culinary
Drift Restaurant
Opens at French Lick Wine & Spirits story by Glenda Winders
Headed to the French Lick area to play golf, luxuriate at a spa or try your luck at the casino? Then you’ll for sure want to make room on your itinerary for another spot – French Lick Winery and Spirits. You’ll also want to try out the new restaurant on its premises, Drift, which offers a “coastal Italian experience.” The winery, founded in 1995, is one of nine that make up the Uplands Wine Trail, a special designation for wineries in Indiana’s first American Viticulture Area (AVA). Its accompanying restaurant is brand-new. The winery started out in French Lick’s historic Beechwood Mansion, once the home of Charles Ed Ballard, a wealthy local entrepreneur in the early 20th century. “That first year they made 600 gallons of wine,” said Laurelin Doty, director of operations. “Last year we made 64,000. We’ve come a long way.” She joined the business when she married head winemaker Nick, who 82
traveliN Holiday 2021
The winery started out in French Lick’s historic Beechwood Mansion, once the home of Charles Ed Ballard, a wealthy local entrepreneur in the early 20th century.
ABOVE: The farm was passed down, uniquely, from female to female. LEFT: In 1995 there were only 10 wineries in Indiana. French Lick Winery opened in the basement of Beechwood Mansion.
worked alongside his parents, founders John and Kim, and brother Aaron – also a winemaker. The family grows some of their own grapes in a small vineyard on a farm that has been passed down through five generations of women in Kim’s family and was named a Hoosier Homestead farm in 2015.
“The wines we make from those grapes are tasting-room-only wines,” Laurelin said. “They are small batches from a small vineyard, so we don’t have enough to distribute.” She said they produce wines that range from semi-dry to semi-sweet but concentrate on the majority of their
