Satek Winery in Fremont, Indiana

Hillside White, a popular wine at Hartland Winery in Ashley, IN.

Fruit Hills Winery & Orchards in Bristol, Indiana is another friendly winery to visit.

Over the past week we have visited several wineries, three in northern Indiana. We were delighted to see the enthusiasm by all of the wineries and met three Indiana winery owners and winemakers.  The winery industry is growing in Indiana. We learned that the majority of Indiana wineries are located in the southern region of Indiana. We anticipate possibly visiting these wineries. In the meantime we will remember our delightful visits to wineries in northern Indiana where they are producing some delightful wines with cold hardy grapes developed by the University of Minnesota and cool hardy varieties developed by Cornell University.

We came across several different grape varieties that can withstand some cold temperatures, for example, Traminette. Many of these varieties are hybrid. Winemakers use the Traminette grape variety to craft wines that may be dry or sweet. Therefore, Traminette can be enjoyed as an aperitif or paired with pork or seafood.

Indiana has six wine trails including:

• Cardinal Flight Wine Trail
• Indiana Uplands Wine Trail
• Indy Wine Trail
• Indiana Wine Trail
• Hoosier Wine Trail
• The Wineries of Indiana’s North East Tour

The three Indiana wineries we visited this week were Fruit Hills Winery and Orchard, Satek Winery and Hartland Winery. A unique aspect of traveling to Hartland Winery in Ashley, Indiana is seeing a bright yellow tower with a smiley face on it. The tag line for the town is “Home of the Smiley Face.”

The Indiana wine industry is increasing. If you plan on vacationing in Indiana this summer, be sure to include visits to a few Indiana wineries to discover what wines they have to offer.

Watch for our specific winery article reviews coming soon.

Cheers!
Kathy