Running Vines Winery — Attraction in Chesterton

If you're traveling up I-94 towards Detroit, get off at the Valpo, Chesterton exit and stop by this place.

I really didn't know much about this place before visiting. A search through Google showed me this place. The owner is a runner (1 plus), it's 40 mins travel time from me (2 plus), they have wines called sprint, half marathon, marathon and triathlon (3 plus), it's a vegan restaurant right up the street (time to go!) So Running Vines was the choice for my girl and I to visit on a Saturday evening. Pleasantly surprised is not accurate enough to describe the experience we had last night. The visit was so amazing we ended up joining the wine club. Chris was an excellent sommelier! He asked what our preference was as far as taste and proceeded to describe each choice in such detail that I was able to visualize the process in my head.

My favorites were the ale infused with watermelon called summer and triathlon. (I really liked marathon as well too!) They also had live music and it was great. Dan Reisen had his guitar and was singing some great songs.

They also have a back patio and allow smoking out there. Me and my girlfriends had the patio to ourselves and was able to enjoy some good cigars and great wine. I'm so glad we stumbled upon this place on Google, we will...

I cannot say enough good things about Running Vines! After searching around the area for a place to hold my sister's baby shower, we landed on Running Vines and I could not be happier. Kim helped with all the planning of the event and Cindy was there running everything the day of. Both of them, along with all of the staff, were so kind and went above and beyond what I expected. Cindy helped us set up and decorate the space and grabbed anything extra that we might have needed. On top of that, she continued to keep me updated on the pricing throughout the afternoon and double-checked with me on everything before any new bottles were opened or any extra food was ordered. At the end of the day, I was extremely happy with our choice of event space and very happy with the price point of everything. I would choose them over and over again for any event. It was the most wonderful experience that we could have asked for, and I cannot thank Cindy and Kim enough for all...

My wife and I enjoyed a dry wine tasting at Running Vines Winery. The Sauv Blanc was interesting - the jalapeno vs somewhat more typical bell pepper tones made it a bit more 'bity' than I prefer. The Chardonnay was quite typical and enjoyable. The Pinot Noir was rather dull, albeit I find contemporary Pinot Noirs becoming increasingly mild...do recognize the winery states this is a light-bodied red, and they are accurate in that statement. The Cab Sauv was my favorite - a good quality dry red and decently bold. Our server, seeing our preference for the Cab Sauv, recommended we taste Hank's Comet - wow, what a great recommendation! If you like bold, jammy, dark red wine, Hank's Comet will delight you. We purchased a botte for onsite consumption and a second bottle to take home - by far the best wine in my opinion (disclaimer - I prefer bold, dry French and Italian red wines). Hank's Comet made this winery a very nice...