Indiana is not widely known as a wine-producing state, but it should be. After all, it is the 10th largest producing state and home to one of the biggest wine competitions in the country. The Indianapolis fair every July attracts wineries from 15 different countries which show more than 3,200 wines. Vintage Indiana, also in Indianapolis every June, showcases Indiana wines to more than 10,000 visitors; and the Indiana Wine Fair in Story every April brings more than 5,000 visitors to rural Brown County.

The 37 Indiana wineries host more than 2,000,000 annual visitors who spend an average of $40 each. These wineries generate some $2.8 million in sales taxes, some $40 million in retail sales, and pay the state $400,000 in excise taxes every year.

The Hoosier state was home to the first commercial winery in the United States in the early 1800s, and Thomas Jefferson corresponded with Jacques Dufour, a pioneer of grape growing along the Ohio River, to exchange ideas about wine production.

Helping to oversee the wine industry in Indiana is the Wine Grape Council, based in the Horticulture and Food Science Department of Purdue University. To learn more about the state of the wine industry in Indiana watch the video, as Ole brings you up to date.