Tag Archives: Jim Butler

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.

 

Rain Impacts Indiana Vineyards

24 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by in Indiana, Midwestern States, Newspaper Column 2015

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Indiana’s corn and soybean crops have sustained $475 million in rain and flood damage this summer according to Purdue University agriculture economists. Indiana’s grape crop and vineyards haven’t escaped the soggy summer woes either.

Grape Sense LogoThe rains have hurt vineyards most in Central Indiana while southern vines have been spared. “All the rain this year has made it especially difficult to control diseases,” said Bruce Bordelon, Purdue Professor of Horticulture and specialist in commercial grape and wine production. He said many vineyards avoided disease problems thanks to a dry month of May.

Purdue's Bruce Bordelon

Purdue’s Bruce Bordelon

“But, I’ve seen a tremendous amount of anthracnose (leaf spots and blotches) and black rot. Shocking to see it so bad,” Bordelon said. “In some cases, it is due to a poor spray program, but in others, it is due to high disease pressure. We’ve had too many rains too close together to maintain adequate fungicide coverage.”

Purdue’s grape expert said many of the problems could still be overcome with the most critical weeks of veraison (grape ripening) still ahead.

Don Pampel, owner of Whyte Horse Winery near Monticello, owns one of those vineyards impacted by the downpours. “The heavy rainfall has made some of our vineyards extremely wet and holding water in the rows for extended period of time,” he said. “This has caused stress on the vines and depleted some of the nutrients that they depend on and we are having to spray nutrients where we have not had to in the past. The frequency of the rain has caused challenges to keep the vines protected from fungus that the rain spreads.

“We will not know the damage until it gets closer to harvest and then it is too late.”

Oliver's Parker

Oliver’s Parker

A big challenge with the heavy rainfall is vineyard management. There is the obvious cost of additional spraying and loss of crop but fighting the rainfall’s effect increases labor cost. Bernie Parker, Vineyard Manager for Oliver Winery, said his crews have tried to stay ahead of the heavy rainfall by working the vines.

“Mildews have been a problem but we have had a lot more midseason growth that requires more manpower to manage,” Parker said. “We are shoot positioning and leaf pulling to open the canopy.  This allows for good air flow which helps with drying the clusters and canopy, also reducing the mildew problems.”

Oliver’s Creekbend Vineyard, just north of Bloomington, is on glently rolling slopes allowing excess rainfall to run off preventing flooding. But Parker notes the heavy rains cause a proliferation of weeds to be pulled.

Creekbend was one of many Indiana vineyards to take a hit in 2014 and 2013 from extremely cold winter and spring weather. But Bordelon noted new vines and retrained vines should be benefiting from the additional moisture. Parker agreed that his re-trained vines were looking strong.

Jim Butler

Jim Butler

The rainfall’s impact lessens in the south. At Butler Vineyards, not far from Oliver, things are looking pretty good. “If we get drier weather starting around the first of August we will have a good year,” Jim Butler said. “We have a large crop set on the vines. We have run a tight spray schedule, by that I mean timely sprays of the right materials to prevent the start of fungal infections.”

Butler said normal August weather should deliver a strong crop despite all of the early rains. Rains have been mostly normal in the Ohio River Valley region.

”In Southern Indiana we have been very lucky in missing all of the large rain events and as a result we have remained very disease free,” said Ted Huber, Huber Orchard and Winery. “Vine growth has been very good plus we continue to remain warmer and sunnier than other parts of the state.

“Therefore, many of our varieties are already in veraison and picking up sugars quickly. We estimate that our harvest will being on August 15.”

Huber has the state’s largest vineyard with more than 20 varietals planted. Just down the road at Turtle Run Winery owner Jim Pfeiffer said the rainfall had not caused any problems for his vines.

Bordelon said the heavy rain and resulting challenges means some Central Indiana vineyards are likely to see a reduced harvest. A sunny and warm month of August could boost the crop as ripening gets underway.

Legislature Right – For a Change

22 Friday May 2015

Posted by in Indiana, Midwestern States, Newspaper Column 2015

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Indiana’s legislature showed a small bit of sanity in getting a shipping law passed for Hoosier Wineries before closing the most recent session. Governor Pence signed the bill into law.

