Indiana may not be the first state to come to mind when discussing the nation’s most popular wines. But Oliver Winery, which produces over 800,000 cases of wine per year, is a modern Midwestern success story.
Founded in 1972 by Indiana University law professor William Oliver, Oliver Winery operates with the guiding philosophy that “wine is for everyone,” and specializes in sweet wines ranging from reds made with Concord grapes to fruit-flavored Moscatos. Bill Oliver, William’s son, took over in 1983 and now serves as co-founder and a member of the board of directors.
Now that you know the basics, here are seven more things you should know about Oliver Winery.
The winery started as nothing more than a basement hobby.
While Oliver Winery itself was not established until 1972, the foundations of the operation were conceived in the 1960s when William started making wine in his home’s basement in Bloomington, Ind. As Bill told Inside INdiana Business, some of his earliest memories are of helping his father make small batches of wine under their family home. A few years after William picked up the hobby, he established a vineyard on the outskirts of Bloomington to have more fruit to pull from.
William Oliver was a crucial figure in passing legislation that legalized wineries in Indiana.
Commercial wineries weren’t legal in the days William was tinkering around in his basement, and he knew a change needed to be made. And as an active scholar in tax planning
