Hopwood Cellars to plant vineyard and build second winery on South Michigan Road

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By Nancy Price

Hopwood Cellars Winery has plans to add a vineyard and a 10,000- to 15,000-square-foot winery on 16 acres at 2055 and 2201 S. Michigan Rd. in Zionsville.

On Oct. 8, the Zionsville Board of Zoning Appeals approved all three variances for Hopwood Cellars to move forward with its plans for the property.

The existing winery at 12 E. Cedar St. will remain open.

Ron Hopwood, founder of Hopwood Cellars, said he looks forward to conducting a variety of events with the additional space, including weddings, catered dinners and brunch on the weekends.

“Here in downtown Zionsville, we have parking problems and constrained space,” he said. “There, we’ll have the freedom to do all kinds of great things that we can’t have here.”

Plans for the project, with an estimated cost of $1.8 million, also will include a tasting room and a 5,000- to 7,000-square-foot production facility.

“We’re planning on at least two stories,” Hopwood said. “Our goal is to build from the ground up. We might convert a 150-year-old barn into something (in the meantime). It’s a five-year phase. We’re waiting on funds right now.”

Hopwood said he plans to feature live music from a gazebo in the middle of the vineyard a few times each month during the summer and fall.

“It’s going to be calm and harmonious,” he said. “There’s nothing better than having some live music and having picnics next to some grapevines.”

Hopwood ultimately plans to conduct more events indoors once the second winery is completed and open to the public, expected in 2024.

“The goal is to eventually have most everything indoors and not be dependent on the weather,” he said.

Currently, the winery contracts with vendors in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan 80 percent of the time.

“I want to be able to create some estate wines, nurtured from birth, to put in bottles,” Hopwood said. “It’s something really cool to be able to get your hands on the grapes from your own vineyard.”

For more, visit hopwoodcellars.com.


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