Over Memorial Day weekend, we traveled to Illinois to camp with friends.

As we usually do, we hit a couple of wineries, which we’ll write about in detail in later columns.

But you may wonder why we make sure we stop at wineries on every trip we take, even with our children in tow. The answer is simple: There is no better place to learn about wine than at a winery.

As we visited one tasting room, Krista struck up a conversation with the couple next to her. We frequently do this because we can’t help but talk to people who are learning about wine and clearly having fun with the experience.

They told her that they are pretty new to wine and just realized there are wineries in Illinois. This was not surprising to Krista. Unless you live in California or Washington or New York, most people don’t realize there are wineries nearby. The truth is, however, that there are wineries in all 50 states.

What was interesting about this couple is that where they live, they are within an hour of at least a dozen wineries. And if you add in all the tasting rooms, the number easily grows to 20 near their home.

They told Krista that they have visited a couple of wineries and really like the experience because it allows them to try new wines and learn what makes them different. They had a lot of good things to say about their favorite winery – Fox Valley Winery in Oswego, Ill. The funny thing was they never told Krista what their favorite wine was. Instead, they told her about the winemaker and how he talks about his wines and has explained his trade to them.

Surely, they have bought several bottles of wine there, but what made that winery special was the atmosphere and what they learned.

That is why we visit wineries.

Every winery we visit has a story. Most are small wineries where a hobby got out of control and turned into a business. The winemakers are frequently the people you find working behind the tasting counter. And if it’s not the winemaker, it’s often a spouse or another family member or close friend.

When you get a winemaker talking, his passion for their wine comes through.

One winery we visited told us the winemaker is no longer allowed to talk to people touring the winery, because the tour would take at least two hours because he won’t stop talking about wine.

When you visit a good winery – even if you thought you wouldn’t like anything when you walked into the tasting room – we bet you’ll fall in love with something because you won’t be able to help it.

At the same time, by trying a variety of wines in a more intimate setting with someone who can explain the wines to you and offer you choices based on what you have told them, you’ll discover that your palate likes a lot more than you think.

Frequently, we hear people say things like, “I only like Riesling.” Or “I only like Oliver Soft Red.”

It’s fantastic that those people know what they like. But if they like one wine, chances are there’s a lot more out there they will like. Going to a winery and learning more about different wines is the best way to find out. It’s also a great chance to find wines you didn’t know you loved, like port. Most beginning wine drinkers have never tried port and probably wouldn’t have a chance to. But it seems that most wineries these days make a port, and because it’s a sweet, subtle wine, we think more of them should try it. What could be better than falling in love with a whole new category of wine?

Summer is a great time to visit wineries. Chances are you’re going to be traveling anyway or you’ll be looking for day trips to take. There are a lot of wineries within an hour or two of northeast Indiana.

Check out www.indianawines.org, www.illinoiswine.org, www.michiganwines.com, www.ohiowines.org and www.kentuckywine.com for wineries nearby.

If you visit a winery this summer, write to us and tell us how it was and what you learned. We’d love to hear your story.

Festival today

Turns out our favorite Indianapolis pizza will be at Vintage Indiana after all. A few weeks ago, we mentioned we might have to forgo our tradition of chowing down on Bazbeaux’s pizza because it wasn’t on the list of participating restaurants. But we’ve since been informed it will in fact be there, so now we can have our Joseph Decuis and Bazbeaux, too.

As for the festival itself, it is today from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Military Park in downtown Indianapolis and features 24 Indiana wineries, a slew of restaurants and great music. Tickets are $25 at the gate; see www.vintageindiana.com for more info.

Cheers!