Phil Boots

Phil Boots

Grape Sense LogoSen. Phil Boots, R-Crawfordsville, gudied the legislation removing the face-­to-­face requirement for Indiana wineries to ship wine to their customers. At one point, the licensing fee went from $100 annually to $500. That was plain and simple another case of the legislators bowing to the powerful liquor lobby, funded largely by alcohol distributors.

He urged supporters to keep the foot on the gas and in the end the fee structure was set up on a graduating scale depending on production and alcohol shipped. A fair, if not arguably unnecessary, solution.

Kim Doty, standing center, with husband John and family.

Kim Doty, standing center, with husband John and family.

Indiana wineries could not be happier.

“When the law requiring an initial face to face transaction became effective, it literally destroyed our shipments to wine customers,” said Kim Doty, owner of French Lick Winery.

“We lost 95 percent of our wine shipping sales. Our wine sold and shipped to customers in 2004 was about 10 percent of our total sales. Today with the face to face requirement, our shipping sales are less than one tenth of 1 percent of our total sales. This requirement has also had a negative impact on the growth of our wine club with 99 percent of our wine club sales are shipped directly to the home.”

Again, that face­-to-­face requirement was added to legislation in 2008 as a token to the alcohol lobby but crippling, in particular, to small wineries.

Wineries like French Lick were forced to play along but at a steep price. “We have accumulated over 5400 completed verification forms to date. We would have sold and shipped at least twice that if not for the requirement.”

The new law requires age verification but all shipping laws generally do. Wineries can meet the requirement by using an age verification delivery service like FedEx or UPS.

“We are thrilled with having the requirement rescinded,” Doty said. “Age verification will still be performed by the delivery company and we will pay additional fees for this service. We are confident that our wine shipments are properly handled in accordance with Indiana’s age requirement for liquor.”

Jim Butler

Jim Butler

Jim Butler, Butler Vineyards near Bloomington, has long been one of the industries leading spokespersons and advocate for sanity in wine shipping laws and more.

“We are basically back to where we were 9 or 10 years ago,” Butler said. “With the face to face requirement we l lost 90 percent of our shipping business. Perhaps now we can build it back. This is a nice step forward. It is always a battle of the titans at the statehouse about alcohol issues, big money. big players. We are just little guys. It is one small step toward sanity.”

Sanity? That seldom happens with the legislature and liquor laws. Just look at what happened this year with Sunday sales. A simple law was mangled with requirements that would have retailers build walls in existing stores to sell alcohol on Sundays.

Fortunately, the legislature got it right for Indiana wineries, big and small, in 2015.

Legislature Could Boost Wine Sales

30 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2015

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UPDATE: The bill passed the Indiana Senate this week, 40-10, and now goes to the House. I’ll have an update this coming week on the bill’s status. I’ve also learned of some controversy of an increase in the licensing fee – $100 to $500 for Indiana wineries if bill passes.

Wine enthusiasts have read about the great wines of Huber, Butler, Oliver, and Turtle Run wineries in Southern Indiana. But what if you’re reading Grape Sense in Marion or Peru Indiana? You just can’t pick up the phone and order some wine to try these great bottles. It’s prohibited by state law. And let’s admit, it’s a long drive.

Grape Sense LogoThere is seldom good news in Indiana on direct shipping laws but there is hope in the ongoing session of the Indiana legislature. Current law, in place since 2006, requires consumers to visit on site and make a face-to-face purchase before they can order online. It hurt Indiana wineries significantly when enacted and winery owners are excited it could disappear.

Such statutes used to be fairly common across the country but are now disappearing. Indiana Senate Bill 113, introduced by Crawfordsville Senator Phil Boots, would require customers to provide name, address, phone number and proof of age but remove the onsite restriction.

The good news is the bill passed out of the Senate Public Policy Committee, 9-0. But Jim Butler, who often is involved on behalf of Indiana wineries on governance matters, knows there is still a long way to go.

Jim Butler

Jim Butler

“It’s a great start, but the session is never over until the last hour of the last day, and as you know adult beverage legislation is always a labyrinth,” said Butler, who owns a winery near Bloomington. “Back in 2006 we lost the shipping rights that we had had for over 30 years and as a result we lost about 90 percent of our shipping business and have never really regained it.  This bill will be a great help to our customers as well as us as a business.”

