “Butterfly Kiss” NV; Bronze: Turtle Run Winery, Traminette NV

Sweet White – Gold: Oliver Winery, Creekbend, Vignoles 2010 (88 POINTS); Silver: Best Vineyards, Catawba NV; Bronze: Buck Creek Winery, “Der Champion” NV

Dessert – Gold: Chateau Pomije, “Late Harvest” NV (86 POINTS); Silver: Huber Winery, Black Raspberry; Bronze: Cedar Creek, “Harvest Moon Cab” NV

Non-Traditional/Non-Grape – Gold: Winzerwald Winery “Cherry Red” (96 POINTS); Silver: River City Winery, “Market House Elderberry”; Bronze: Cedar Creek Winery, “Peach Paradise”

NV – Non-Vintage.

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Indiana Wine Fair This Weekend in Story

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

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Live music, food, wine make for a big crowd and fun day in Story

You literally have to belly up to the bar to get a taste.

Regional and state wine fairs have become big events across the Midwest. Indiana wineries participate in two major wine fairs each year.

The first is the Indiana Wine Fair this weekend, 12:30-7 p.m., April 28, at Story, Indiana. Story is located in Brown County, east of Nashville. You can find directions and lots of information on the Indiana Wine Fair website.

I counted 26 Indiana wineries participating but there may be more. Admission is $20 and you get a souvenir wine glass from the historic Story Inn. For that $20, you can taste the wines of the Hoosier State. With a designated driver in tow, you can tastes as many as you like.

A lesson on learning to taste and spit is appropriate if you really want to sample a lot of wine.

I like these events. They’re fun and exciting. The other big Indiana wine show is Vintage Indiana held each summer in downtown Indianapolis.

Don’t miss Huber Winery, Butler, and Turtle Run. Several Hoosier winemakers have really stepped up the quality in recent years. These three wineries are consistent, quality-driven wineries. Also a note of caution on the same topic. Frankly, there are some wineries where the product just isn’t up to par. Don’t let one bad taste ruin the experience or make you think all Indiana wine is swill. Go visit the names you know or have heard of first, then go exploring.

Take time to visit the Inn. It has a fantastic restaurant.

For fairness sake, I’ll share two warnings about Story. It’s down a very winding state highway and there is limited parking onsite. The wine fair runs shuttles from Nashville that make things a bit easier. All of that information is on the website linked above.

It’s been at least two or three years since I last attended this fair. It’s crowded. I mean, it’s really crowded. My best advice is to come early or late.

I intend on visiting this year and meeting up with lots of Indiana wine friends. It’s a beautiful drive, great scenery, and a wonderful way to taste a lot of Indiana’s ever-improving wines.

Just bring some patience with your smile!

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

A Different, But Still Fun, Saturday Morning Trip

19 Sunday Feb 2012

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Indianapolis’ northside is my usual destination for Saturday morning shopping trips. Feeling less adventurous this Sat., Feb. 18, I headed to downtown Lafayette – just a half hour away.

For the better part of 30 years (maybe more) I’ve known my way around downtown Lafayette because I worked there in state government in the late 1970s. I probably have driven by O’Rear’s Bakery hundreds and hundreds of times. I’ve never stopped.

Saturday morning I did go into O’Rear’s and I’ll definitely go back. The bakery is one of those old-fashioned places where you can see the dough mixers and all of the equipment just by peaking through a side door into the back. Brownies, cakes, cookies galore, pastry, and of course donuts.

Places like this deliver a unique homemade natural flavor that chain retail outlets just can’t match. The building probably isn’t much different inside and out than it was in the 1950s. They don’t have a website, and their Facebook page has no content, but this is an institution. If nothing else I can testify driving past it in the 1970s.

It’s located at 321 N 9th St., Lafayette.

My next stop was Main Street Cheese & Wine just a few blocks from the bakery – just the way I imagine it in heaven!

I had visited this shop right after it first opened nearly five years ago and wondered how they would ever compete. Well, the shop is still there and now serves breakfast. But the big hit appears to be the wine bar next door that is so busy they recommend reservations for Friday or Saturday nights. 

The wine bar had a nice selection at all price points and plenty of interesting food options and small plates to accompany a bottle of wine. I was mildly surprised to see such a wide selection of Indiana wine. I remember the shop carried Huber Winery products when I first visited and they have a pretty wide selection now. 

I have to mention two other business here before running through my last stop. Copper Dog Cafe is a wonderful little restaurant for vegetarians that’s as charming as it is tasty. One of my frequent stops is at Lafayette Brewing Company for their great sandwiches, fries and handcrafted beers. 

McCord’s interior seems to have never changed!

But my last stop Saturday was at the near-legendary McCord’s Candy Shop – a downtown fixture since 1912. It’s one of those places that if you’ve never been there make the trip to Lafayette just for McCord’s. You enter to wonderful aroma of chocolate and fresh-faced college kids making hand-dipped milk shakes.


I bought two truffles – I’m conserving, seriously – and ate one last night. The young lady was almost apologetic for noting they were $2 each when I was picking them out. I have certainly paid more than two bucks for high-end truffles but seldom had one any better than McCords.

536 Main St.

I also ordered a diet cola which they hand mixed by putting the raw syrup into the cup and then the carbonated water – a spoon stirs it all up the old fashioned way.


You really want to visit close to Easter time if possible because they make the widest and wildest array of wonderful chocolate creations. The show case becomes a crazy colorful salute to Mr. Bunny and all his friends.
This place is a real Hoosier treasure!

One of the great things about visiting these places I’ve written about is they are all so close together. And in between there are numerous great antique stores and small interesting shops. Downtown Lafayette is a good Saturday morning trip!

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

Indiana Scores at S.F. Chronicle Wine Contest

19 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in California, Indiana

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It’s always great news when Midwestern wineries can enter the really big wine competitions and come home with honors.

Mark Easley, who runs the family-owned Easley Winery in downtown Indianapolis, has to be elated! He buys some of those great Michigan Riesling grapes and makes a Riesling that just won a gold medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Congratulations to Mark for being a part of the ever-growing movement to improve Hoosier state wines!

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com