2009 Indiana Wine Fair
Seventh Annual Indiana Wine Fair – April 25, 2009
INDIANA WINE FAIR FACTS:
Who: Nearly every Indiana winery
Doing What: Doling out one-ounce pours to an appreciative public
When: April 25, 2009 – 12:30-7:00 pm
Where: Under three tents at the Old Barn, Story Inn. 6404 S. SR 135, 13 miles south of Nashville, IN. Click here for directions.
Admission: Only $15.00 in advance, $20 at the gate. Admission also buys a Story Inn wine glass keepsake, several gifts and a chance to win prizes!.
Parking is free, dress is casual, and the event will go on, rain or shine!
WEATHER IS NOT A FACTOR. All tasting will be under shelter.
For more information call (800) 881-1183
These are some of the past Wine Fair participants:
Ferrins Fruit Winery
Just 20 minutes North of downtown Indianapolis, Ferrin’s Fruit Winery is a fun place to visit. Ferrin’s offers a broad selection of wines, from dry to sweet. Come and enjoy free tasting, gift shop, and winery tour. Located next to First Avenue Cookie Company, which specializes in gourmet cookies and cakes.
Chateau Pomije
Just 40 minutes from Cincinnati, Chateau Pomije’s 50-acre vineyard cascades over Southeastern Indiana’s rolling hills. The winery and restaurant occupy a renovated 1891 barn featuring a 7,000 stone fireplace located in the main dining room. Small fee for sampling a half-dozen wines. Banquet facilities for up to 250 guests.
Established in June 2000, Simmons Winery is located Northeast of Columbus on the family’s 115 year old farm. Taste a wide variety of red, white, and blush wines as you look over the vineyards surrounding the winery. Enjoy free wine samples as you browse through wine related gift items. Visit the farm market during the summer for fresh fruits and vegetables. In the fall, pick your own pumpkins and select your favorite fall decorations.
Visit Indiana’s oldest and largest winery. Open daily, year round, for complimentary wine tasting. Sample over 18 varieties of premium wine from Cabernet Sauvignon to Blackberry. The timber frame tasting room sits on 15 beautifully landscaped acres. Enjoy a complimentary weekend tour, then have a picnic by the pond. A wide variety of wine related gifts and gourmet foods are available to complete your winery experience.
Just 10 minutes west of the Indianapolis Airport, Chateau Thomas Winery specializes in vinifera wines. Browse through the charming neo-Mediterranean gift shop and enjoy free wine tasting of 42 premium vinifera wines. Wine lover merchandise and gourmet foods complement your winery experience. Indiana gourmet cheeses. Gift baskets available year around. Corporate and personalized private labeling available. Call to schedule a cellar tour. Banquet and conference facilities available for 12 to 350 people. Chateau Thomas also has a wine tasting room and gift shop in Brown County, downtown Nashville, Indiana.
With two locations in Nashville, Brown County Winery mirrors the strong arts and crafts community of this scenic Southern Indiana shoppers’ mecca. Dave and Cynthia Schrodt opened their retail shop behind the Nashville House restaurant in 1986. In 2000, they opened a new winery and tasting room just outside of town in Gnawbone. Enjoy free wine sampling of grape wines, and their specialty, fruit wines. Wine-related gifts are sold at both locations. Watch the wines being made through large glass windows in the winery tasting room.
Turtle Run Winery
Turtle Run Winery’s goal is to produce exceptional wines that are enjoyed with food and friends. The winery and vineyard sit on 74 Ohio Valley Appellation acres well suited for growing high quality wine grapes. Visit Turtle Run Winery and enjoy a free tasting, take a tour of the high tech winery and wander through the beautiful vineyard. Feel free to bring a picnic basket and blanket. You’re welcome to sit back and enjoy the day. The winery is 25 minutes west from downtown Louisville near rustic Lanesville, Indiana.
Madison Vineyards’ 37 acres, located five miles north of the Ohio River, are ideally situated for grape growing. With their first plantings in 1995, Steve and Sandy Palmer began phase one of their grape growing plan. In a few years they intend to produce 100 percent estate wines. They currently produce white, red and blush wines in dry and off-dry styles. A large deck affords guests a sweeping view of the grassy picnic area, outdoor stage and surrounding hills. Free tasting of wines and weekend tours of the vineyard and winery are available. Wine related items are sold in the tasting room. A NEW Bed & Breakfast opened in July 2005 offering guests overnight lodging in the heart of the vineyard.
Grape Inspirations Winery
We are a full service winery located in Carmel, Indiana. At our winery you can purchase wine by the glass, bottle, or case. We are also the only winery in Indiana where you can make wine here with our assistance. This is a simple process. First, you taste and decide on what wine to make from our 40 different wines. Then, you come back and design your label and bottle your wine with our equipment and assistance. We also have a comfortable seating area where you can enjoy your wine, host a small party, or event. Come in soon and wine with us!
Easley’s 14 wines and American Champagne are sold at the winery located downtown just off I-70 and I-65 and at Central Indiana groceries and wine shops. The winery also has an extensive selection of supplies for home vintners and brewers. Banquet facilities include a Steinway baby grand piano for guests use. Gift baskets with an Indiana theme. Groups tours available with appointment. Call for details. Free wine tasting. Free parking. EDITOR’S NOTE: In 2008, Easley won “Best of Show” at the Indiana Wine Fair for its Cabernet Sauvignon.
