Wine Me, Dine Me!
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This page is where I'll share my visits to wineries. All but one visit is to an Indiana
winery. I'll share my thoughts on the wines I taste, the vineyard, the wine shop etc. |
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Butler Winery, Bloomington, IN June 2006
Out in the country not too far from Bloomington, and only about 10 minutes off of S.R 37.
And one of my favorite places to visit! They offer dry reds and whites, semi-dry, and sweet wines,
they also offer some most delicious dessert wines.
My wife and I share a bottle of their late harvest vignoles every year
for our anniversary, so we made the trip down June 2nd. Since we were there I had to try
the wines! I started with the dry white, the two dry reds, and down the list. Everything was
good, I even liked the semi-sweet red. I did hold out and stayed away from their port, is was hard but I held
off. Though I did have a glass of their dry red, Vineyard Chambourcin, with some colby cheese and whole
wheat crackers. A pretty good match, even though the cheese was very strong, the wine held it's own.
Keeping with the theme of their newer wines I tried the fortified black current wine, made like a port but with the black currents vs. grapes.
Again very different, the high alcohol dulls the vibrant aroma, but the wine itself is
just not for me, though I enjoyed the variety it offers, and would have a glass if some else
offered to buy!
I'll defiantly be going back there, and encourage everyone to check them out! Hopefully I'll make it back before next years anniversary,
enjoy some good tasting's, and a glass or more on the deck!
Cheers to wine friends!
Mallow Run Winery, Bargersville, IN May 2006
Two updates in a row on the same winery is only topped by visiting Mallow Run two days in a row! The first a Saturday
night private party, then I had to take my mom back for mothers day the next day.
During my trip in March (see below) I must have been ill or something, because my favorite wine was the Chambourcin,
though it was not on the list for the private party, the wonderful owners poured me a few glasses. I have to admit they are some really great people.
Most of the folks I have met at our Indiana wineries have been great.
They have released two new wines since my last trip, so I will just keep it to those. First the traminette, a
descendant of the wonderful gerwertztraminer grape. Mallow Run makes this traminette in a wonderfully style.
I gave it a + on my scale of grading wines. I would have bought a bottle but have been in the mood for reds lately.
The other new wine is a vino rosso, or red wine. Made from cabernet sauvignon this is a great fairly dry good
red table wine. Though the chamborcin was my favorite, I ended up taking a couple bottles of this vino rosso home with me.
See my pricing issue below.
cheers to wine friends!
Mallow Run Winery, Bargersville, IN March 2006
The family and I needed a road trip to beat the winter doldrums, so we headed out. For some reason when
we do this I always end up at a winery. Oh well a good time and great place
to visit.
I started with the dry wines first the chancellor. I do not really take
tasting notes when at the wineries, I use a simple system to know If I want to buy
that wine or not. I use - if I don't care for it, + if I like it, ++ if I really like it, and add a $
if it is more than I like to pay. I gave the Chancellor a +, and bought two bottles.
The next wine for me was their Chambourcin, unfortunately this garnered a -.
I don't remember why but is was not a good wine. They list it as having flavors of
coffee, vanilla, and some plum and black cherry, but I did not get those flavors.
That description is usually one that would appeal to me, but not this day.
Next was their Chardonel, by far my favorite, but just above my price thresh hold.
No disrespect to Indiana wines, but paying more than 11 bucks is just not worth the value.
If they dropped this wines price even a dollar I'd probably buy a bottle next time I visit.
Then I had their Muscat, and excellent wine, again a bit over priced but not too bad.
I ended up buying a bottle, even though it is the start to their sweet wine, it is a semi-sweet styled wine.
plenty of floral and citrus flavors the kind that remind you of a summer afternoon sipping a glass of
wine on the back deck while the sun sets. Could be paired with a variety of summer time
back yard barbeque foods, or just as dessert.
We left with a half a case of wine. A couple bottles of Chancellor for me,
a bottle of Muscat, bottle of Picnic Blush, and 2 of their Winter Whites,
with the last two for my wife. I great place to visit, the winery is in a remodeled 19th century barn, and the grounds are beautiful.
