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Location and Hours
Brandywine Creek is a newer winery on the outskirts of Indianapolis. The tasting room is off of I-74 west at 12524 Southeastern Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46259.
The winery is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11:00am to 6:00pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 11:00am to 7:00pm and Sundays from 12:00pm to 6:00pm.
Brandywine Creek is one of 4 wineries on the Indy Wine Trail. The others are Buck Creek Winery, Easley Winery and Cedar Creek Winery. Buck Creek and Brandywine Creek are only a few miles apart so there is definitely time to visit both in the same day, if you wish. Easley Winery is in downtown Indianapolis and Cedar Creek is south west of the city in Martinsville.
The Winery
Brandywine Creek Vineyards and Winery is the passion project of Gene and Jen Baker. Gene is a retired physician and Jen is a semi-retired nurse practitioner. They started making wine at home as a hobby in 2014, then began growing grapes. By 2018, they had planted 5 acres of grapes in 2 separate vineyards and opened the Brandywine Creek Tasting room.
Some of their first vintages won awards at the Indy International Wine Competition. The 2016 Malbec received a silver medal at the competition and in 2019, they won a gold medal for their peach wine in the stone fruit category.
The Tasting Room
The outside of the tasting room looks a little like a former doctor’s office. But what it lacks in visual appeal outside, it makes up for in cozy ambiance inside. It is a large area, with several different seating areas. The stone and wood tasting counter is in the center of the room. There’s a comfy couch and chairs in front of a stone fireplace with a television. There several tables in front of large windows with views of the vineyard. The tasting room looks like a cabin or a lodge, with wood paneled walls and rustic decor. There is also a small gift shop area with wine related items, handmade jewelry and crafts.
There is also a patio with outdoor seating and a private room that can be used for parties.
The Wine List
Brandywine Creek’s wine list has almost 30 different wines on it. It’s one of the largest wine lists I’ve seen for a boutique winery. 7 of them are made from estate grown grapes, the rest are made with juice and grapes purchased from other vineyards.
They produce 4 dry white wines: Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Gewurztraminer and Seyval Blanc.
The Seyval Blanc is made from estate grown grapes. This wine is light and dry, with green apple and citrus flavors.
If you’re a fan of dry reds, Brandywine Creek has 7 varietals to choose from.
Chancellor Rose is made from estate grown Chancellor grapes. This wine is light red in color, dry with cherry and apple flavors.
The other estate wine is Frontenac Gris Rose. This wine is dry, blush in color with hints of peach, cherry and citrus.
The other dry reds on the wine list are Merlot, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The semi-dry and semi-sweet wines available are Marechal Foch, Traminette, Fredonia, Chambourcin Rose and Riesling.
Brandywine Creek’s sweet offerings include Moscato, Pink Catawba, Lambrusca Blend, Steuben and Concord. The Concord wine is wonderfully sweet with lots of true grape flavors.
There are 5 fruit wines on the wine list: Plum, Peach, Mango, Watermelon and Blueberry Apple. There is also a seasonal, limited release wine called Winter Pear. Serve this wine lightly chilled or mulled.
Finally, Brandywine Creek makes two ice dessert wines, Cabernet Franc and Riesling. Ice wines are made by harvesting grapes after the first freeze of the season. The flavor and sweetness of the grapes become more concentrated and intense, making ice wines the perfect dessert wines.
Tastings are $5.00 for 6 tastes, excluding the 2 ice wines, which cost $2.00 each per taste. With so many wines available, choosing only 6 to taste was difficult.
On my visit, I tasted La Crescent, Marechal Foch, Fredonia, Lambrusca and Mango. I enjoyed Lambrusca. It had cherry aromas and strawberry flavors on the finish. Mango was my favorite wine, though. The mango flavor was subtle and the wine wasn’t as sweet as I expected it to be.
Events
There seems to be always something going on at Brandywine Creek. They have frequent musical guests on the weekends. They also host wine and paint events and string art events.
With its cozy and inviting tasting room and large and varied wine list, Brandywine Creek Winery is a welcome addition to the growing list of Indiana wineries.
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