Easley Winery

Easley Winery in downtown Indianapolis was founded in 1974 and my guess is that I have driven by the building at least several hundred times as I've made my way around the city all these years. But until a few weeks ago, I never stopped in to visit or take a tour. Why? Honestly, the building just seemed so...well...plain...square building made of bricks...nice...but it just never drew my attention enough to get me to go inside. Lesson learned--Just as your mama told you to never to judge a book by its cover; I am now suggesting that you never judge a winery by its exterior. 

Easley Winery, which has a great history, is like a beautiful Christmas gift hidden under a brown paper wrapper. The unassuming exterior tells you nothing about the delights that await you inside.Enter the door of this plain building and you enter a whole new world of wine and wonder. In addition to a tasting room, there is a large production facility where all the winery's pressing, fermentation, aging, and bottling take place on site. There's a banquet room that seats 70. And if you're looking for fun, the winery hosts lots of public events including the very popular Groovin' in the Garden series (held every Tuesday and Saturday from May 19 through September 29) which offer a great opportunity to enjoy local food, great wine, and live music. The family friendly event serves up sparkling grape juice for the kiddies along with coloring books and crayons to keep them busy while Mom and Dad relax and enjoy a glass of wine.

Meredith Easley told me that 90% of the grapes used to make Easley wines come from within a 200 mile radius of the winery with every wine sold is produced at the 205 North College Avenue facility in Indianapolis. The focus at the winery is on public education and Meredith enjoys hosting wine education classes. She also says that she's on a personal mission to encourage Indiana restaurants to put more Indiana wines on their wine list. Those restaurants looking to add Indiana wines to their list would find Easley a great place to start. The winery has a large selection of award winning wines that would please any palate including a delicious Indiana Champagne. Their best seller is Reggae Red- a smooth, fruity, sweet red that's best served chilled with casual food like pizza, cajun dishes, chili, and BBQ.

Always looking for something fun to offer to the public, Meredith has some great plans for GOING LOCAL WEEK 2009 (which will be held from September 6-12 this year) so be sure to check the Easley Winery site to find out about them.

Easley Winery
205 North College Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
www.EasleyWinery.com 
Phone: 317-636-4516

Photo: Courtesy of Easley Winery: Kauffman Vineyard in Posey County Indiana