Easley Winery

What Easley Winery does

Easley Winery is a family-owned urban winery founded in 1974 by Jack and Joan Easley and currently operated by Mark and Meredith Easley from its single location at 205 N. College Ave in Indianapolis's Cole Noble District. The company produces a portfolio of award-winning wines and champagnes spanning dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, sweet, sparkling, and seasonal categories, with notable sub-brands including Reggae Wines (fruit-forward and high-proof lines, Splashscato frozen drinks) and the acquired Kauffman's Wines brand. Production is supported by night-harvesting operations, grape sourcing across Indiana, Michigan, New York, and California, and in-house bottling capacity of 5,000 units per hour using German, Italian, and American engineered lines. Charmat-style sparkling wines are sold under the grandfathered 'Indiana Champagne' designation, leveraging a 2006 EU Treaty provision.

Easley operates a multi-channel revenue model spanning direct-to-consumer (downtown tasting room with self-guided flights, wine slushies, and mimosas; open daily 12–5 PM; all ages), retail/wholesale distribution through grocery, convenience, and liquor stores across the Midwest, room rentals (Wine Studio and Arbor Room for private events), and motorcoach group services. A three-person B2B field sales team covers Indiana with active expansion into Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and Michigan, focusing on off-premise grocery chains and independent retailers. Pricing is unit-based across all channels, with bottles ranging $4.99–$24.75 and tasting experiences at $8–$12.

Recent strategic positioning emphasizes portfolio differentiation through Reggae Wines and award validation (Easley 2023 Chardonnay won Best of Class at the 2025 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest in the U.S.). The company shows active buildout via hiring (District Sales Manager, Marketing Content Creator) and incremental geographic expansion. No external funding, M&A outside the Kauffman's integration, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed; the business remains entirely family-controlled under Easley Enterprises, Inc.

Name

Easley Winery

Legal name

Easley Enterprises, Inc.

Website

https://easleywinery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Easley Winery is a family-owned urban winery founded in 1974 in Indianapolis, producing award-winning dry, sweet, sparkling, and seasonal wines across the Reggae Wines and Kauffman's sub-brands, with revenue from its downtown tasting room, Midwest retail distribution, event rentals, and motorcoach services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Winery / Wine Manufacturing

NAICS

Wineries (312130), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (7224), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (445320)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Wine & Sparkling Wine Wineries & Brands (CRADAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Urban Wineries (No/Minimal Vineyard) (THAFALAF), Wine Bars (CRANACAE), Wine Tastings & Vineyard/Winery Tours (THAJAGAD)

Keywords

• Wine manufacturing
• Winery production
• Wine retail
• Sparkling wine
• Tasting room

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tasting Room Sales: Direct on-premise sales through wine tasting flights, reggae wine slushies, mimosas, and bottle sales at the downtown Indianapolis tasting room.
2. Retail Bottle Sales: Sales of bottled wines through grocery, convenience, and liquor stores throughout the Midwest. Online ordering available through select retailers.
3. Room Rentals: Rental of versatile spaces including Wine Studio and Arbor Room for private events, weddings, and corporate gatherings.
4. Motorcoach Services: Services provided for motorcoach tours visiting downtown Indianapolis, offering red carpet treatment steps from the front door.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Easley Winery is a family-owned urban winery in downtown Indianapolis producing award-winning wines since 1974. The core offering includes a portfolio of varietal wines (dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, sweet, sparkling, and seasonal), the Reggae Wines sub-brand of fruit-forward and flavored wines, Kauffman's Wines (an acquired brand), Indiana Champagne, honey wine, and non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice. The winery also operates a tasting room, wine tasting flights, wine slushies, mimosas, event room rentals, and motorcoach services.

Product overview

Easley Winery is a family-owned urban winery in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, producing award-winning wines since 1974. The company operates as a single unified winery offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core product portfolio includes varietal wines organized by sweetness level (Dry, Semi-Dry, Semi-Sweet, and Sweet categories), sparkling wines, and seasonal offerings. Key sub-brands include the Reggae Wine line featuring fruity, party-oriented wines with flavors like margaritas, R15 high-proof wines, and Splashscato frozen drinks; the Kauffman's Wines brand acquired from Kauffman Vineyards; the Sweet Barrel Series; and the Varietal Series. Additional offerings include Indiana Champagne, Regal Tej Honey Wine (mead), and non-alcoholic Sparkling White Grape Juice. The winery provides on-site experiences through its Tasting Room, Room Rentals, Motorcoach Services, and Events programming, along with wine tasting flights, Reggae Wine Slushies, and mimosas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Reggae Wines: A sub-brand of fruity, tropical wines inspired by island life and reggae music, created by Mark and Meredith Easley.

