Reader Mail

These questions have trickled in over the past several weeks, and I decided to combine them all into one post. Questions may have been edited for space or clarity.

What is your favorite Indiana winery?

I don't have just one. I have several wineries I admire for various reasons, and can find something to enjoy in each one of them I have visited or tasted. I have yet to visit a winery in Indiana and not find something I could enjoy.

Which Indiana winery is the most innovative?

I am getting some loaded questions here! Again, I can't pick just one, and sadly, I have yet to visit all wineries in this state to make a truly qualified opinion. However, based on what I have seen, heard, and spoke of, I would consider Buck Creek Winery and Turtle Run Winery as just two I certainly am keeping my eye on for their future projects.

But the field in Indiana is pretty level- at most we have two top tier wineries, and lots of others fighting to get there. It will be interesting to see whose business model wins.

Will Indiana soon reach a saturation point for wineries?

Fair question. With Indiana soon to have 40 wineries, how many is too many? The smart-aleck answer would be "as many as the market can bear." But with quality juice increasingly expensive to get from the coasts, perhaps a waning market for sweet wines, not to mention the current economy, could we go from boom to bust? More restrictive shipping laws could also toll doom for some.

I can't answer your question yet, but thanks for giving me a topic to explore in the future!

I really enjoyed your interview with Jeff Durm at Buck Creek Winery. Will you be interviewing more winemakers?

Absolutely! I really enjoyed my interview with Jeff, and that interview gets a lot of search queries. The weather and my busy calendar have prevented more interviews, but certainly look for more in the future!

What do you think of the Indiana Wine Grapes Council?

As the Magic 8 Ball would say: ask again later. All I know about them is from their web site, the press releases they send me, and what some have told me off the record. I hope to interview someone from the IWGC soon, and will discuss this in a future post.

Do you accept samples?

Ah, the ultimate loaded question for a wine blogger. Every prominent wine blogger has dealt with this question, and it has all been said before. I would note the person who asked this question wasn't actually offering a sample, but my answer is the same. I would probably accept a sample; however, I would disclose in my review the item was given to me for free. It's no big deal though. One of the joys of reviewing Indiana wine is that I don't have to spend too much out of pocket for my wine.

That being said, I take the 2 Days Per Bottle approach: I will review your wine, but you may not like what I have to say.

Have any other questions? Just ask. indianawineblog@gmail.com