Huber Wins Top Indy Competition Award

19 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by Howard in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2013

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Chambourcin, Huber's Orchard & Winery, Indy International Wine Competition, Ted Huber, Vignoles

Indiana is on a roll.

For the second straight year an Indiana wine won top honors at the prestigious 22nd Annual Indy International Wine Competition held in early August at Purdue University.

Huber’s Orchard, Winery and Vineyards took the honor for the competition’s top wine with its Vignoles. A year ago River City Winery won the prize also with Vignoles.

“I think Vignoles really hits a consumer sweet spot,” Ted Huber said in explaining the second straight Vignoles win. “Consumers want nice fruit but more and more without the sweetness.”

The wine comes in with a modest .73 percent residual sugar and a light 12 percent alcohol. The Vignoles is grown on the Huber 80-acre vineyard. Vignoles is a French hybrid grape that has been found to grow well in the Midwest.

Ted Huber pouring in his Starlight, IN. tasting room.

Characteristically, the wine is semi-dry with low sugar and tastes of pineapple, honey and melon. On my palate it was the honey and a maybe a Honey Dew melon flavor that dominated the wine. Some wine drinkers not familiar with Vignoles might compare it to a Gewürztraminer. It has a bit of a floral characteristic on the nose but doesn’t overpower the wine. The wine can have an odd banana-like flavor that is, fortunately, missing from Huber’s wine.

“It’s always very well-received in our tasting room,” Huber says. “People are bashful about trying a semi-dry wine but pleased once they do. The tropical fruit on the palate makes it approachable. There’s nothing else quite like it. It really holds its own.”

Success is nothing new to Huber’s 80,000 case operation and tourist destination. “I think we’ve won something like 20 Governor’s Cups,” Huber said. The Indy International presents the Cup to the Hoosier winery with the most medals each year.

Huber’s were harvesting Traminette Monday.

This year Huber won winemaker of the year, given to the winery with the most gold medals. They also won the Eagle Award for the Best Rose Wine, Huber’s Catawba Rose.

Don’t dismiss the Indy International as just any competition. The organizers bill the competition as ‘the largest scientifically organized and independent wine competition in the United States. Judges come from across the county and all wines are tasted blind. This year more than 2,500 wines were entered from 35 states and 15 countries.

“It all starts with agriculture – growing top quality grapes lead to award winning wines,” Huber said. “Southern Indiana has proven this many times with our ability to produce world class wines.”

Hubers won double gold, the highest honor before the top wines are chosen, for Vignoles, Starlight White, Chambourcin, and Raspberry wines. They won gold medals for six other wines, silver for nine wines.

Several Michigan and Illinois wineries also took home medals. See Indy International for full results.

Huber’s Vignoles ($14.99) represents a movement among several Indiana winemakers to reduce residual sugar while maintaining the fresh fruit qualities of their wines. The Vignoles is an outstanding summer sipper but would also be good with creamy cheeses or salty meats like prosciutto.

Lafayette’s Wildcat Creek Thriving

21 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by Howard in Indiana

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Chambourcin, De Chaunac, Indiana wine, Lafayette, Traminette

LAFAYETTE, IN. – Rick and Kathy Black’s Wildcat Creek Winery is in it’s fourth year just off I-65 on the east side of Lafayette. And saying ‘just off of’ couldn’t be more accurate. Coming around the old house which now houses the tasting room, you pick up hints of trailer-truck exhaust and hint of the sound of cars zooming up and down between Indianapolis and Chicago.

It was a nice short drive for a Sunday afternoon but visitors must access a country road west of I-65 and follow it a mile or so to find the winery. Once there the unassuming farmhouse gives way to a simple but nicely decorated tasting room.

The staff was a lot of fun and welcoming but didn’t have a lot of knowledge about the wines. I don’t expect all tasting room workers, especially in Indiana, to be able to talk about malolactic fermentation, barrel selection, and the fermentation process of each wine – but I think they should be able to answer what grapes are in each of the wines and where the grapes are grown. And if they can’t that’s ok but put such information on the tasting notes.

I did not call in advance nor attempt to set up an interview with owners. I will try to follow up and do so. I always like my first experience at any winery, especially in Indiana, to be a cold call. I want the same experience the average consumer has when visiting.

The wine is made from juice, not fruit, purchased in Indiana and Southern Michigan. And frankly, for serious wine people that should be a red flag. With that being said, the wines were consistent with mid-level pack Indiana wineries. They seemed balanced but some of the flavors were off and hard for my palate to pinpoint.

They do a Lafayette Red which is similar to almost all Indiana concord wines, though not as sweet. The sweet red was nice. The Traminette was balanced and won a double gold medal at the Indy International Wine Competiton. It was definitely on the sweeter side but not cloying so! It’s a great representation of Indiana’s signature grape. The Aunt Minnie’s Cherry Tree wine was pretty yummy. I’m not a big fruit wine guy, obviously, but it was nice! Most of the wines ranged $13-$15.

The Chambourcin was odd in that it was quite tart and herbal but not in a bad way. I prefer the Pinot Noir-like versions often produced in Southern Indiana. Some people will like this ‘different’ version with a sharper edge. As a matter of fact, the young tasting room attendant told me the winemaker didn’t like traditional versions and wanted to make his different. But she couldn’t tell me what “different” meant for Wildcat Creek.

They also offer two dry wines – Peter’s Mill White and Prophet’s Rock Red. The white was a blend of Seyval and Vidal Blanc. The red was a blend of Marchel Foch and De Chaunac. Mark another grape off my list of 100 because I had never tasted De Chaunac not heard of it. It’s a hybrid red wine grape grown across the northern states and Canada.

I salute any Indiana winemaker trying to do really dry wines and experimenting with new grapes. The Peter’s Mill and Rock Red didn’t work for me but probably will for others and sell well for the Tippecanoe County winery.

A nice group of, what appeared to be, Purdue students wandered in as I exited. The nice tasting room folk said traffic has been good!

Wildcat Creek is not a destination winery but fills a void in North Central Western Indiana. And its location just off busy I-65 makes it a convenient. I’d love to hear feedback from others who may have visited!