Vines & Wine

When people outside the state think of Southern Indiana, some might not think of the scholarly exploits of the students and faculty at Indiana University. Nor may they think of the social consciousness or the natural beauty of Bloomington. Sadly, a number of misinformed out-of-towners may envision the typical southern Indianan as mountain folk. A one-eyed, one-toothed, deranged senior citizen sitting on his porch in a rocking chair, XXX jug in one hand, shotgun in the other. \nThese are the people who assume that the extent of Southern Indiana libations consist of moonshine and Natural Light. How sorely mistaken they are.\nIt might not be Sonoma or Napa Valley, but the winemaking business is thriving in Southern Indiana.\nThom England is the general manager of Chateau Thomas Winery, which has a store located in Nashville, Ind. Before getting into the wine business, he spent 12 years as a chef in New York after graduating from the Hyde Park Culinary Institute. England, a self-professed wine snob, admits to being "shocked" upon trying his first Indiana wine. \n"Being in New York, I thought the only quality grapes came from the coast," said England.\nApparently, so did Dr. Charles Thomas when he began the winery in Indianapolis in 1984. Over the course of many years Dr. Thomas had accumulated a vast collection of vintage wines. His appetite for fine wines brought him to California's famed Napa Valley, known by those in the winemaking community for producing the best grapes in the United States. Dr. Thomas became friends with owners of many vineyards in the area. He was soon trucking the grapes from the coast back to Indianapolis and making wines of his own. Chateau Thomas Winery was created soon after. \nEngland describes the creation of Chateau Thomas as "a hobby that exploded."\nChateau Thomas is a relative newcomer to the Nashville wine business, having built that outlet in 1994. Dave Schrodt's Brown County Winery, on the other hand, has been making and selling their wine in Nashville since 1984. In 2000 Brown County Winery expanded by building a tasting room/production area on SR 46. Dave and his wife Cynthia began making and selling their wine out of their home on Lake Lemon. \nAs Dave Schrodt looks around his immaculate year-old building he reminisces about the start of Brown County. "We were running the winery out of a room no bigger than this," he said, motioning to a supply room the size of most people's garage. "It was a tight squeeze."\nOliver Winery has not been hurting for space for quite sometime. Indiana's oldest and largest winery was established in 1972 by Indiana University Law Professor William Oliver. At the time of its inception, Oliver reigned over a 35-acre vineyard. During the next several years the winery enjoyed great success and notoriety, both in state and out of state. Business then went stale in the late '70s and early '80s as a number of harsh winters during that time destroyed the vineyard. \nIn 1983 William Oliver's son, Bill Oliver, took control of the day-to-day operations. To get the winery back on its feet, Bill began to bring in grapes from others states like New York, California, Washington and Oregon. The grapes from these states helped sustain Oliver Winery. Then in 1994 Bill planted three acres of grapes, and their vineyard started anew. Today, Oliver's vineyard has 20 acres that boast eight different varietals.\nLike Oliver, Butler Winery is also located within the Bloomington city limits. Jim Butler began the winery in 1983, making it the fourth-oldest winery in Indiana. The winery originated in a 90-year-old house on North College Avenue. Up until 1998, when the new tasting room/production area opened, this unassuming structure served as ground zero for Butler Winery. Jim housed the wine vats in the basement while the upstairs was used as a serving room. And while the "making" of the wine occurs in the new building 10 miles away from Bloomington, the venerable North College location is still used as a tasting room. \nDaughter-in-law Amy Butler helps Jim run the winery. To her, staying in the old building is an obvious choice. "It's where we started, where we began, so we're going to keep this place, it's where people know us," said Amy. "We've been here since 1983 so, you know, we can't move."\nWhere the winery is located, Amy said, its surroundings and the decor are all very important in terms of distinguishing your wine from the rest. With competition on the rise -- there are now 25 wineries in Indiana, and five more plan to open within the next few years -- the impression a winery leaves on the customer visually is as important as the one it leaves in their mouth.\nJessika Partridge is the special events manager at Oliver Winery. Partridge agrees that giving the customer pleasant surroundings in which to enjoy their wine is very important. \n"What we want to do is give them a whole winery experience. We want to make the tasting room look very welcoming, make it a place people really want to come back to," said Partridge. \nEngland said the tasting room is an indirect reflection of the wine itself. "(Our room) looks nice and has a good feel to it and that is what we want to project in our wine."\nSince 1994, Chateau Thomas, Oliver, Butler and Brown County Wineries have all been able to afford shiny new tasting rooms and production areas. The reason? They've been selling lots and lots of wine. The Indiana Wine Grape Council reports a growth rate of more than 25 percent in gallons sold during the last five years. The success of Southern Indiana wineries, in particular, can be attributed to a couple of different reasons. \nFirst, each of the aforementioned wineries is within close proximity of a Big Ten University. Dave Schrodt notices considerable increase in business during freshman orientation in the summer. \n"I'd say a lot of our business revolves around the University," said Partridge. "Especially in the fall when the alumni are down here and everyone is getting pumped up about football."\nSecond is, as Schrodt puts it, location, location, location. He says there is a triangle made of Indianapolis, Louisville and Cincinnati, which the Bloomington area is right in the middle of. \n"It's a nice weekend trip. People don't have to drive very far. But it's still a nice little getaway," said Schrodt. \nAnd these are people that will come back time and again whenever they have the chance. Schrodt and England also admit that it does not hurt having their stores in Indiana's number one tourist destination (Nashville).\nStill, there must be more to the success of Southern Indiana wineries. Surely the grapes and wine play some part. To ensure freshness, Dave Schrodt has his grapes shipped in from Indiana grape farms. Jim Butler grows grapes on his own four-acre vineyard. Thomas still has his shipped in from the West Coast. Oliver Winery does both: some are shipped in from the coast others are grown in Oliver's 20-acre vineyard. \nIt is unclear whether one method for procuring grapes is better than the other. When shipping from a farm, either in state or out of state, the wineries are receiving grapes from a professional horticulturist who, with any luck, has been growing grapes for quite some time, thus ensuring premium quality. \nThe problem is that, winery operators cannot ensure anything -- they are at the mercy of that farmer and the weather conditions in that area. Buying grapes that just do not pan out is always a possibility. Schrodt admits that in the past he has dumped entire vats of wine down the drain because he could never get the right taste out of them. \n"Growing grapes is not like growing corn," he said. "It's a very hands on process. They need constant nurturing."\nAmy Butler knows this as well. It is the main reason Butler Winery grows their own grapes. "When you grow your own grapes you know exactly what they go through," she said. "You can do exactly what you want with them. You pick them when you want to pick them."\nBoth Oliver and Butler Wineries plant French varietal hybrids that are contoured to the climate conditions and soil of Southern Indiana. Even with these precautions it is impossible to predict what the weather is going to be like during the growing season from year to year. If the crop is ruined, it will ultimately affect the price and quality of the wine. \nSurprisingly, despite the apparent oneupsmanship involved with finding the perfect grapes, the wineries are very cooperative with each other and outward signs of competition are kept to a minimum. England says that since Oliver and Chateau Thomas get their grapes from roughly the same area in California, there will be times when they share the same truck on their way back to Indiana. \nMost wineries agree that the wines they produce are unique which makes for little to no competition. They do not compete against each other because, at least in the world of wine making, they are all separate entities. \nPartridge says that if someone did come in and ask for a wine that Oliver did not carry she would direct them to an area winery that does have it. She says cooperation like this is not just good for one or two wineries, but for the whole industry.\nAnd if that doesn't put a soft spot in your heart for wineries, remember this: on Sunday, they are the only liquor stores open.