It's Wine O'Clock Somewhere
By Elizabeth Kimball
Drinking wine goes much farther than just deciding which wine to pair with your dinner. Visiting vineyards and tasting rooms is a growing past-time across the country. So, of course, when I heard there was a popular winery just 43 minutes away from campus, I knew what to do. I dropped off the kids, picked up the husband, and typed Purple Toad Winery into the GPS. We were on our way!
First Stop, The Tasting Room!
Arriving at our destination around 3 p.m. in the afternoon, we made our way down the grape lined drive that led to a small warehouse-style building. Taking the sidewalk to the double doors under a purple awning boasting the title Purple Toad Winery and a picture of their trademarked frog, we noticed several different sitting areas spread across outside yard space and a front porch. Corn hole boards rested against trees, and a few people lounged on outside patio couches. It was all very peaceful.
Inside the tasting room, a single couple stood by the tasting bar chatting with the girl behind the counter. Now I have been to many wine tastings, seeing only the one other couple I figured we could try a few wines, talk to the staff for a few minutes, and head on our way to dinner. In and out in 20 minutes, easy. I could not have been more mistaken. We wouldn’t be leaving for another three and a half hours. There really was that much to do.
Approaching the tasting counter, the girl behind the bar handed us the double-sided wine list, explained how the tasting worked (tasting was free by the way), and asked which wine we would like to try first. My husband, preferring the sweeter wines, was directed immediately to the page and half of fruit and fruit blend wines. I stayed closer to the top of the menu with the dryer selections. The selection choice was enormous! And if you weren’t in the mood for traditional wine, they offered a few of the wines in a slushy.
While tasting our way through the menu she made a quick call to see if anyone would be available for a tour of the facility, and to my surprise, they were. So, we each ordered our favorite choice (mine, Shadow a Merlot blackberry mix and his Black Currant a blackberry wine) and found a table outside on the porch overlooking the parking lot and grapevines to relax while awaiting our tour.
Let’s Take a Tour!
Once finished with our chosen beverages, we made our way up the small hill, passed the grapevines, to the much newer, much larger warehouse. The owner of the winery, Allen Dossey, greeted us at the door. He does many of the tours for visiting patrons, a very VIP kind of treatment that he happily extends to anyone who was interested when he is available. The very casual tour began right there.
The warehouse had offices off to one side, but mostly it was one large open room. In a line down the center of the building were very large cylindrical silver tanks. These are where the magic is made. Each tank held 28,000 bottles of wine, two and a half times larger than the tanks they used before these which only held 11,000 bottles and were in a smaller warehouse area behind the tasting room. A need for the upgrade was due to the winery’s growth over the past few years. Purple Toad now produces 42% of Kentucky’s wine. Wow! 42%, who would have thought Kentucky’s largest winery would be right here in western Kentucky! I had no idea.
Across from the giant silver tanks were stack upon stack of labeled and packaged wine ready for distribution. The winery now distributed to Kentucky and seven, soon to be eight other states. Continuing the tour, Dossey showed us the new machines they were using to help speed up the making and distribution process. Shiny silver machines that looked like something straight out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A bottle labeler that could label up to 300 bottles and hour. One machine of the newer machines that could cut down a 24 to 26-hour manual job down to four or five. There were new toys for creating new products they plan to offer in the very near future. We were even fortunate enough to get to see the inspiration for a new event facility that is still in the planning phase. This will be a winery to watch as they unveil all the new and exciting ideas over the next few years.
Back to the Tasting Room!
After the conclusion of the tour, which felt much more like an informal chat with an inspired man about his family and ideas, we left the larger warehouse and made our way back to the tasting room. Time having reached just past 4 p.m. the tasting room was now a bustling hang out. The winery was filled with people just leaving work and stopping by to wind down before heading home. Patrons had made their way to chairs all over the property, just chatting and sipping. On one of the patios outside a large group gathered to celebrate a birthday. It was obvious this was more than just a winery.
A Stroll Through the Grapes!
The vineyard had several acres of grapevines, all different types of grapes. While the grapes produced here on the property were not enough to produce all of their products, they definitely did use them to produce many of the favorite wines. Other fruits and grapes were shipped in from companies the owners personally approved of and trusted for quality. The temperature outside lumbered around the mid 70° mark, being later in the afternoon the sun was making its way down to the horizon. A perfect time to take a stroll through the grapevines!
When in Rome!
It was very clear that people came to Purple Toad to take in the beautiful atmosphere! It is also a great place to take a moment to just unwind and decompress from the struggles of the day. So, I thought, “Well, when in Rome!” We made a quick stop by the tasting room to pick up another beverage, this time the Bourbon Barrel Aged Cabernet (aged in four roses bourbon barrels. Yum!). Then we nestled down under a cute little pergola next to a quiet little pond. A location where we could survey the entire lawn and pavilion space. There we sat, chatting and watching all the people enjoying their wine and good company in this little haven away from it all.
We finally, reluctantly, decided to make our way to dinner. But we left knowing we would be back. But until then I’ll just share this wonderful experience with all of you. I highly encourage you to take a minute and find out for yourself. More information about the winery and hours of operation can be found on their website www.purpletoadwinery.com.
