Mallow Run Winery, the vintner and live music venue that has drawn crowds to Bargersville for more than two decades, is shutting down its winemaking and tasting room operations by the end of 2026. Owners Laura Richardson, Bill Richardson and John Richardson announced the closure in an Instagram post Wednesday, capping a 21-year run on the family's sprawling Johnson County farm.
According to IndyStar, the winery has operated as a vintner and live music venue in Bargersville for more than 20 years before the owners' announcement that it will close in December. The adjacent event venue, The Sycamore at Mallow Run, which opened in 2016, will remain open and continue hosting scheduled events even after the winemaking operation ends, according to WTHR.
Two Million Bottles and a Million Dollars for Charity
Over its 21 years of operation, Mallow Run completed 27 harvests and sold more than 2 million bottles of wine, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. The winery also helped generate more than $1 million in charitable donations through community events like its annual Wine at the Line run, the outlet reports. Those numbers reflect a business that grew into one of the south side's most recognizable agritourism stops, built on land with roots stretching back nearly two centuries.
The winery sits on a 600-acre estate. George Mallow settled in the area in 1835.
From Grapevines to Winery
Co-owner John Richardson originally planted grapevines on the farm in 2000, intending to act solely as a fruit supplier for other state wineries. He and family members later decided to establish their own brand, opening Mallow Run Winery to the public in 2005.
The winery operated on the Richardson family's 600-acre Bargersville estate.
Part of a Statewide Wine Boom
Mallow Run's rise tracked the broader revival of commercial winemaking in Indiana. State lawmakers created the Indiana Wine Grape Council in 1989, which draws funding from a 5-cent excise tax on every gallon of wine sold in Indiana to support Purdue Extension research specialists who assist local grape growers and winemakers, per Purdue Agriculture.
That institutional support has helped grow a sizable industry statewide. Indiana's wine sector now includes 77 wine producers across 414 acres of vineyards, generating approximately $4.73 billion in total economic activity as of 2025, according to an industry study from WineAmerica. Mallow Run's closure removes one of the longer-tenured names from that roster, even as the category it helped popularize keeps expanding elsewhere in the state.
What Comes Next for the Property
Mallow Run has hosted live music and an annual Picnic Concert Series. The Richardson family did not give a specific reason for ending winemaking, describing the decision in its announcement as a 'season change.' The Sycamore event space will remain open, according to WTHR.
George Mallow settled in the area in 1835, more than a century before Mallow Run opened.