So any Hoosier who supports free commerce should support the bill. You need to encourage those ‘pro-business legislators’ to support Senate Bill 113.

Besides killing profit, the 2006 change created more bureaucracy for Indiana wineries, which already are burdened with regulations and mounds of paper work.

Huber, Ted

Ted Huber

Ted Huber, one of the state’s biggest producers and most-visited wineries, said the current system has been a mess. “Obviously, this type of tracking is cumbersome and complicated,” he said. “It is hard for Huber’s to track Indiana customers among the other visitors that we have traveling through from other states.

“This process becomes frustrating to our Indiana guests as they often leave our tasting room and forget to sign the affidavit.” Huber’s welcomes more than 500,000 annually.

The usual suspects have lined up against the change with tired arguments which have never been proven to have merit. The Indiana Beverage Alliance represents retailers and wholesalers and doesn’t want to lose any business. While that’s understandable, don’t we all support a free marketplace?

“There are lots of Pinot Noirs on the shelf at Indiana retailers,” said Marc Carmichael on behalf of the Alliance. Sure there are lots of choices on those shelves. But Indiana wines take up a tiny portion of the inventory of most retail outlets. If you want to drink Indiana wine, shouldn’t you be able to buy it conveniently?

You can bet the underage-drinking crowd will chime in with their hysterics. Such organizations do an important and great job educating young people about alcohol. That argument gets most of us who support direct shipping de-regulation the most riled up. There is no documented evidence this has ever happened – any where!

Today’s column is a call to action, winos! Contact your local legislator and ask them to support Senate Bill 113 and to change this terrible anti-business law.

“Uncork” Presents Great Food, Wine

15 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2013

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Grape Sense LogoIndiana’s best wine region is pairing up with some of the state’s better-known artisan food producers for the third annual “Uncork the Uplands.”

Ten Uplands wineries will pour wine beside artisan food businesses at 6-9 p.m., July 27, at the Bloomington/Monroe County Convention Center.

The Indiana Uplands grape growing designation (AVA) was awarded by the federal government earlier this year. The designation adds authenticity to a region for growing grapes and producing wines unique to the geographic area. The Uplands group is capitalizing by moving its young event from near Louisville to Bloomington.

Visitors can tour Bill Oliver's Creekbend Vineyards Saturday afternoon

Visitors can tour Bill Oliver’s Creekbend Vineyards Saturday afternoon

“The Uplands area is very large geographically so we are moving the event to different venues around the trail to be accessible to a larger and more diverse audience,” said Kim Doty, Uplands president and owner of French Lick Winery. “This is our signature event. We want to show people what we can do. We’re making world-class wines.”

The evening features 10 wineries:  Best Vineyards,  Brown County, Butler Winery, Carousel, French Lick, Huber, Owen Valley, Oliver, Turtle Run and Winzerwald. A few of the food vendors include: Fair Oaks Farm, Piccoli Dolci, Peacetree Mountain Truffles, Yours Truly Foods , Maple Leaf Farms, Smoking Goose Meats, Inga’s Popcorn, and Steckler Grassfed (beef).

Butler

Butler

Judy Schad, Capriole Farmstead Goat Cheeses, will be one of the featured speakers. Jim Butler, Butler Winery, will talk about the significance of the AVA designation. A silent auction will be held to benefit the Local Growers Guild, and three chefs will compete in a wine/food pairing competition judged by all visitors.

Bill Oliver, Oliver Winery, is opening his Creekbend Vineyard to visitors as part of the Uncork event. Winemakers from many of the 10 wineries will be in the vineyard Saturday afternoon to talk about grapes grown in Indiana and their winemaking.

Tickets for the evening event are $55, which includes tasting at all of the winery and food tables. The combined evening program and Creekbend Tour is $75. Tickets are available at the Convention Center box office and any of the 10 wineries.

For the winemakers, 2013 has been a very good year.  The American Viticulture Area designation provides legitimacy to wine enthusiasts.

Pfeiffer in his vineyard neary Corydon.

Pfeiffer in his vineyard neary Corydon.

