Brown County hosts annual wine fair

Wine will be flowing at the Story Inn in Brown County this weekend. \nThe Sixth Annual Indiana Wine Fair will be held from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and for $15 those who attend will be able to taste wine from 34 Indiana wineries.\nRick Hofstetter, owner of the Story Inn, said he thinks the event is great because it gives wine lovers an opportunity to visit all of the wineries in one day. \n“Indiana makes some really excellent wines so why not invite all the Indiana wine makers to one location?” Hofstetter said. “You don’t have to drink every wine, but it gives you the opportunity to sample different wines from different regions in Indiana.” \nHofstetter said wine has become America’s favorite alcoholic beverage in the past six years. \n“It finally passed beer. I’m really astonished our wine intake maxes out Italy,” he said. “We still have a while before we pass France, but we are really a wine-loving country.” \nHofstetter said a fundraiser called “Wine and all that Jazz,” which will benefit the Brown County Citizen’s Scholarships, will showcase six gold medalists chosen from a wine tasting competition held yesterday. The gold medalists are also featured at the Story Inn.\nAllen Dale Olsen not only selects the wines for Story Inn but also assembles the panel of judges. \n“We have used the same judges for the past three years,” Olsen said. “They are all wine consumers who know and understand wine but are not professionals. We want them to judge the wine in the way the general public does.” \nOlsen said a true wine-tasting professional might look for standards that are impossible in Indiana, so they use informed consumers.\n“They all happen to be friends of mine who I’ve met over a bottle of wine,” Olsen said. “I have come to rely on their judgments.”\nOliver Winery is usually a big winner at the blind tastings – it won in three out of six categories last year. \nBill Oliver, owner of Oliver Winery, said it would be crazy to pass up an opportunity to be part of the Indiana Wine Fair. \n“I think the wine fair is great, and the Story Inn is a neat and funky place to have it,” Oliver said. “Face-to-face is the best way to get new customers and tell them your story.” \nOne of the great things about the wine fair, Olsen said, is that people can learn a great deal about wine and Indiana wines in general. \n“We get excited every year, and the fair gets bigger and bigger every year,” he said. “It’s proved a big success for the wineries and the Story Inn.” \nHofstetter said local food and music will be provided at the Indiana Wine Fair. He also expects several thousand people to attend.\n“People show up and meet other people and the noise level is quite high,” Hofstetter said. “Wineries sell out and pour themselves dry. We have a bus service to the Inn to discourage people from driving.”