Before Children (B.C.), Jacob and I were a lot like we are today — always on the go, checking out new places, trying new things and crossing things off of a never ending “to try” list. We dreamed about making our own wine, growing our own grapes, picking our own fruit. In the meantime, we drank other people’s wine…yum and visited their tasting rooms and vineyards. We had a great time! I recall that there were two wine trails (a group of wineries that are close to one another) and about 50-60 wineries! It was our goal to visit EVERY winery in Indiana. The problem was that as soon as we “finished” an area, a new winery would open!
Today there are FIVE wine trails and 81 different tasting rooms, representing about 70 wineries with about 20 more expected to open in the next 4-5 years!
Most wineries in Indiana offer free tastings. Some have a small fee but all of them offer great tasting, unique wines. In Indiana you can visit tasting rooms in many settings, from a commercial tasting room like Oliver Winery, to a storefront like Brown County Winery in Nashville (yum cherry wine) to the barn in someones back yard. Many of the wineries are located right among the vineyards! A wine trail might take you to a brand new vineyard or an established vineyard.
The Hoosier Wine Trail represents nine wineries and is about 100 miles in length. You’ll be close to I-64 in Southern Indiana throughout this trail.
The Indiana Uplands Wine Trail includes eight wineries in central and southern Indiana.
The Indiana Wine Trail in southeastern Indiana takes you to six artisan wineries.
The Indy Wine Trail has seven participating wineries, including a couple in urban settings. You’ll want to purchase a passport for this trail. The passport is $10 and once you visit all seven, there’s a gift for you!
WINE Tour represents seven wineries in north east Indiana.
One of my favorite experiences was purchasing a passport around the holidays when we “traveled” the Indiana Uplands Trail. At each location our passport was stamped and we were given a small gift which was placed into a basket we received when we purchased our $20 passport. When we had visited all of the wineries, we had a beautiful gift basket to give to someone for the holidays and we were given a special print of art created by a local artist. Look for fun deals like this, especially in the spring and holiday season.
Enjoy yourself, relax and be safe!
** Children are typically permitted at wineries and often you can find entertainment and food for the whole family on special weekends. Check the website for each winery you plan to visit. Also call ahead to be sure there are no closures for special events or other circumstances.
This post is brought to you by my love for fruit juice and Indiana’s Family of Farmers. Thank you for the support of IFOF.
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