Products and services

• Chardonnay (Dry White Wine) A dry white wine fermented cool to highlight crisp pineapple, bread crust, vanilla, and apple flavors with hints of French and American oak. Sold at $15.60 per bottle at the winery. Winner of Best of Class at the 2025 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
• Cabernet Sauvignon (Dry Red Wine) A richly textured, medium-bodied dry red wine with hints of chocolate and cherry, aged 10 months in American oak with layers of dark cherry and tannic plum. Sold at $15.60 per bottle. Gold Medal winner at Indiana State Fair 2024.
• No Opposition Red Blend (Varietal Series) A dry red blend wine from the Varietal Series, crafted with all-natural grapes. Sold at $15.60 per bottle.
• I Think Red Blend (Varietal Series) A dry red blend wine from the Varietal Series. Sold at $24.75 per bottle.
• Pink Catawba (Semi-Dry Wine) A semi-dry pink wine made from Catawba grapes. Sold at $15.60 per bottle.
• Riesling (Semi-Dry White Wine) A semi-dry white wine. Sold at $15.60 per bottle.
• Traminette (Semi-Dry White Wine) A semi-dry white wine varietal. Sold at $15.60 per bottle.
• Reggae Wines (Sub-Brand) A sub-brand of fruity, tropical wines inspired by island life and reggae music. Includes Reggae Red, Reggae Moscato, Reggae Blush, Reggae White, Reggae Rosé, Reggae Sangria, and margarita-flavored variants (Lime, Peach, Strawberry, Banana). Sold between $4.99 and $15.60 per bottle.
• Reggae R15 High-Proof Wines High-proof wines with maximum fruit flavor in Blackberry, Strawberry, and Pineapple varieties. Designed for thrill-seekers and party starters. Available as +$2 add-on shots for slushies.
• Splashscato Wines (Reggae Sub-Brand)

Quantifiable outcome

• 50+ years in business since 1974
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kauffman's WinescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKauffman's Wines has been produced by Easley Winery since its acquisition. Harley Kauffman's grandson Jeff Martin, the mastermind behind Kauffman's Wines and Easley Winery, oversees both brands. Kauffman's originated in 1976 from Kauffman Vineyards in Posey County, Indiana, with the iconic Kauffman's Posey Red. Each bottle showcases the family crest.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• City Winery: Urban winery chain with locations in major US cities, combining on-site winemaking, tasting room, restaurant, and private event programming. Comparable in urban-winery concept, tasting room DTC revenue mix, and venue rental/event-driven business model.
• St. Julian Winery: Michigan's oldest and largest winery (founded 1921), family-owned, producing a comparable broad portfolio from dry wines to sweet/fruit-forward and sparkling products with regional Midwest distribution. Comparable in family ownership, multi-decade history, sweet-wine heritage, and Midwest distribution footprint.
• Oliver Winery: Indiana-based family-owned winery founded in 1962, the state's largest winery, also producing a broad portfolio from dry varietals to sweet Creekbend wines with on-site tasting room. Highly comparable in geography, family ownership, mid-tier size, and sweet-to-dry product breadth.

Broad incumbents

• Trinchero Family Estates: Family-owned global wine company behind Sutter Home, known for launching White Zinfandel and category-defining sweet wines; produces and distributes nationally. Comparable in family ownership and sweet-wine category leadership, but at vastly larger scale and broader distribution.
• E. & J. Gallo Winery: Largest family-owned winery in the world and parent of Barefoot, the best-selling wine brand in the US, with extensive sweet and flavored wine offerings across national retail. Comparable in sweet/fruit-flavored product positioning but operates at vastly greater scale with national distribution.
• Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi: Mass-market California wine brand owned by Constellation Brands, distributed nationally across grocery and club channels with broad varietal and sweet-wine range. Comparable in accessible price-point sweet and varietal wines targeting mainstream consumers at far larger scale.
• Yellow Tail (Casella Wines): Australian-owned mass-market wine brand distributed globally, known for approachable, easy-drinking styles including sweet varieties. Comparable in approachable, fruit-forward positioning targeting casual wine drinkers, though distribution and scale are global.
• Chateau Ste. Michelle: Washington state's largest winery, producing a broad portfolio of varietals and sweet wines with national distribution and tasting room experiences. Comparable in tasting room DTC and multi-tier portfolio, but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic reach.

Regional players

• Lakeridge Winery: Florida's largest winery, founded 1989, producing a broad portfolio of dry and sweet wines with tasting room tours and retail distribution across the Southeast. Comparable in regional winery positioning, broad product portfolio, and tasting room/event DTC approach.
• Cayuga Lake / Finger Lakes wineries: Cluster of family-owned wineries in New York's Finger Lakes region producing Riesling, Traminette, and sparkling wines with regional tasting room tourism. Comparable in family ownership, similar varietal focus (Riesling, Traminette, Catawba-family wines), and regional DTC tourism model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/easleywinery
• Facebookfacebook.com/easleywinery

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Easley Winery