Carmel business mentor helps winery shift from red to black

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Other than a wine appreciation class she took while a Food Science student at Purdue University, Nyssa Craton’s foray into wine was minimal.

“Wine wasn’t really on my radar at all,” she said.

Still, she began working as an assistant winemaker at Wildcat Creek Winery in 2013 at a time when she was barely old enough to drink wine. Fast forward to now and Craton is the head – and only – winemaker and owner of the Lafayette-based winery.

She purchased the business in 2025 from founders Rick and Kathy Black.

“It was good timing and I was finally in a place maturity wise where I could handle it,” Craton said. “I couldn’t really advance any more in my career unless I went someplace else. I really love this place.”

Since taking ownership the Pekin native has been working with SCORE Indianapolis mentor Richard Ellison of Carmel on strategies to increase revenues, improve business margins, better market the winery and lower the amount of debt service paid out each month. A vital tip Ellison shared was to bring on an intern who could provide Craton more time to focus on revenue-generating functions, such as promoting the wine club, advertising, and moving forward with plans to develop the Hoosier Heartland Trail – a group of area wineries and breweries.

“It’s just been really helpful to have somebody to bounce ideas off of,” Craton said. “It’s just been amazing to be able to run things by him and know right away ‘ok, this is worth pursuing.’ It takes the mental load off of me.”

When Craton began mentoring with Ellison the business was losing money. Ellison guided Craton on managing inventory to ensure that bestsellers are in stock at all times. In addition, he assisted her in working with local restaurants and wine bars to have Wildcat Creek Winery wines in their establishments.

In the year they have been working together, the winery is now making $5,000 per month.

“For a small company that’s a huge difference,” Ellison said, adding that her sales have increased 20 percent every month as compared to 2025. “A lot of the work I did with her is what her break-even is. We took a real hard look at expenses and how to save money.”

At Ellison’s suggestion, Craton has begun advertising with billboards and her first-ever commercial in an effort to expand awareness of the winery and its offerings.

Wildcat Creek’s most popular wines are its Traminette, which won “best” trophies in 2023 and 2024 at the Indiana State Fair, and Steuben, a pink, sweeter wine. Cranberry is a seasonal favorite in fall months. The new Battleground Blackberry has been popular since its release this summer. In all, Craton makes more than a dozen wine varieties and is looking to add a “nice, bold dry red” in time for the winter months.

She makes 2,000 cases of wine per year on the two-acre property but hopes to expand as more winery and wholesale purchases come to fruition. Her five-year plan includes adding an event space so visitors can more readily enjoy the winery in the winter months.

Despite the ups and downs of her entrepreneurial journey, Craton thoroughly enjoys being her own boss.

“It’s been really satisfying being allowed to do what I want,” Craton said, adding that recent kitten adoption events and car show fundraisers have been successful. “Just being able to help out the nonprofits around town has been one of the most rewarding parts of the process.”

About SCORE
Since 1964, SCORE has helped 11 million entrepreneurs start or grow a business. SCORE’s 10,000 volunteers provide free mentoring, workshops, and educational services to more than 1,500 communities nationwide. With more than 70 members throughout the Indianapolis area, SCORE Indianapolis provides nearly 3,000 mentoring services annually to local small business owners through one-on-one counseling and small business workshops. For more information about starting or operating a small business, or finding a mentor, visit SCORE Indianapolis at score.org/indianapolis.