Old 502 Winery - Louisville, KY

Wine and Kentucky are not two words that are usually uttered in the same sentence.  And yet, last week, somehow I found myself at a Kentucky winery, downtown no less, where I was actually participating in a wine tasting.  I went to the Old 502 with my alumni club to see what alcohol Kentucky had to offer us besides bourbon- I wasn't expecting much.

I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful tasting room at the Old 502.  It is set up as small gift shop overflowing into the tasting area which is well equipped with a bar and tasting tables adorned with black tablecloths.  I had called ahead with a group reservation and the winery was very prompt about setting up a private table for my group in the back of the room.  Once you are outfitted with the tasting sheets and are seated at the table the wine host starts pouring the wines as quickly or slowly as you can drink them.  They are pretty good about judging your thirst for knowledge...our wine host seemed to know a lot about the bottles she was pouring but was not needlessly interrupting our conversation to make her points either.

All in all we tasted 8 wines for $12 and the wine pourings were fairly lavish.  My favorites were the white wines which were slightly sweet with apricot notes but not cloyingly so.  The reds were good but left something to be desired, at least for me.  The greatest crowd pleaser was the "After Choc"- a dessert wine known for smelling and tasting like a tootsie roll.  It definitely lived up to its reputation and a sip of this wine was like drinking candy.  At the end of the tasting we were able to keep a trademark Old 502 wine glass which was a surprise bonus.

The winery is situated on 10th street so it is a bit off the beaten path but the parking is plentiful.  All wines are blended onsite and are made from local Kentucky wine. The next time you head to downtown and our bourbon-ed out head over to this little place.  It may be the "Old 502" but this winery certainly has a new sense of style and class.