Indiana wines: small businesses with a passion.

• Author: McKimmie, Kathy
• Position: AGRIBUSINESS

NEARLY A MILLION people visited Indiana's 34 wineries last year, according to the Indiana Wine Grape Council at Purdue University Although the owners and winemakers are often driven by a passion for their work, the state views their industry as a growing economic sector. Its vibrant small businesses contributed more than $35 million to Indiana's economy last year.

Two new wineries came on line in 2007, Chateau de Pique Winery in Seymour and Stream Cliff Farm Winery in Commiskey Four more are gearing up to open this spring: Wildcat Creek Winery, Lafayette; River City Winery, New Albany; Indian Creek Winery, Georgetown; and Best Vineyards Winery, Elizabeth.

The oldest and by far the largest Indiana winery--making more wine than the others combined, is Oliver Winery in Bloomington. It started the way many small family businesses do, but for Indiana's wine industry, it's become a legend. Indiana University law professor William Oliver began making wine in his basement in the 1960s, enlisting his children, Bill and Barbara, to stomp the grapes with their feet. But

Indiana's laws needed to be updated if his hobby were ever to become a business, so Oliver wrote and helped pass the Small Winery Act in 1971, permitting tasting rooms and direct sales to the public rather than through wholesalers. Oliver Winery opened the following year.

The winery had more than 30 acres of vineyards and Camelot Mead, a honey-based wine, quickly became its trademark. By the end of the 1970s, 38,000 gallons of wine were being produced, mostly mead.

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The 1980s brought major changes for Oliver Winery, with William's son Bill taking over in 1983 and dramatically increasing and diversifying production, necessitating the purchase of grapes from outside the state. By 2004, 300,000 gallons were being produced, and last year they hit 620,000 gallons. "It's been a pretty linear growth for about 20 years, increasing at 15 to 25 percent a year," says Bill Oliver, president and director of winemaking. Oliver now sells in 14 states, with out-of-state sales at about 20 percent and growing fast, he says. "There's a lot of untapped potential."

Much of the wine is made from Concord grapes, says Oliver. "It's kind of our breadwinner, helps us pay the bills," he says, noting it allows for niche expansion, such as its Creekbend Vineyard wines. They're made from grapes grown on 35 acres in Monroe County that had been unused since the early 1980s. "We came back and...