I want to go back when the weather is warmer, pack a picnic, grab a couple of bottles and
make it an afternoon.
cheers to wine friends!
Chateau Thomas, Plainfield, IN February 2006
We were out and about in Plainfield the other night, so I had to stop in and
check Dr. Thomas' wines again. They raised their prices since my last visit,
but the wines are still high quality, and really good to drink.
I tasted the sauvignon blanc to start, which is a bit dry but has nice
balance and acidity, and good citrus flavors. It finishes crisp and clean.
I moved then to the dry style riesling, a good dry riesling, they also
have a sweet style, which I did not try. The dry riesling has good mineral
tones and is nice for a good mid afternoon aperitif or pair with something
spicy.
I then went to reds, and had the old vines carignane to start, a nice table wine
for dinner, this wine could hold up with a cheap steak, but I'd opt for their AMerica Cab, or their Black/Gold
label for a really treat, I can't afford the Black/Gold label though! I
then went for scott's red wine, and step up from ordinary table wine, not sure how this would work with a
steak, but would be good for a tomato based sauce or something of the like.
Both the reds were tasty, nothing great but worth buying.
I left with a bottle of of the SB, and old vines, and two bottles of
their white zin, one for my mom, and one for my wife, who is beginning
to get more into wine, but what would you expect with a husband like me!
cheers to wine friends!
Oliver Winery, Bloomington, IN
The largest winery in the state, right off State Road 37 Just North of Bloomington.
Being where they are located they are what I categorize as "very Commercial".
They have a beautifully landscaped front entrance, and lots of stuff for sale in the wine shop.
They offer sandwiches and other food items you can buy along with a bottle of wine to have a picnic
on their beautiful property. They have tours that you can go through and see
the wine making process and some of the vineyards, I have not gone on the tour but have heard
it is really "rehearsed" and not very personal. At least you could see their set up.
I have tasted many of their wines, I would venture to say I tasted all the wines they had available the summer I made
many trips there. Their wines are very sweet, set up for the midwest palate. They
offer a port style wine that is pretty good, their riesling is not too bad either.
Their soft red is the highest selling wine on all Indiana wines. They were featured in the top ten
best small wineries (defined by number of cases produced) in the country, and were
the only winery outside of California to make the list, I think they were 6th.
Good wines although you can find them at lower prices at retail outlets, and worth the drive
for nice afternoon trip. Make it a full afternoon, by bringing a picnic and enjoy
a bottle of wine and lunch by the pond.
Butler Winery, Bloomington, IN
Better get this out of the way quickly, they are my favorite winery, so this is
my disclaimer if this seems bias! What makes them my favorite is that they are
somewhat primitive, or at least rustic. Being a short drive from Oliver I made my first trip to Butler just after visiting Oliver
the first time. It was for a class project, and I was to evaluate wineries. So as we pulled to the drive leading to Butler Winery we saw it
was a gravel drive and a small gravel lot for parking. Since we had just left the "very commercial" Oliver Winery
we were expecting something like that, so we were thrown off a bit. But once inside I fell in love.
Mrs. Butler who owns the place with her husband was working the counter, I tasted some wines, and again they are sweetened for
the midwestern palate, and we chatted. I mentioned that I was there for a class project, she immediately offered to show
me the facility (which is a glorified pole barn) a rustic place, but gets the job done.
She showed me the room where they make the wine and explained the entire process to me. Then she led me out to the vineyard and showed me the different type of grapes
they grow and their trellising system. After that I went back inside for more tasting's and of course bought few bottles.
My favorite wine of theirs is their late harvest Vignoles, this is worth the higher price for a half bottle,
it is like liquid candy. I also enjoy their port style wine, it has some extra sweetener added, but is still fairly true to the port style.
If you go to Oliver, make the time and get out to Butler, it is a bit out in the country, and last time I was at Oliver they had maps
to Butler on their rack of pamphlets. Compare the two properties, and the wines are very similar, as are most Indiana wines. Again you
could bring a picnic and walk the vineyards or sit on their deck, they also have sandwiches and pizzas for dinning. Ask for a tour, if they are not busy they
will most likely show you around.
More to come! Keep checking back!
For information or comments please contact:
info@winemedineme.net
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