Indiana resident hopes to make money making wine

BLOOMFIELD, Ind. -- Bruce Wiles is no snob. Sure, he can savor the difference between a Seyval blanc and a Catawba, but it's his hobby.\nAnd for the auto mechanic, an avocation for reds and whites may mature into Greene County's first winery -- his own.\n"There's a bad stigmatism about wine. People get too technical and uppity about it," he said. "If you like it, drink it, if you don't, don't. It doesn't make any difference."\nThe outgoing redhead, dressed in jeans and a camouflage jacket, concocted his first wine at age 14 when his mother bought a home kit. Wiles, 33, now owns stainless steel tanks and presses, but he awaits the true fruit of his labor: grapes.\nStanding next to his tomato-red Ford truck, Wiles overlooks the 80 acres in Wigsville, the budding home of Wiles Vineyard, with a wide smile.\nNamed after his grandfather, Wigsville is nestled in the lush hills and hollows near Solsberry in west-central Indiana.\nThe thin vines wend along wooden planks and wiring. Following his wife Shelley's suggestion, Wiles mounted deer heads, supplied by the Bloomfield Locker Plant, atop the planks to keep roaming deer away. The sniffing scent of coyotes and Wiles' dog, Seyval, on the heads deter deer, which are known to rip up the vines.\nOf the 80 acres, Wiles predicts 20 are fertile enough to support grapes. But even before grapes, vine maintenance is "labor intensive," Wiles said. The vines are trained to grow, sprayed for mold and mildew and mowed for weeds. Wiles says he uses a weed trimmer instead of herbicide.\nWhile the vineyard is in Wigsville, Wiles would like to have the winery in Bloomfield.\nWithout a wine license, Wiles gives bottles away to friends, family and people who stop him in the store. He hopes the steady requests indicate a strong wine market in Greene County.\n"By the time I'm 40, I'd like to be up and running," said Wiles, who will be moving to Wigsville in the spring. In April, he will plant an additional 125 vines.\nLooking for help on how to market his product, Wiles enrolled in a Greene County Economic Development class last year.\n"The class was extremely helpful," Wiles said. "It made me study more about what I was trying to do. If I hadn't taken that class, I would have failed."\nHe learned that to sell his product to other wineries he needs or 125 vines. Building on the business piece-by-piece, Wiles said he has invested about $1,000 so far. To build capital, he will first sell grapes to other wineries.\nBesides the class, he and his wife visited five wineries in August, and other winery owners are supportive. They offer advice and suggestions, Wiles said.\n"They're excited about anyone else getting into it," he said. "And it's not hard."\nBesides the standard selection, Wiles said he would like to try a watermelon wine. In fact, he once tried a recipe for tomato wine.\n"It was not a good thing -- I don't care how much you like tomatoes," he laughed.\nSo what's the secret to a good wine?\n"It's like art," he said. "It's up to the individual"