Oliver Winery & Vineyards, Bloomington, Indiana

Last year while on vacation in the midwest USA, a friend introduced me to a local winery in Bloomington, Indiana. If you’re like me, your initial reaction to hearing this is “Do What?!” (i.e. Indiana slang for ‘pardon me’) What? There are vineyards in Indiana? They make wine here? The answer is yes, and a resounding one at that. Enter Oliver Winery & Vineyards.

Oliver is Indiana’s oldest and largest winery. They believe that wine is something everyone can enjoy and their tagline is “Wine is for everyone”. If you’re passing through the area, I invite you to stop and have a taste. I assure you, you won’t leave disappointed.

The Winery

The grounds of the winery itself are stunning. They feature open green spaces for kids to run and play (or to set up chairs for a wedding!) surrounded by majestic tall trees, a setting that is serene and beautiful, perfect for a hillside afternoon picnic with your family. They also have a patio and plenty of other great spaces for special events.

Take a tour of their barrel rooms or pop into their tasting room to explore their many flavours! (P.S. They ship to Canada!)

Oliver Wines

Wine tourism is something I enjoy very much as my husband and I collect a lot of wine. We have a vast cellar in our home and like to fill it with souvenirs and wines we can’t find at our neighbourhood liquor store.

Because of this particular preference, one of the first things that I asked in the Oliver tasting room was what wines were made from grapes grown nearby – in Indiana. I was pleased to learn that they have an entire collection – The Oliver Creekbend Collection – devoted to wines made from exclusively Indiana grapes. Did you know that the spear point adorning the labels for this collection is an actual artifact recovered at Creekbend Vineyard, evidence of the Native American tribes that hunted the grounds? Love the tie in to the local historic culture!

Let’s get down to the wines. Oliver features a vast array of varietals and blends, some of which I hadn’t tried before or at least in recent years. Some of these varietals include Cabernet Doré, Chambourcin, Catawba, Traminette and more. The winery produces reds, whites, rosés, ciders, tawny blends, meads, sparkling wines, late harvest and fruit blend wines. They aren’t kidding when they say that “Wine is for Everyone” because they have a wine for everyone.

I really could go on and on here, but I think it’s best that you try them for yourself – or rather, enjoy them for yourself!

I will say that our favourites included the Zinfandel, Shiraz Reserve, Merlot, Creekbend Pinot Grigio and of course the Gewürztraminer! Of course I gravitate toward the classics, but all of their wines are fantastic and pair well. If I lived closer to the winery, they would be a staple in my collection. Oliver Wines are great quality, a good price-point and really feature something for everyone! Cheers!