|
 Hi! I’m Dana Nelson and I’m the Business Manager and
part owner of the Winery. My husband, Jeff, is the other
part owner, as well as the winemaker and vineyard
manager. We first got together in 1997. At that time, I
was working as a Program Manager in New Business
Development for the Bearing Business at The Timken
Company, and Jeff was working as an environmental
consultant. We were both doing considerable traveling,
which meant that we spent quite a bit of time apart.
In order to remedy this situation, we began thinking
about starting our own business. While considering which
business might be a good ‘fit’, we recognized the fact
that Jeff had been a home wine maker for many years, we
both loved wine and visiting wineries, and we had always
enjoyed the type of people we met at wineries. We had
both always heard that the best business go get into is
one that you love. So, by the end of 1997 we had decided
that a winery was what we wanted to do.
 We began looking for property in the fall of 1997, but
it wasn’t until the spring of 1998 that we finally found
the right spot – it had a house where we could live,
land where we could grow grapes, a pole building (albeit
in much need of improvement and addition) where we could
make and sell the wine, and a lovely lake that would be
their ‘attraction’.
The first grapes went into the ground in May of 1999 and
the winery officially opened on November 5, 1999, with a
Tasting Room that would seat 30 people. That winter we
added more seating. During the summer of 2000 we added
seating by the lake, and built a deck by the lake in the
summer of 2001. By the winter of 2001 we had completely
outgrown the original Tasting Room (which now had
seating for 48), and also had a pressing need for
additional wine-making capacity. So, in the spring of
2002 we began construction of an addition that more than
doubled their seating and wine-making capacity.
This new Lake View Hospitality Room, besides being an
‘overflow’ for the original Tasting Room on busy nights,
is available for rent for parties and meetings.
The Winery currently bottles 4000 gallons of wine, up
from the 1000 gallons at which we started. There are
currently 17 wines on our wine list, including Vidal
Blanc Ice Wine and Late Harvest Vidal Blanc. Jeff has
also won numerous Gold, Silver and Bronze medals over
the past 9 years at both the Ohio Wine Competition and
at the Indy International Wine Competition.
Jeff is constantly making new wines, so the wine list is
always changing. So, even if you think you know our
wines, we’ve probably introduced some new ones since the
last time you visited. So come on back and try them! |