Winzerwald Winery
Winzerwald Winery (German for vintners of the forest) celebrates the owners’ German heritage and the German and Swiss heritage of the area by offering unique German and Swiss-style wines, gifts, festivals, educational tours and fun. A nutcracker adorns the wine label symbolizing the winery’s Germanic style and forested location. Try our Lemberger, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muller-Thurgau, Mai Wein, Gluhwein, Black Riesling, Ice-style wine & fruit wines…25+ varieties in all. Visit Winzerwald Winery and have fun while you shop, enjoy a tour, stroll through the vineyard or relax in the wine garden. A small family winery with Big Tasting wines!
Windy Knoll Winery
Vincennes, IN: Open daily 12 noon – 6 pm. Wine Tasting/Winery Tours, Wheelchair Accessible, Specialty Labels, Gift Items/Shop, Gourmet Items/Food, Outdoor Seating.
French Lick Winery
Steeped in history, the Beechwood Mansion houses this winery. John and Kim Doty offer free tasting of 18 grape and fruit wines, from the driest, a Chardonnay, to the sweetest, an award winning cherry. Tour the 3,000 square foot wine cellar. Enjoy specialty coffees and teas for a different palate sensation. Shop for yourself or for your friends. Mingle over coffee or wine like the early century celebrities did. Beechwood Mansion also houses a restaurant and bed & breakfast. The grand hotel is just down the street.
Mallow Run Winery
John Richardson and Laura & Bill Richardson invite you to sample a variety of fine wines in our historic nineteenth century timber-frame barn built by our ancestor, George Mallow. For over 170 years our fields have produced an abundance of food and grains, and now grapes also thrive in the deep fertile soils. Relax in front of a glowing fireplace or take in views of the vineyards and rolling farmland from our spacious deck. Come and enjoy the place our family has called home for six generations.
The Thomas Family Winery
The winery’s pub-style decor will evoke a feel of the past in this rehabilitated stable and carriage house (circa 1855) just two blocks from the Ohio River. Steve and Elizabeth Thomas will tour the cellar with you, they pour more than a half dozen wines to taste free. The dry white wines deliver bright fruit flavors. The Rio Red has berry and herb qualities. Balancing the wine list are semi-dry wines including Indiana’s first Welsh-style cider, Gale’s Hard Cider. Ample indoor seating.
Located in Bedford Indiana, Carousel Winery is one of Indiana’s newest vintners. The winery opened in August 2003. Carousel opened with eight wine varieties including grape-based wines and fruit wines. The carousel theme is present on the winery’s labels; each wine is represented by a different carousel character.
Since 1983, the Butler Winery has strived to produce high quality, award winning and enjoyable wines. Jim Butler, owner and winemaker, specializes in 12 fine dinner wines, all from Indiana-grown grapes. The winery also produces specialty fruit and dessert wines. In 1992, Jim established a vineyard at his family’s home located nine miles northeast of Bloomington. Winemaking now occurs in the cellar at the vineyard/winery.
Buck Creek Winery
Located in the southeast corner of Indianapolis, on I-74, within a mile of Acton Road (Exit 99) and Pleasant View (Exit101). Buck Creek offers 4 acres of vineyard on 12 ½ acres of farm land. Jeff and Kelly Durm planted the first grape vines in 1991. Over the years the vineyard was developed and the winery opened in April, 2006.
Huber Orchard, Vineyard & Winery
Spend the entire day! Take a free winery and cellar tour, and sample some of the 22 styles of grape and fruit wines. Light lunches are available at the Starlight Cafe in the winery. The 550-acre Huber family farm, located 20 miles northwest of Louisville, is also only 125 miles from Indianapolis, Evansville, and Cincinnati. Other farm attractions: farm market, bakery, cheese factory, children’s farm park, loft tasting bar, and u-cut Christmas trees.
Whyte Horse Winery
Found in beautiful Monticello, Whyte Horse Winery opened in 2006. Larry and Connie Pampel and Don and Denise Pampel own and operate this winery, set in a renovated 1886 farmhouse. The two-acre vineyard grows Vignoles and Traminette grapes. Four generations work in the vineyard and winery. Whyte Horse Winery sells many different styles of wine, dry to sweet.
New Day Meadery offers a distinctive selection of limited edition, small-batch meads created from the finest fresh fruit and raw honey Indiana has to offer. Working with small, family-owned farms gives us access to top quality ingredients, essential in providing you excellent tasting mead that can be enjoyed on its own or with a variety of fine foods.
OTHER WINE HAPPENINGS THAT WEEKEND:
Day before, Friday, April 24: Wine and all that Jazz, a musical gala. Awards to the wineries. Tasting of Indiana's finest wines in each category. Full buffet dinner. $50 admission, proceeds to benefit Brown County Citizens Scholarships. Call Dave Hennessy, (812) 988-4610.
Day after, Sunday, April 26: Hoosier Cuisine Gone Wild! Black tie optional dinner featuring the Gold Medalists in each category matched to authentically Hoosier cuisine. $100 per plate, proceeds to benefit Brown County Citizens Scholarships. Call Dave Hennessy, (812) 988-4610.
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