Kosciusko Resident Kates Taken By Wine MakingPaulette Kates is pretty busy during tax season.
She runs her own tax service out of her home in rural Kosciusko County west of Silver Lake.
When she has some down time though, she enjoys making her own wine.
Like Dr. Jason Rich, who was featured in the Times-Union last week for brewing his own beer at home, Kates enjoys the time and care needed to make her own wine.Ironically, Kates and Rich live near each other.
She had never been much of a wine drinker, she said, but she began to develop a taste over the years.
Then a friend of hers began making his own wine with store-bought kits about six years ago. She followed her friend's lead and began making her own batches.
Kates then began entering competitions at the Indiana State Fair. One year she made a potato wine that earned her a bronze medal.
Even though she's a novice in the art of wine making she's already earned the state fair's highest honor for making wine, the double gold for her luna rosa wine.
She's also earned bronze medals for an iced wine and a kiwi melon wine.
Kates admitted she's come up with some odd combinations but that most of them seem to work. A beet wine she made, she now uses as a marinade.
"If you can't eat your vegetables you can just drink them," joked Kates.
Kates has made wine out of eggplant, zucchini and green tomato.
Kates said the process from start to finish can take as long as a couple of months.
Kates has dubbed her winery Up On The Knob.
She's made wine for a couple of weddings and that's something she'd like to continue.
"I'd like to help wedding parties work on a wine, bridal parties can come in and make a wine and then I can just babysit it," said Kates.
Kates said its fun to watch people make wine and she also enjoys the fact that the wine is more organic.
For more information on Kates' wine or to contact her to do weddings or events e-mail kates54@yahoo.com
