By Heather Lusk
It’s a busy time for Hopwood Cellars Winery. The Main Street business has announced a new distribution agreement with Monarch Beverage along with new labels for its bottles and adjustments to the wines offered.
Five of its wines will be distributed by Monarch: Cabernet Sauvignon, Moscato, Sweet Lailah, Cavort and Chambourcin Rose.
To accommodate the additional quantities required for distribution, owner Ron Hopwood said he will be cutting back production from 15 types of wine to 12.
“We believe in quality, not quantity,” he said.
Since moving to Zionsville, Hopwood started the distribution process on his own through Indianapolis-area restaurants – Arni’s, A to Z Cafe and The Melting Pot. Many of these accounts will transfer to Monarch.
“I’m always looking for the next winery that’s going to really fit our portfolio well,” said Travis Mecca, the Indiana brand manager for Monarch Beverage. With 80 wineries in the state, Monarch has selected 16 to represent.
“After meeting with (Hopwood) and trying their wines, it’s pretty apparent that they’ve got some great quality wines they’re making in Zionsville,” Mecca said. “It fits well with what we’re looking for.”
Hopwood said Marsh has expressed interest in selling his wine and hopes a new focus on local, craft breweries will transfer to local wine.
“Indiana is a huge artisan state,” Hopwood said. “That’s why breweries are doing well.”
The new labels are something that Hopwood had been wanting for a while, but he had trouble finding the right design until recently. The old labels with an H and C will be phased out over the next several months. The labels include information about pairings and whether to chill the wine.
“This is the salesman in the liquor store right there,” Hopwood said, pointing to the label.
In the meantime, he said he is searching for a minimum of 20 acres of land to create a vineyard to move the wine production that is about to outgrow the current space, but he plans to keep his Zionsville location.
Supporting CruZionsville, limited quantities of the Bekkar wine are available in special commemorative bottles while they last. A “huge portion” of the sales will go towards Alzheimer’s research, according to Hopwood, in support of the annual event.
