Wining & Dining

Just over 30 years ago, not a single winery existed in Indiana. Today, the state is home to 25 different wineries, three of which are located in or near Bloomington. The Oliver Winery, Butler Winery and Brown County Winery are all places where students can indulge in an unusual atmosphere of wine tasting and relaxation.\nStudents are no strangers to Oliver Winery and its engaging gardens and picnic area. Located a few miles north of campus on Ind. 37, the winery has been attracting patrons both young and old since its opening in 1972.\nWilliam Oliver, IU law professor, began making wine for his own pleasure in the early 1960s. His children and their neighborhood friends would stomp grapes in his basement to begin the process. Over the past three decades, the winery has become somewhat of a tradition for students in Bloomington.\n"I come here a couple times a year with my friends," said senior Dan Hannis. "And if the weather is good when my parents come to visit, I try to find time to bring them out."\nThe Oliver Winery, named one of the top 12 wineries to visit in the United States by the Wall Street Journal, boasts 15 dry, semi-sweet and sweet varieties. The winery claims everyone can find a wine worth savoring.\n"We give our customers anywhere from seven to nine complimentary samples," said Sherry Fisher, director of marketing and promotions for Oliver. "This makes them more likely to buy the wine they prefer."\nThe students enjoy the complimentary tastes as well.\n"The free samples are great because then you know what you do and don't like," said senior Christopher Jensen.\nIn addition to daily complimentary wine tasting for those of legal age, the Oliver Winery offers free tours Friday through Sunday every half-hour. The tours give an array of information about the history of the winery and the wine making process. \n"All of the staff members are wine experts, and they educate the customers during tours and wine tasting so they can get a full understanding," Fisher said.\nThe picnic and pond area cover several acres, making it the place to relax with friends or read a book over a freshly-uncorked bottle. The winery offers the option to organize small parties and corporate meetings with at least 30 days notice. \nIn addition, students on a tight budget can appreciate the economic prices afforded by the aged grape factory. The cheapest bottle Oliver Winery offers is a little more than $7 and the most expensive is less than $20.\nJust across the highway, 100+ acres of vineyards are harvested yearly. Oliver mainly produces wine from those vineyards, but varieties acquired from outside sources will occasionally be sold as well. In the past, Oliver has produced more than 100,000 gallons of wine per year.\nBut Oliver isn't the only place around Bloomington where one can get complimentary sampling of wine and relaxation, however. Both the Butler Winery and Brown County Winery are well within reasonable distance from campus.\nButler Winery, established in 1983, has an in-town tasting room and sales shop located at 1022 N. College Ave. Complimentary samples, wine by the glass or bottle, are available in Butler's tasting room. It also offers plenty of outdoor seating and a variety of snacks that are perfect for picnics.\nThe Butler vineyards lie 10 minutes outside of town, at 6200 E. Robinson Rd. The winery offers free tours of the grounds and cellar, but visitors are free to walk the grounds if they prefer. Prices are reasonable and discounts are available if purchasing multiple bottles. \nWith a tasting room in Nashville and a winery in nearby Gnaw Bone, Ind., the Brown County Winery offers the same amenities as the others, but doesn't attract many student customers. \n"We get some students, but we also get many tourists passing through, and also the locals of Brown County like to come in," said Cynthia Schrodt, owner of Brown County Winery, which was established in 1985.\nAll bottles of wine here are under $10 and on many days visitors can view actual wine production through two large windows.\nIU's Creative Learning Center, located at the Indiana Memorial Union, has also tapped into the wine-tasting trend. It now offers a non-credit course about the intricacies of wine. Students in the course learn about the various kinds of grapes that make each wine along with methods of buying and serving wine. It's one of several classes now offered by the CLC for a small fee, and its purpose is to give students the opportunity to get away from their typically crowded and predictable schedules.\nThese wineries offer a place for students to relax and hang out with friends in a unique atmosphere.\nBut many students appreciate the wineries for another reason altogether. As Hannis said, "It's nice that they sell alcohol-to-go on Sundays," Hannis said. "That's something you can't get from liquor stores and other places in the state of Indiana."\n-- Contact staff writer Alex Pappas at aspappas@indiana.edu.