Sugar Creek Wines

The complete listing of Sugar Creek Wines available for sale and on-site consumption are:

Sugar Creek Dry White Wines

Sugar Creek Yellowstone Wine is made from California grapes and fermented in stainless steel producing a crisp, dry wine to be enjoyed with white meats, fish or by itself. Yellowstone River Chadonnay was fermented and finished in stainless steel.  Sugar Creek Chardonnay is named for the Yellowstone River which is the longest and last free flowing river in the lower 48 running 692 miles from the headwaters at Lake Yellowstone in NW Wyoming to the Mississippi River. Clear, cool swift and challenging, it offers river runners some of the best water Montana has to offer. Common lore states the name came from the yellow-colored rocks along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. French trappers called the river Roche Jaune (Yellow Rock) then Lewis and Clark made the English translation to Yellow Stone and the English name became the most widely used.

The Crystal Rapid Wine is a single varietal that we hope you won’t forget. Fermentation is completed in stainless steel tanks which provide a crisp, fresh taste with tropical fruit notes of grapefruit and peach. When slightly chilled, pairs well with fish or cheese. Crystal Rapid Sauvignon Blanc was fermented and finished in stainless steel.  Sugar Creek Sauvignon Blanc is named Crystal Rapid. Crystal Rapid is at Mile 98 on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon is one of the most feared and respected rapids on the entire river. Formed in 1966 when a flash flood in Crystal Canyon deposited a large boulder at the creek mouth which created one of the largest holes on the entire river. It is said that Crystal Rapid has caused more damage and death that any other rapid in Grand Canyon. It is truly an amazing place and one that most river runners never forget.

Sugar Creek Semi-Dry White Wines

The 2017 Sugar Creek Silver Grotto Riesling is a single varietal gem that is easily reached with only a simple pour. Fermented from California grapes and finished in stainless steel it delivers an aromatic aroma with crisp, clean, slightly sweet taste. Its acidity makes the perfect accompaniment to spicy foods. Sugar Creek Riesling is named for the Silver Grotto which is located at Mile 29 on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon several hundred feet above the Shinumo Wash Campsite on river left. It is a hidden gem in one of the many slot canyons that challenges even the most experienced climber to reach its remote beauty.

Sugar Creek Sweet White Wines

Bright Angle Wine is made from grapes harvested from Sugar Creek Vineyard in Montgomery County, IN and produces and beautiful, bright aromatic wine with aromas of peach and pineapple. Enjoy it cooled with cheese. Sugar Creek Brianna Wine is named for the Bright Angel (Trail) which begins on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and follows a winding course reaching the Colorado River in 9.5 miles and 4,460 feet down. It is the most popular long distance trail in the Grand Canyon National Park. The trail was originally built by the Havasupai people for access to the perennial water source of present-day Garden Creek. History is unclear as to the naming rights but many credit John Wesley Powell, first man down the Colorado River in 1869, with saying upon finding this beautiful clear creek in contrast to the then muddy Colorado River, “we concluded to name it Bright Angel”.

Traminette is an excellent wine that ages well. Wine from this grape develops honey and apricot flavors. The grape’s acidity harmonizes with its fresh fruit aromas and floral, spicy flavors. It pairs well with Asian, poultry and seafood dishes. Traminette wine has been chosen by the Indiana Wine Grape Council as the signature wine of the state. Sugar Creek Traminette is named after Sunflower Flats which is located at Mile 32.6 on the Middle fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. It is a naturally occurring hot springs that welcomes rafters. The Middle Fork runs through the 2.3 million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness.

Sugar Creek Dry Red Wines   

Sugar Creek Cabernet Sauvignon is named Vulcan’s Anvil which is at Mile 178 on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon protruding 50 feet from the calm pool that lies just before the river cascades into Lava Falls, the most dreaded rapids on the river. Vulcan’s Anvil was created by massive lava flows damming the river and marking the landscape in the lower part of the canyon. Native Americans consider Vulcan’s Anvil to be sacred and bad “juju” by simply touching it. Bad juju is not needed above Lava Falls. There is no bad juju in Sugar Creek’s Cabernet Sauvignon, just a pleasant fruit-forward wine with soft tannins. It goes well with all red meats and barbecue. Vulcan’s Anvil was aged in French Oak for 12 months.

Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Aged in French Oak for 24 months.

The Chambourcin grapes for this wine are harvested from the Sugar Creek Vineyard which is also a great place to visit or simply visit this wine. It is slightly dry with a fruity aroma and aged 12 months in French barrels to add just a hint of oak. It pairs nicely with pasta or barbecue. Redwall Cavern wine was aged in French Oak for 12 months. Sugar Creeks Estate Grown dry Chambourcin is named Redwall Cavern which is encountered at Mile 33 on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. A ginormous amphitheater carved by high river flows into the Canyon’s limestone walls, it’s a popular spot for river rafters to stop and explore. The first explorer of the Canyon, John Wesley Powell, believed it could hold 50,000 people. But even if that many could not fit inside, it is truly an amazing place to visit.

