Indiana boasts more than 100 wineries. Luckily, Evansville-area residents don’t have to travel far to taste a new libation and take in the scenery. Several Hoosier wineries within a 90-minute drive from the River City offer sips of award-winning varietals, plus events, overnight accommodations, and more.
Patoka Lake Winery
Distance from Evansville: 80 miles
The Dubois County winery is part of a recreational powerhouse in the Birdseye area that consists of a brewery, distillery, hotel, saloon, and marina. Co-owner Heather Setser says the winery mainly uses Walker’s Wine Juice in Forestville, New York, to make its varietals. For dry reds, the vintners buy grapes from Lodi, California, and partner with Turtle Run Winery in Corydon, Indiana, to process the fruit.
“We are well known for our wine slushies. People come from all over to taste and buy them. They are so much fun because you can mix and match flavors,” Setser says. “During Halloween and Christmas, we have featured flavors and themes. We have done the Sanderson Sisters, Beetlejuice, Harry Potter, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
Patoka Lake Winery also offers lodging and event space. Past awards include silver medals for Lake Indulgence Gewürztraminer and Blackberry as well as bronze medals for Lake Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Strawberry, and Captain’s Chardonnay at the 2019 INDY International Wine Competition.
Winzerwald Winery
Distance from Evansville: 70 miles
This German-inspired estate in the Hoosier National Forest grows Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc, Traminette, Marechal Foch, and Ives grapes. Popular varietals include Riesling and Gewürztraminer, as well as fruit and spiced wines
The winery features a restaurant, Sips and Samples events that pair wine with food, and live music in the summer and fall. When the holiday season approaches, select wines are available for purchase in Christmas tree-shaped bottles made in Germany. Try its Blaufränkisch Reserve, which won a gold medal at the 2024 Indiana State Fair, or Baked Apple Glühwein, which took home Best Dessert Wine in 2023.
“We have also been honored and chosen as a featured farmer at the Indiana State Fair this year,” co-owner Donna Adams says. “It’s based on recommendations from other farmers who have been honored previously and from people in the state ag industry.”
Blue Heron Vineyards and Winery
Distance from Evansville: 60 miles
It’s hard to beat the view from Blue Heron Vineyards and Winery, which sits atop a bluff above the Ohio River in Cannelton. Visitors can catch their breath while sampling wine primarily made with Indiana-grown grapes, including two acres of Chambourcin on the property, as well as cherries and blueberries from Michigan.
Co-owner Lynn Dauby says the winery offers a sangria mix from New Albany that’s popular with patrons, along with varietals such as Twin Towers Red, On Deck White, and On Deck Red made from Catawba grapes.
“(Catawba is) a fruity, grapey grape. But we try to keep it not super sweet so that it has a balance. Actually, a lot of our wines, we try to work with a balance. So the Catawba has a balance of sweet and then tartness on the finish,” Dauby says.
Blue Heron Winery hosts small events like birthday parties and bridal showers as well as concert series such as Music on the Patio and Wine Over Water with food trucks in summer and fall. Guests can reserve on-site lodging in the Above & Beyond and Cru-View cottages. The Celtic Cross carved in stone on the nearby hillside is also a point of interest.
In the Vicinity
Monkey Hollow Winery in the Spencer County community of Saint Meinrad has about seven acres of grapes with 10 varieties of French, American, and French Hybrid producing Vidal Blanc, Traminette, and Niagara, plus fruit and seasonal selections. The venue hosts summer and fall concert series and also features a distillery.
Another Spencer County site, Pepper’s Ridge Winery in Rockport, buys most of its fruit locally; Lakeview Orchard in Rockport, for example, supplies the peaches for its Lakeview Peach flavor. The winery specializes in fruit wines like berry blend Bird Dog Blues and grape-berry medley Knob Hill Quencher. Guests can enjoy the country setting and listen to live music on weekends in summer and fall. The venue also hosts private parties and celebrations.
One to Watch
Hymn and Herd Winery in Rockport is not yet open to the public, but you may have spotted its varietals at area wine festivals. The winery partners with local growers to make its popular sweet fruit wines. In 2025, Mammaw’s Mix, a berry blend, won Premier Fruit Wine at the Texas International Wine Competition, and Homestead, a blackberry and blueberry mix, won Gold at the Great American International Wine Competition. The winery, which was incorporated in 2018, expects to open its tasting room inside an old church on the family homestead this year.
