Monkey Hollow Winery in Saint Meinrad, Indiana

Isn’t it great? Monkey Hollow Winery in Saint Meinrad, Indiana is welcoming right from the start.

Monkey Hollow Winery in St. Meinrad, Indiana has a beautiful view, is informative, and has an excellent family story. Here it is days later and we are still chuckling over it.

Family owned, this Spencer County winery is a wonderful destination–even for the kids.

Monkey Hollow Winery in St. Meinrad, Indiana

An Indiana winery may not seem like it would be a family friendly place, at Monkey Hollow Winery, the reasons for bringing the kids along are two-fold.

The first, because they supply the kids with juice and crackers of their own, and the second, because it is a wonderful example of a family working together and trying new things.

You see, when Monkey Hollow Winery planted their first vineyard in Fall of 2003, not everyone was on board. But one son knew that wine grapes were the way to go so he pushed the issue, got other family members to go along with it, and began selling grapes commercially.

He soon realized there wasn’t a ton of profit in that so, at the urging of his father (as in, make your own wine or I’m plowing these grape vines under), he began making his own wine, thus becoming Spencer County’s first winery. Today, they produce a variety of wines, including one of my all-time favorite wines so far: Blueberry Wine. Oh, my. All fruit, it’s absolutely AMAZING.

St. Meinrad, Indiana Winery

Monkey Hollow Winery in Saint Meinrad, Indiana

Try before you buy. Monkey Hollow Winery in Saint Meinrad, Indiana offers free tastings.

Stylish and warm, the Southern Indiana winery has a spacious tasting room where they offer up sips of their amazing, award-winning wines. But that’s not all–you will be fully educated as to the whys and hows of every wine you try.

It was incredibly eye-opening. Our host was not only knowledgeable, but she was excellent at figuring out just what sort of wine would strike a person as enjoyable.

Although we were the only folks tasting wine, more soon trickled in and got to join my family in an inrpomptu behind the scenes tour. Some days, it’s great to be Little Indiana.

Behind the Scenes at Monkey Hollow Winery

It’s really neat to see just what goes into making a bottle of wine. It’s quite a process.

My favorite part of the informal tour was hearing about the wine bottle labels. Whaaat? I know, you may not think there’s a great story there, but take a look at the Pasteur Limit. You see, government regulations mean that when you make wine, you can’t just throw it away. It needs to be destroyed and accounted for. So, that’s exactly what happened–it was dumped into the creek.

Now, cows are curious creatures. Apparently, curiosity got the better of them and…have you ever seen a drunk cow? Me neither, but I’ve been assured that it’s pretty funny. Drunk cows act much the same as drunk people.

Monkey Hollow Wine List

Monkey Hollow Winery in Saint Meinrad, Indiana

Beloved by drunk cows everywhere. Monkey Hollow Winery in Saint Meinrad, Indiana.

You can find a variety of wines at Monkey Hollow Winery. Of course, you’ll want to call ahead before making a special trip because wines do sell out.

There’s sweet, semi-sweet, and fruit wines at this lovely winery. Wine offerings do change with the seasons but sometimes include: Cabernet Franc, Blackberry, Blueberry, Strawberry, Peach, Cranberry, Pasture Red, Pasture White, Chardonel, Steuben, Catawba Rose, and then some.

Oh–and check the refrigerated case before you leave for yummy Indiana products to serve alongside your wine!

Go There

What about that name? Monkey Hollow Winery in St. Meinrad, Indiana is named for the birds-eye view of the place–it supposedly looks like a monkey from up in the air.

Ditch the wines from other states or countries. You won’t believe the great Indiana wines available locally. With the production area going through a 6,000 square foot expansion, you know that there are great things ahead for Monkey Hollow Winery.

Watch for a video about Monkey Hollow coming soon.

 

I’m Jessica Nunemaker and THIS is Little Indiana. Small towns: destinations, not drive-thrus.

Just don’t forget to tell them that Little Indiana sent you.

Monkey Hollow Winery
11534 E County Road 1740 N
Saint Meinrad, Indiana 47577
812.357.2272