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The Dotys plan to open the French Lick Winery in a new, larger
location this year.
Photo by Mike Kerper
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John set an ambitious goal for himself while working in banking, to
be retired by the time he reached his 45th birthday.
So even while he was supervising $60 million in loans as vice president
of the First Bank of Huntingburg, John and Kim were working on a plan
that would not only utilize Kim's associate degree in horticulture ('78),
but also would get John back into the wine-making business.
Kim had worked at a flower shop after graduation and had always wanted
to start her own greenhouse and coffee shop.
As for John, wine has been a part of his family for as long as he can
remember.
"I started making wine with my grandfather when I was 12 years
old. But making a few gallons in the basement with grandpa and making
several thousand gallons of wine for consumers are two totally different
things."
Well, not in the beginning.
"The first January we were open, in 1996, we sold four gallons
of wine," Kim says. Kind of like August Busch selling one case
of beer.
Then came the Indy Wine competition the following July. The Dotys came
home with 12 awards, one for every wine they entered in the competition.
The Indianapolis Star and the Dotys' local paper did stories on the
winery.
"That really helped," John says. "People read those
articles and business really took off. We got in the black in the second
year of operation."
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