Blog Recap: Indianapolis, IN | June 2nd, 2012 | www.inwhiteriver.com
As a college student on a college budget, my only prior knowledge of “fine” wine was the variety you can only get from a box (“Cardboardeaux,” the kids affectionately call it these days).
So when I attended the Vintage Indiana Wine & Food Festival this summer, I had no idea what to expect from my first-ever wine tasting experience.
I entered the gates of White River State Park’s Military Park a relative novice; while I didn’t consider myself a wine expert by the time I left, the event was the perfect venue for a few of my girlfriends and me to learn the basics of wine production and tasting, sparking an interest that will come in handy the next time we’re planning our next big get-together.
The Vintage Indiana Wine and Food Festival is an annual showcase of the best of Indiana’s local wineries in a family-friendly environment. For a little over twenty dollars, attendees received unlimited samples of more than 200 wines from around the state — appeasing a wide range from experienced winos and newbies like myself.
After receiving our Vintage Indiana etched tasting glass, we made our way to several of the vendors’ tents, taking the time to converse with each winery’s knowledgeable staff about the various types we were trying. Most volunteered to take us down their wine list — from dry to dessert wines — explaining each offering in great detail while answering the (many) questions that came to our minds.
Almost every winery offered a Traminette, dubbed the signature wine of the state of Indiana for its grapes’ tenacity in the Midwestern climate. My favorite wine sampled came from first-time Vintage Indiana exhibitors Monkey Hollow Winery: the Pasture Limit, a Concord rose aged in a bourbon barrel.
In addition to its tasting tents, Vintage Indiana also offered helpful seminars on topics like food pairings and at-home production. A kids zone featured face painting, a cartoonist, and balloon artists to please the 20-and-under crowd, while munchies were kept at bay by Bazbeaux Pizza, Jamaican Blue Lagoon Catering, and the Taco Lassi food truck.
Bottles were available for purchase at every tent, of which most attendees took advantage to set up a picnic near the live music stage, where local favorite Jennie DeVoe and American Idol star Casey James performed later in the day.
Overall, Vintage Indiana was a great event to kick off a long-awaited summer of beer and wine festivals. And after learning about all of the fantastic local producers in Indiana, you can bet the next time I enjoy a libation, it won’t be from a box.
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[Great|Awesome|Good|Fantastic|Excellent] post. Thanks!