Oliver Wines from Indiana

 

 

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For all of my experience in the world of wine, I don't often have the opportunity to taste wine from middle America. Pretty much every state has a winery these days, and there are quite a few in the midwest, some of them remarkably large. A lot are much bigger than mid-sized California wineries that have nationwide distribution. These middle-American wineries often cater to a local or regional audience, offer a local wine country experience. In some cases their most popular wines are off-dry or sweet wines that are different from most of what the West Coast makes, but are clearly popular with many Americans.

Indiana's largest winery, Oliver, is remarkably successful and sells in a couple dozen states. It makes close to 500,000 cases of wine a year between its Oliver and Creekbend brands, making it perhaps the largest winery east of the Mississippi. When they offered to send me some samples, I was more than curious. Some of the offerings are not exactly 'up my alley,' but it was really interesting to taste them.

Oliver Blueberry Moscato ($  ) Made from Moscato grapes and blueberry juice from concentrate, it's a modest 6.8% alcohol, and there is some added sugar.  It has a light, bubble gum-like color. The moscato grapes give it a floral, juicy nose, and the blueberry flavors are mild and not too forward. It is sweet, but the sweetness is balanced with some nice, tart acidity. It's pretty well-made overall.

Creekbend Vineyard 2019 III Estate Bottled White ($  ) A blend of Vignoles, Vidal Blanc, and Chardonel, this white has a subtle nose of paraffin wax and orange blossoms and fairly dry melon, apple and citrus flavors, good weight on the palate. You might compare it to a lightly or un-oaked Chardonnay. 

Creekbend Vineyard 2019 Chambourcin Rosé ($  ) Chambourcin is a French-American hybrid grape that is a 'tinturier,' or a grape that has colored juice and is often used in a blend to increase a wine's color. Not surprisingly, this is a pretty dark rosé that looks kind of like a light red. It has bright raspberry flavors, good acid, and isn't as sweet as I thought it might be. It doesn't really have the finesse of a Southern French rosé, but it makes a fine porch sipper.

Creekbend Vineyard 2019 Estate Bottled Noir ($  ) Not a world-beater, but this is a lovely red wine, particularly in the nose. It's not at all overtly oaky and has a pretty, bright nose of cherry and raspberry, even blueberry. It's light to medium-weight, and while not super complex or long on the finish, it's quite pleasant. It's a blend of about 60% Corot Noir and 40% Marechal Foch (the latter being one of the better midwest hybrit reds imho). 

Oliver Sweet Red ($  ) This one's a bit of a challenge for me because I really don't have a sweet tooth, and the nose is really 'foxy.' Foxy is one of those weird wine terms that's hard to describe, and I guess I would say it's a smell a little bit like bubblegum-scented fabric softener. It's a word that is commonly used to describe the aroma of some native American grapes (vitis labrusca) and some hybrids. Some people don't mind that foxy aroma at all.