Tag Archives: New Albany

Time Again to Uncork the Uplands

13 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by in Food & Travel, Indiana, Newspaper Column 2015

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One of the state’s best, if not the best, wine celebrations returns to Huber Orchard and Winery 4-7 p.m., July 25 in southern Indiana.

Uncork the Uplands is in its fifth year celebrating the wines of Indiana’s only designated American Viticultural Area – the Indiana Uplands. The annual celebration returns to Huber’s after two years at Oliver Winery near Bloomington.

Grape Sense LogoThe Indiana Uplands has nine Indiana wineries coming together for one night of wine, food, and celebration. The event is hosted by Huber in its large Plantation Hall. Huber’s is located in the rolling hills of southern Indiana overlooking the Ohio River Valley near the very small town of Starlight. It’s a short drive from New Albany.

The nine wineries pouring will be Best Vineyards, Brown County Winery, Butler Winery, French Lick Winery, Huber Winery, Owen Valley Winery, Oliver’s, Turtle Run and Winzerwald. Those nine make up the Uplands Wine trail and grow grapes within the Indiana Uplands AVA.

The unique Indiana event also brings in a number of Indiana artisan food purveyors offering samples to pair with the wine. Live music and other events highlight the evening activities.

Touring vineyards at Uplands last year at Oliver Winery.

Touring vineyards at Uplands last year at Oliver Winery.

Wine fans can also participate in two guided tours. In one, guests will tour one of Indiana’s largest and oldest vineyards. Huber’s almost 800-acre farm has contributed to Indiana’s agritourism for over 150 years. In the second, tour Huber’s production facility, and see how wines and spirits are created from the ground up.

This year, Uncork will feature add-on tickets for an exclusive VIP event that will take place in Huber’s Starlight Distillery’s new 20,000 square-foot stillhouse an hour before the main event.

VIP tickets include special cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a keepsake glass and personal interaction with the winemakers from around the trail. Tickets to this event are limited.

One of the best parts of the Uplands event is the chance to talk with the winemakers and family members who make some of Indiana’s best wine. But be sure to get there early and take the vineyard tour. If you’re a real wine fan, there is no better way to learn about wine grown in any region of the world than a walk through a production vineyard.

Tickets are $60 per person and are available at the participating wineries and at the door the night of the event. The fee covers all the food and wine tastings throughout the evening.

With Huber located in the southern most region of the state, you should consider spending the night near New Albany or Jeffersonville and enjoy the historical district, restaurants, and new walking bridge across the Ohio River. The area is going through big positive changes. There are several national chain motels near I-64.

Grape Sense Column Grows Again!

19 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2013

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NT bigger logoThe News-Tribune in New Albany and Jeffersonville has become the 23rd Midwestern newspaper to carry my wine column, Grape Sense.

The river city daily is a combined production of the old New Albany Tribune and Jeffersonville News. I’ve been after them for awhile with their close proximity to Huber, Turtle Run, and Best wineries!

That brings my newspaper count to 23 papers in three states, and reaching more than 310,000 homes each month!

Thanks to editor Shea Van Hoy for picking up Grape Sense!

Indy Champion Vignoles Isn’t River City’s Only Gem

08 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by in Indiana

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New Albany, In. – Indiana wine as a whole, and River City Winery in particular, made some real history last week. Gary Humphrey was the first-ever Hoosier winemaker to produce the Indianapolis International Wine Competition’s top wine.

River City 2011 Vignoles was judged the best glass of wine out of 2,600 entries from 41 states and 14 countries. Indiana has had a variety win before when Butler Winery claimed the top Rose, but never the best over-all wine in the competition.

For one thick-headed day I tried to figure out how to visit the winery and snatch a bottle of the prize winner. It took most of the day for the fog to clear and remember I had business in Kentucky Tuesday and could easily come back through New Albany to River City Winery and Restaurant.

Humprhey pouring his wines

I have to admit, though River City has been around for about three years, I had seen the name but knew little about it. Humphrey has a unique business model – his winery tasting room is also a full-service, chef-driven restaurant. He does not have any distribution though he does participate in some wine festivals. If you want a bottle of that award winner, you can only get it in New Albany.

That approach allows him to do a couple of things. First, he can charge a bit more per bottle in a restaurant setting than most wineries can charge in a tasting room. But he also doesn’t have any ambition to become a major player state wide, he just wants to make great wine.

Humphrey also honors the community’s history on his labels and in helping lead a downtown revival. I’m going to be writing my newspaper column about River City this week.

Chef Davis’ crabcakes! Yummy!

But the Vignoles was something really interesting. I tasted, tasted again and had a glass with some incredible crab cakes. It has a remarkable freshness you just seldom get from any wine. That had to catch the judges’ eyes. It also had this quirky little hint of banana – yes, banana – that really set it apart from other Vignoles. Now, it has 2.5 percent residual sugar. Some wine lovers will find it a tad on the sweet side. It’s not Frosted Flakes sweet, nor traditional Concord grape sweet, but it is sweeter than a lot of wines. But that said, it was a beautifully crafted wine.

The wine retails for $28 a bottle. Humprhey admitted he learned from others that such a win might be a once-in-a-life-time thing. So he did what almost every big winner always does, he bumped the price pretty good. Let’s just say the wine was under $20 before last week. I certainly can’t find anything wrong with that!

Gary, who maintains his job as a New Albany police officer, recently purchased an adjoining building and has started renovations to expand the kitchen, dining area and add private meeting rooms. The location is downtown with beautiful exposed brick walls and tremendous grub. The winery is in the basement.

Pizza like this Feta/Spinach one has become a signature dish

At one point, Gary disappeared and came back with Executive Chef Nick Davis. Davis is a local who graduated from Louisville’s Sullivan Culinary School. The 23-year-old head chef buys local ingredients and has all sorts of ideas he’d like to try when he gets a bigger kitchen.

I had the best crabcakes I’ve ever had in land-locked Indiana. Davis added a wonderful bed of corn, black-eyed peas, herbs, and a hint of cayenne for a real kick.

The Vignoles isn’t Gary’s only interesting wine by a long shot. He’s working to perfect Riesling he buys from Kentucky and admits his red wine “program” isn’t quite where he wants it yet. He did pour a traditional Bordeaux blend that was “okay” to my palate but showed tremendous potential if he can find a consistent source for Cab, Cab Franc, and Malbec.

As most wine folks know Hoosiers like sweet wines. There is hardly an Indiana winery that doesn’t make a sweet Concord wine. Gary makes one too but he takes the wine and ages it in Kentucky Bourbon barrels for a unique finish. It weighs in at 7.5 percent residual sugar but tastes like much less. It is truly unique.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I will get an update online in the next few days about all of Indiana’s winners from the Indy competition. Oliver Winery won the Governor’s Cup for most wins and title of Winery of the Year. We’ll break down the other awards soon.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com