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Feature
Article:
Submitted by Rita Chapman of Indianapolis, IN
Story,
Indiana Wine Festival - April 2007
Attending
Indiana wine festivals is truly an adventure in navigation and sensory
perception. Upon leaving
Columbus, Indiana, which is named for Christopher Columbus, we were truly
ready to "discover" the wines of Indiana.
The first town encountered was Stony Lonesome,
appropriately named! After a
few minutes, the town of Gnawbone is reached.
Gnawbone is known as the "flea market capital of the world"
as it
boasts one flea market for every five residents.
One flea market was visited for a very short time; however, no empty
wine bottles, drunks or wine
accessories were found. There
is much debate over the name "Gnawbone!"
One tale states it was initially named after a French town, Narbonne.
However, by the time it was translated by Hoosiers it was called Gnaw
Bone. Another tale says it was
named for a drunk who got lost on the way home.
Nevertheless, we are on our way to Story, Indiana.
Story, Indiana is a tiny, tiny hamlet settled in
the heart of Brown County amidst log homes, a few bed and breakfasts and a
dude ranch. Indiana history claims it was named for one of its first
settlers, Dr. George P. Story.
However, Indiana folklore claims another "story."
A general store was utilized by men in the 1800's to sit and tell
stories, mainly lies! The Great
Depression hit Story very hard and the remaining residents made a living
bootlegging gin.
The town remained a shell of its past until the
general store was sold at auction in 1998.
The vision was to convert the general store into an inn.
The well-preserved Standard Oil gas pumps still standing in front of
the old general store are a delight to artisans and travelers alike.
The first floor of the restaurant is a renowned restaurant with many
politicians frequenting the place. Maybe,
"lies" are still told at the Story Inn!
The cellar of the Story Inn has been converted into
the Story Still, where villagers and Brown County residents share
camaraderie. The Story Still's claim to fame is its on-going village idiot
contests. Patrons of the tavern
nominate any individual with a unique story. "Reigning Idiots" get a $100.00 credit at the bar and a
certificate hung on the wall.
I am very surprised that no Indiana wines have been
named after the Blue Lady of Story that supposedly haunts diners and bed and
breakfast guests. Guests at the
Inn are provided journals to describe visits by the Blue Lady and many
"sightings" have been recorded.
Now, we proceed to the real "story", a day at
the annual Story, Indiana Wine Fair. Admission
to the fair doubled this year to $10.00 which included a commemorative
glass. This truly did not stop
oenophiles from navigating country roads and paying $3.00 a gallon for gas
to attend since a record number of 3,000 were present!
I knew we were in for a treat as shuttle buses transported guests
from an upscale artisan inn, a golf resort, an abbey inn (the monks were
maybe making wine) to a dude ranch. The
diversity of the guests' lodging truly segued into the varied offerings of
Indiana wines.
The Wine Fair seemed much bigger this year due to
the fact that three tents of wineries were offered.
A brief map listing Indiana award winning wines and location of the
wineries was presented. An idea
would be to place wineries by locale or by wine trail in close proximity.
Many of the Indiana wineries are small and their town and wine trail
affiliation could be placed under their winery name sign.
This would be beneficial to novice oenophiles and out of state
travelers.
A great band played Allman Brothers and other
southern rock tunes with a hint of bluegrass.
One complaint is some tasters were in no haste to taste.
The "parking violation" of being towed to another winery or
picnic spot should be imposed after five minutes.
Food seemed to be more abundant this year; however,
bread/cheese/fruit offerings could be positioned closer to the wine tents.
Local farmers could also be invited to sell their wares as Brown
County boasts many acres of produce. A
few artisans participated showing jewelry and pottery but did not seem to be
very busy. A vacation timeshare
company was also present and since my husband and I already own two, I did
not go near them!
Since this article commenced with some Indiana
folklore, Indiana wines with unusual names will be explored!
Buck Creek Winery offers a semi-sweet red wine
called Bally Hoo.
The upscale Carousel Winery offers White Dove White
which is a blend. Carousel
Winery also has a red wine called Red Tiger Red that teases the senses.
Chateau Thomas
Winery, one of the larger and most well-known Indiana wineries boasts two
reds with "descriptive names."
Chateau
Thomas does possess great wines; however, they grow no grapes in Indiana.
Many states have laws that require wineries to grow a percentage of
their grapes in the same state. Indiana,
unfortunately does not. This is a
question that wine aficionados should ask when visiting wineries.
By supporting the estate wineries where grapes are grown and wine is
produced on-site, you will learn more and benefit the upcoming winery.
"Boldly Red" is a robust wine that is named for a thoroughbred
horse, Boldly Gifted! This wine
is "tempered" by enjoying it with meats and cheeses. "Chateau Big
Red," is definitized as a "Big Red for a 'Knight' to
Remember." Did
they really mean a 'night to remember' for wine goers who sipped one too
many!!
Ferrin's Fruit
Winery was a favorite of many! I
really do not enjoy fruit wines unless they are very dry.
However, all palates should be respected as favorites do vary from
person to person. I award this winery
the winner "sips down" for the most imaginative and intriguing
names. "Checkered Flag," is a semi-sweet grape based Chocolate flavored
wine named for racing...This wine proved to be one of the most talked about.
"Taste of Love," is a light, sweet Strawberry wine.
Enough said there! "Plum Desirable," is a sweet, sweet plum wine with a residual sugar content of
10%. I personally do not find
this wine to be "desirable,"
and settled for a 'tease' of "Sweet Caress," which is a semi-sweet
pear wine. A sweet red wine titled,
"Vineyard Passion," was also offered. My
husband has a small vineyard in our backyard with an adjacent hot tub!
Ferrin's even offers a
type of 'sinner's wine,' called "Eve's Forbidden Fruit," which is a very
sweet (8% residual sugar) apple wine.
Carmel, Indiana's
Grape Inspirations Winery has a wine called "Red Thunder," which is a
full-bodied red wine with hints of fruits, spice, vanilla, plum and raisin.
One of the few Indiana estate wineries, Madison
Vineyards, offers Ba-Da-Bing which is patterned after the wines of northwest
Italy. They offer this wine as a red and white wine.
I sampled the white Ba-Da-Bing and was delighted!
One of the few Indiana wineries to name wines with
an Indiana identity is Oliver Winery. Beanblossom
Blush and Beanblossom Hard Cider are named after the small town of
Beanblossom, Indiana. Simmons
Winery named Nortonburg Red after the small town of Nortonburg, which is
near their winery.
One of the wine names I personally found humorous
was Thomas Family Winery's, "Sack" which is a sherry wine.
Sherries are considered dessert wines.
Did they really mean for us to "hit the sack" after drinking
this?
On a personal note, my husband has named his
Pleasant Run Red after a creek that flows through parts of Indianapolis,
Indiana. This wine has been
entered into the Indiana Wine competition at the State Fair. However, my husband has won awards for his Chambourcin, De
Chaunac and Dry Cherry.
Upon
leaving Story, Indiana, a sign for the town of Needmore was spotted.
Most wine goers left this festival without "needing more".
Rita
Chapman is a frequent visitor to the Winery Adventures website and attended
the 2007 Indiana Wine Fair.
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