New Hoosier winery turns heads

You might not be aware of it, but the number of Indiana wineries is growing each year, with 36 wineries across the state now. Five years ago, there were 31.

One of the newest wineries is Best Vineyard in Elizabeth, at the south end of the state. The winery opened last year and is owned by Wilbert Best and his sisters, Berretta and Rachel Best. The siblings have been growing grapes commercially for several years after Wilbert bought a farm and settled on planting grape vines instead of another crop.

At the time, the siblings didn’t know anything about wine or wine grapes, but after some research, including talking to other local winemakers, growing wine grapes is where they set their sights. After their first harvest in 2002, they held back a few gallons of the juice and decided to try their hands at wine-making. It took the three a while to get the hang of it, but they persevered.

“It just kind of grew, and we kind of got into it, and it’s been just fabulous,” Wilbert said when we met him last month at Vintage Indiana.

As with most wineries, Best is starting small. Wilbert said he hopes to offer eight wines consistently, including Chardonel, Chambourcin and Hummingbird Red, a popular sweet red wine made with the winery’s own Chambourcin grapes. Chambourcin is a French hybrid grape that isn’t grown much in France anymore but is popular among small wineries in the United States, especially in the Midwest, because it can stand the cold weather but still produces a bold, tannic red wine in areas where grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon don’t do well. Chardonel is a hybrid of Chardonnay – it has much of the same flavors but is able to thrive in a Midwestern climate.

“We want to grow as much of our own fruit as possible,” Wilbert said.

Mixed in with the regular lineup will be seasonal flavors, such as rhubarb and pumpkin wines.

Already, the winery is collecting awards for its wines. Best Vineyard picked up five medals last year at the Indy International Wine Competition. This year, it picked up 11 – nine bronze and two silver (we’ll tell you about the winners next week). Not bad for a young winery with three people who knew nothing about wine a decade ago.

Wilbert said the winery’s customer base grows every day as word of the winery spreads.

Best just hired its first part-time employee to help run the winery, which is open from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The new employee was a necessity, as the winery was just added to the Indiana Uplands Wine Trail (www.indianauplands.com), which features eight wineries, including two of the state’s biggest – Huber and Oliver.

Whatever Best Vineyard is doing is working. In May, its Web site posted an update of its “wine status,” listing five wines that are sold out or about to be, including the 2007 vintage of the Hummingbird Red.

Wilbert and his sisters all still have full-time jobs and can’t yet dedicate all their time to the winery – just all their free time.

“It has been a great adventure for all of us,” Wilbert said. “It’s all about fun.”

If you want to learn more about the winery or read descriptions of the wines, check out www.bestvineyardswinery.com.

If you’re headed to southern Indiana, stop by and tell Wilbert we said hello.

Of course, while you’re there, you should make a day of it and stop by some of the other wineries. Nearby are Huber Orchard & Winery, River City Winery, Chateau De Pique, Turtle Run and Indian Creek – and that’s just on the Indiana side of the border. Cross the river into Louisville, Ky., and there are five more wineries there, including two downtown.

Remember, there’s no better way to find out about a wine than to see where it’s from and meet the people that made it. Like opening a bottle, the memories created last much longer – and mean much more – than the wine inside ever could.