Vintage Story
Epistemological epiphany:
Life must be lived forwards,
but can only be understood backwards
Mercifully, life may be enjoyed sideways!
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Full Moon: May 12, 2006. Allen Dale Olson a/k/a the Pontiff of Palate, Story Inn’s Wine Connoisseur. Copyright 2006 Story Bed & Breakfast, LLP, d/b/a Story Inn, all rights reserved. |
WINE AND INDIANA
We have just gone through the Indiana Wine Fair at Story where more than half (25 to be exact) of Indiana’s 39 wine producers poured their wines for an appreciative audience. Did I say 39? One of the wineries in the fair had just opened and isn’t listed even yet in the official brochure describing Indiana wineries. Our Hoosier state is producing wines and wineries at a prolific rate.
How prolific? Indiana wineries and grape growers have recorded a sales increase of 78 percent in just the last five years. Every year more than 800,000 visitors stop at one of the 31 wineries open to the public, and the wine industry last year contributed more than $33 million to the state’s economy. It’s becoming more and more common to find a vineyard among the corn and soy bean fields in Indiana – from the shores of Lake Michigan to the Ohio River. Some 350 acres of Indiana soil are given over to grapes and wine production, an increase of 300% since 1991; and while many wineries still bring in grapes from the West Coast, more and more of them are producing their own grapes.
Many Indiana producers make quality wines with prestigious grapes – cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, syrah, Riesling, and all of them use grapes and fruit more native to the Midwest to make a remarkable assortment of dry, off-dry, sparkling, and sweet wines suitable for all palates, occasions, and pocket books. Most of them are table wines of less than 14% alcohol, making them pleasant and easy-to-drink beverages.
Whether large or small, Indiana wineries are fun to visit. I often say that in my travels to wine country from Turkey to Oregon, I have never met an inhospitable wine producer. The same is true of our Hoosiers. The owners of small wineries take time themselves to host visitors; the larger wineries have enthusiastic staff with hosting skills, knowledgeable about wine, passionate about promoting it.
Visits are free. Many of them have picnic areas and can provide a picnic on the spot. All of them have attractive tasting rooms that include gift shops of wine-related notions and products. All of them have free parking. All of them will offer free tastes of their various wines, which are universally displayed beautifully in the tasting area. Many have banquet facilities, special rooms for festive occasions. In short, our Hoosier producers are real entrepreneurs, professional and caring, deserving of our business and support.
Some of them look as if they belong in California or France or Italy, but all of them embody a Hoosier charm, and Story has been proud to offer them an annual Wine Fair these past four years. We are also proud to announce the winning wines of 2006:
Dry White: 2005 Yakima Riesling, by Chateau Thomas, Plainfield
Sweet White: Starlight White, by Huber Winery, Borden
Dry Red: 2004 Shiraz, by Oliver Winery, Bloomington
Sweet Red: Sweet Aubergine, by Chateau Thomas, Plainfield
Dessert: Crystal Vine Ice Wine, by Grape Inspirations in Carmel
Non-Grape: Cherry, by Carousel Winery in Bedford
Vintage Story is an e-newsletter authored by Ole Olson and published by the Story Inn, and is available free of charge to all who appreciate good wine. Vintage Story is published at each full moon. The author and the Story Inn specifically authorize the republication, reprinting and circulation of any issue Vintage Story so long as due credit is given to the author and to the Story Inn (which holds the copyright).
If any newspaper or website desires to make use of any issue of Vintage Story, we do request that you notify us. Thanks, and here's to your health!
