Wade’s ‘Best of Brown County’ Experience

The Brown County Chamber of Commerce announced the winners of the 2022 “Best of Brown County” awards earlier this year. The “Best of Brown County” was created to celebrate all that Brown County has to offer, including food and drink destinations, live entertainment, and local historic sites. Wade Linville (editor of The News Democrat, The Ripley Bee, and The Brown County Press) will be writing about his experience at all of the 13 locations that earned a “Best of Brown County” award. This is part 12 of Wade’s “Best of Brown County” Experience featuring Brown County’s 2022 Best Date Night, Indian Spring Winery.

I believe a date night should be all about the lady. Open doors, be polite and, most of all, find a romantic destination. Married for 27 years, my wife Sharon and I have went on plenty of date nights at some breathtaking locations, date nights that have included an ocean side dinner at Freeport in the Bahamas, and a winter date at the Biltmore Estate Winery in Asheville, North Carolina.

This past weekend, my “Best of Brown County” Experience took my wife and I to the Brown County Chamber of Commerce’s 2022 winner of the “Best of Brown County” Date Night Award, Indian Spring Winery, located at 10862 Fite Hauck Road outside of Sardinia, OH.

Preparing for a much needed night out together, we did the things many other married couples do. I asked, “Are you ready yet?” once about every 10 minutes, sometimes receiving a reply, “not yet!” from the bathroom where she applied her make-up.

We left the house around 6:00 p.m. on Saturday evening and headed off to Indian Spring Winery.

It was a lovely drive from our farm just outside of Ripley to Indian Spring, once again traveling some of the beautiful back roads of Brown County.

Upon arrival at Indian Spring, we both immediately felt like it was going to be a date night to remember.

We entered the winery and were greeted by Indian Spring Winery owner Andy Creighton, who grew up on the farm where Indian Spring Winery is located.

I’m not much of a wine drinker myself, but I bought my wife a bottle of Indian Spring’s red wine, and we headed out back to relax and wait for the live entertainment to start.

Others gathered at tables and chairs surrounding fire pits, and Angela’s Curbside Cuisine was on site taking food orders.

It was a beautiful, peaceful place to hang out, and we were already enjoying our date night at Indian Spring just minutes into the experience.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as live entertainment. I’m a big fan of 1990s and classic rock (as well as some early 2000s rock).

Then arrived Joey Vasselet with his guitar. No band with him, just Joey and his guitar. It didn’t take long for him to set up and start playing for the crowd, and our night got even better as he started playing some early 2000s, 1990s and classic rock. A very talented performer he is, and he helped to make it the perfect date night for my wife and I.

We stayed for a couple of hours, enjoying the music of Joey Vasselet and grabbing a delicious dinner from Angela’s Curbside Cuisine as my wife sipped on her glass of wine.

In talking to Creighton, who is also a local educator, Vasselet is a local talent who grew up just down the road from Indian Spring, once a student of Creighton’s.

I just couldn’t believe Indian Spring Winery has been open for 10 years, and it took me this long for my first visit. I realized I’ve been missing out. It’s a place that suited both our likings when it comes to a date night, live entertainment we both enjoy and red wine that is among the best my wife has ever tasted.

Creighton said it’s not uncommon for there to be 100 people at the winery on a Saturday evening, and that comes to no surprise after visiting the winery over the weekend.

We finally decided to head home after an amazing night out at Indian Spring, and on our way home we just couldn’t quit talking about the great time we had on our date night, and we didn’t even have to travel outside of Brown County.

Indian Spring Winery is a family-run business that started as an extension of what was a tobacco farm and cattle farm of the Creighton’s.

“During a Sunday dinner, my sister said, ‘Let’s open a winery,’ and so we did,” Creighton explained.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Creighton said of operating the winery. “We have fun and enjoy our customers.”

“I’d like to think the wine isn’t too bad either,” he added.

Indian Spring Winery has also found ways to give back to the community, including their annual Rock the Vineyard that helps to provide music lessons, scholarships, and basic needs to children in its community.

If you haven’t been on a date night out at Indian Spring Winery in Brown County, be sure to plan your visit soon and experience Brown County’s Best Date Night. My wife and I will be planning our next visit soon.