Terminator Wine is a single varietal made from Malbec grapes harvested from the Maipo Valley Region of Chile. After fermentation, it was aged in French Oak for 12 months. Terminator Malbec is fruit forward with low acidity and light tannins. The shorter finish pairs well with leaner red meats, blue cheese and rustic flavors like mushrooms.  Sugar Creek’s Malbec is named after the Terminator Rapid located in Inferno Canyon on the Futaleufú River (few-ta’-lay-few) in Patagonia, Chile. The name is an indigenous word meaning “Big River.” Locals refer to the valley as “un paisaje pintado por dios”—a landscape painted by God. It is one of the premier whitewater rivers in the world. The river is fed by glacial snow melt in the Andean lakes region of Chile

Sugar Creek Estate Grown dry Marquette is medium bodied wine with aromas of cherries and blackberries and pairs well with cheeseburgers and spicy chili. Dagger Falls wine was aged in French Oak for 12 months. Sugar Creek Dry Marquette is named for Dagger Falls which just upstream from the official put-in at Boundary Creek for the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. It was once considered to be unrunable but now has been navigated by many rafts and kayaks with the first documented successful run in May, 2005. Dagger Falls Wine is a single varietal of Marquette grapes harvested from the Sugar Creek Vineyard in Montgomery County, Indiana. Following fermentation it was aged in American Oak for 12 months.

We think the Sugar Creek Velvet Falls Pinot Noir is a single varietal made from grapes sourced in the premier Pinot Noir growing area of Willamette Valley Oregon. Aged in French Oak for 12 months and bottled aged for 12 more months, it is a medium red wine with black cherry notes. Enjoy it with white meats, fish or just to relax. Sugar Creek Pinot Noir is named for Velvet Falls rapid which is found on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. It is located just 5 miles from the put-in at Boundary Creek so it is one of the first named rapids encountered and can surprise even the most experienced boater. It is named Velvet because, while being a formidable rapid, it is very quiet. It surprises many paddlers as they find themselves in the midst of it with no warning. We hope our Velvet Falls will surprise you, too

The 2015 Lava Falls Old Vine Zinfandel is a single varietal made from grapes harvested from the Lodi, California vineyards. Following  fermentation, the wine was aged in French Oak for 12 months. This Zen is fruit forward with light tannins and pairs well with moderately spiced foods. Sugar Creek’s Old Vine Zinfandel is named for Lave Falls on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon which is one of the largest navigable rapids in the northern hemisphere and is considered one of the most difficult in the US. It is the standard against which all other rapids in the Grand Canyon are judged. We use Lava Falls Wine as the metric by which we judge all of the Sugar Creek Dry Red Wines

Zinfandel Reserve

Aged in French Oak for 24 months

Sugar Creek Semi-Sweet Red Wines

Sugar Creek Chambourcin Rosé is a “read and run,” too. A straightforward, no surprises wine. This wine won the Amateur Wine of the Year in 2017 at the Indy International Wine Competition held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. It is made from Estate Grown grapes harvested in Montgomery County, Indiana and bottled as a single varietal, slightly sweet, fruit-forward wine which is pleasant with or without food. The 2016 Vintage won the Non-Commercial Wine of the Year at the Indy International Competition. Sugar Creek’s Rosé is Estate Grown and named for Ruby Rapid which is located at Mile 105 on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. It is the last of a series of rapids known as the “Gems.” Crystal Rapid starts the run, followed by Agate, Sapphire, Turquoise, Emerald, and then Ruby. It is a nice Class III series that the river guides simply say, “read and run.”

Sugar Creek Sweet Red Wines

Sugar Creek Sweet’s Falls Wine is a wine fermented from the Concord grape and produces a highly aromatic and pleasantly sweet wine. “Sugar Creek “Sweet’s  Falls” wine is named for a solid Class V rapid on the Gauley River in West Virginia. It is one of the most popular advanced whitewater runs in the Eastern US and the chief feature of the Gauley River National Recreation Area. The “Falls” formerly known as Devil’s Backbone was renamed after John Sweet, a canoeist and the first decked-boater to run it in 1968. Each year starting the Friday after Labor Day, the Army Corps of Engineers provides a series of 22 controlled releases for the express purpose of downriver recreation. These releases are collectively known as “Gauley Season” and are scheduled on six successive weekends.

Redside Rapid Wine is a sweet single varietal wine made of Marquette grapes harvested from the Sugar Creek Vineyard in Montgomery County, Indiana. Chill and enjoy. Sugar Creek Estate Grown is named for Redside Rapid which is located at Mile 82 on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho just above Stoddard Creek which runs through the 2.3 million-acre Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. It is one of the premier river running streams as it passes through one of the largest wilderness area in the lower 48. It is a Class II to IV depending on water level. It is short with a steep drop among huge boulders.

Sugar Creek’s One-in-a-Million Rapid Wine is a single varietal made from Lodi, California Zinfandel with 10% residual sugar providing an unusual, unique sweet red Zinfandel. One-in-a-Million Rapid Wine will pair well with salty cheeses, potato chips, pretzels, and french fries. Sugar Creek sweet Zinfandel is named after the One-in-a-Million Rapid found on the Rubicon River on the Upper Middle Fork of American River located in the Desolation and Granite Chief Wilderness areas of California. The Rubicon River was originally known for its place in Roman history as the river made famous by Julius Caesar’s crossing in 49 BC. The word Rubicō comes from the Italian rubeus, meaning “red”.