Before
opening their own winery, John and Kimv Doty visited dozens of American
wineries, sipping wines, asking questions and taking notes. Their
Top 10 list goes all the way to 11.
- French Lick Winery (of course!)
- Stone Hill Winery, Hermann, Mo.
- St. James Winery, St. James, Mo.
- St. Julian Winery, Paw Paw, Mich.
- Linden Vineyards, Linden, Va.
- V. Sattui Winery, St. Helena, Calif.
- Huber Winery, Starlight, Ind.
- Oliver Winery, Bloomington, Ind.
- Butler Winery, Bloomington, Ind.
- Sterling Winery, Calistoga, Calif.
- Turtle Run Winery, Corydon, Ind.
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John is the vintner, but nothing gets bottled, labeled and sold without
the seal of approval of Kim's discerning palette. So keen are her senses
of taste and smell that Kim is one of only three Hoosiers to be certified
as a wine judge by the American Wine Society.
Business has steadily improved from year one. Last year, the Dotys
sold nearly 8,000 gallons of wine, including 100 cases a month of French
Lick Red, the most popular of their 18 wines.
Not all of their wine is produced from grapes grown at Heaven's View.
Like most Indiana vintners, the Dotys buy juice in bulk from large producers,
mostly in California and upstate New York.
Only now is the Dotys' vineyard, planted in 1998, reaching its production
peak.
"You really don't even get any grapes until the third year of
production," John says. "In the fourth year, you'll get a
full crop and then every year for 18 to 20 years. The plant may still
produce fruit for 100 years, although production is typically in decline
after that first 20 years."
"As a farmer, you produce a crop and take it to market and say,
'What will you give me?' says John, who grew up on a dairy farm and
has taken care of cattle, turkeys, chickens, and eggs, not to mention
crops.
"We've done just about everything there is to do in agriculture,"
he says, "but we jumped into this wine business with both feet.
With the winery, we're taking a raw product and following it through
to the end of the process with a bottled product that we're selling
to the consumer."
French Lick Winery has won more than 200 medals in state, national
and international competitions. Consumers have responded so strongly,
the French Lick Winery has outgrown its original home in the basement
of the Beechwood Mansion, a large, Victorian-style home built by a French
Lick hotelier that also houses a popular bed and breakfast.
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