Purple Toad Winery has been owned and operated by the Dossey family since 2000, but the seeds were sown for the winery years prior, during a trip the family took to Napa Valley, California in 1998. There, June and Allen Dossey were introduced to the American wine industry. Long afterward, they found themselves reminiscing on their trip and decided to open a winery of their own in Paducah.
The Purple Toady Winery, including its tasting room, was completed in 2008 . The entire construction of the winery’s infrastructure was built by the Dossey and Neihoff families. Doors opened to the public on July 1, 2009, which is Allen’s birthday. To their surprise, the winery attracted a large crowd that waited in line for the business to open for the first time, proving to the Dosseys that their long-shot dream was coming into fruition.
Purple Toad Winery is truly a family affair. In recent years, June and Allen have passed on the responsibly of the winery’s operations to their son, Steven. In addition, Steven’s uncles and cousins work at the winery, along with the Dosseys’ family friends.
“Half of our employees are family, and the other half are friends that we consider family,” says Steven.
For more than a decade, Purple Toad Winery has been serving award-winning wines, including its famed sweet wines, to our community and across the world. Today, it is Kentucky’s largest winery and draws crowds from near and far. Customers can purchase the winery’s 48 unique wines in local stores or from the winery itself, where customers can enjoy a wine tasting to discovery their personal favorite.
Why sweet wine? As Steven says, “California is famed for its dry wines that you can purchase for very affordable prices. We knew it would be tough to compete with the California wines, and we wanted to enter a niche we could excel in. That’s why we chose to focus on our sweet wines. They are our most popular wines, but we also have a select variety of dry wines, too.”
Steven encourages customers to try the winery’s new Caramel Apple wine and to stop by the winery to purchase a hand-painted tree-shaped wine bottle that can be filled with the popular Black and Bruised or the customer’s choice of wine.
Visit www.purpletoadwinery.com for more information about the winery, or stop by the tasting room located at 4275 Old US Hwy 45S in Paducah.