“It’s all about validity,” said Jim Pfeiffer, winemaker and owner of Turtle Run Winery, Corydon. “When you have big events people take notice. I’m a big subscriber to Robert Mondavi’s mantra of promote yourself, promote your industry and get others to grow with you.

“It’s sort of like we’re trying to do things Napa Valley does. We want to be noticed.”

The wine trail has benefited from the publicity. Already this year, the Uplands added a 10th winery after the AVA announcement, Owen Valley Winery, Spencer, IN.

“Indiana Uplands was Indiana’s first wine trail,” Doty said. “We are celebrating our 10th anniversary. With the new AVA designation, we are seeing more wineries take root in the Uplands and the expansion of established vineyards.”

Pfeiffer said the wine trail brings more credibility to each winery’s effort. “Would anyone know of Napa Valley if there were 1-2-3 wineries? You have to partner up with people who are like minded. It creates validity and excitement.

AVA Adds to Midwest’s Wine Credibility

26 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2013

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The Indiana’s Uplands region being declared an American Viticulture Area Feb. 12 is good news for all Midwestern wineries.

Grape Sense LogoThe U.S. wine industry is driven by tourism. For those who take wine seriously and want to learn more about wine, hitting up AVA-designated areas assures a level of serious winemaking and even quality.

Michigan leads the way in the Midwest with four AVAs: Fennville, Leelanau Peninsula, Lake Michigan Shore, and Old Mission Peninsula. Ohio has four AVAS: Lake Erie, Isle St. George, Grand River Valley, and Loramie Creek. Illinois has the Shawnee Hills AVA and shares the Upper Mississippi AVA with Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin.

The Ohio River Valley AVA is shared by Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Kentucky has no other designated grape production area and Indiana did not until the Uplands announcement.

bordelon4Blog“It just kind of affirms what we already know that we have some excellent grape growing regions and they’re unique here in the Midwest,” said Bruce Bordelon, Viticulture Specialist at Purdue University. “The Uplands region is different than southwest Indiana. Posey County and Gibson County have different climate and soils. There really is a difference in the (grapes) that we grow and the quality that we get between regions. It’s those little minor differences that makes vintages special and make our varietal-labeled wines special.”

Oliver Winery, near Bloomington, IN., is one of the Midwest’s largest. With production in the 400,000-case range business is good. But Oliver embraced the Uplands news every bit as much as the other eight wineries in the Uplands.

Oliver4Blog“It allows us to qualify as a true viticulture area and raise the level of awareness that there is something special about this region,” said Kathleen Oliver, Executive Vice President. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to capitalize on that by saying there is something really unique about these wines. We are producing great quality wines; we can do it just like Napa and Sonoma. We are something special. And it gives us the opportunity to look for a more premium price.”

The nine established wineries in the Uplands AVA are Best Vineyards Winery, Elizabeth; Brown County Winery, Nashville; Butler Winery, Bloomington; Carousel Winery, Bedford; French Lick Winery, West Baden Springs; Huber Winery, Starlight; Oliver Winery, Bloomington; Turtle Run Winery, Corydon; and Winzerwald Winery, Bristow.

Fall - Christmas Good Time to Visit Uplands Wine TrailJim Butler, Butler Winery also near Bloomington, spent nearly 10 years working to achieve the AVA designation. He agreed that Indiana has a niche with white Traminette and red Chambourcin wines that are grown throughout the Midwest and excel in the Uplands region. But he also sees other wines doing well and a future for more traditional plantings.

“Late harvest Vignoles and Vidal does wonderfully,” Butler said. “We’ve been doing Chardonnel. I think we’re going to see some more viniferas (think traditional wine grapes) planted. “It takes four years to plant a vine and then get your first crop. It’s going to be a decades-plus process to zero in on those varieties that are going to give us the product that we want.”

The 4800-square-mile Uplands AVA stretches from the Morgan-Monroe County line near Bloomington south to the Ohio River. The east-west boundaries run from Jasper in Dubois County to Knobstone Ridge near Starlight, overlooking the Ohio River Valley.

Howard W. Hewitt, Crawfordsville, IN., writes about wine every other week for 22 newspapers in three states. You can contact him with questions or comments at: hewitthoward@gmail.com