| Florida Wineries and Vineyards | Add To Favorites | | Print | |
 Calling it "Florida" for its rich flora - including its wild, native muscatine grapes - 16th century Spanish explorers settled in the region and brought with them the Old World traditions in wine making.
Thus, the Spaniards are generally credited with creating the first American wine a century before Puritan pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Today, over a dozen wineries dot the Florida landscape from the Panhandle on down to the southern tip, offering a respite from the everyday tourist fare of beaches, amusement parks and performing dolphins. Learn more about the Sunshine State's love affair with the grape in our guide to Florida's wines, wineries and vineyards... Vintners and growers are working to make wine across Destin, across the Panhandle and as far south as the Fort Myers area. Occasionally they bring in chardonnay or merlot juice from California or Chile. More often, they make wine from what grows here, hybrid grapes, native muscadines and fruits from carambola to blueberry. And with each vintage, they get better. Some vineyards are not much bigger than a back yard, but they all have at least a small room for tasting and selling their products. Most Florida wines sell for $8 to $20. Because of the wineries small sizes, tasting room hours change frequently, and many wines sell out quickly. Call first to check hours and availability:
Chautauqua Vineyards
Dakotah Winery & Vineyards
Eden Vineyards & Winery
Emerald Coast Wine Cellars
Florida Estates Winery
Florida Orange Groves & Winery
Monticello Vineyards & Winery
Rosa Fiorelli Winery
San Sabastian Winery
Three Oaks Winery Florida Wineries Win Honors In International Competition TALLAHASSEE - Florida Orange Groves, Inc. and Winery of St. Petersburg was among the top winners at the 1999 Indiana International Wine Competition, held in conjunction with the Indiana State Fair. Two other Florida wineries also won awards in the competition. Florida Orange Groves' tangerine wine received a Concordance Gold Medal by unanimous agreement of the five-member panel of judges. Only 48 wineries from seven countries and nine states won this distinction among the 2,309 wines entered in the competition. San Sebastian Winery of St. Augustine won a silver medal for its sherry-style muscadine wine, while Eden Vineyards and Winery of Alva, near Fort Myers, received a bronze medal for its tropical carambola wine. "These awards demonstrate that Florida can produce world-class wines from a variety of fruit crops especially adapted to the state," Florida Agriculture Commissioner Bob Crawford said. Last year, Florida Orange Groves and Winery won a Concordance Gold Medal in the Indiana competition for its grapefruit wine. It was the first time that a wine made from fresh-squeezed citrus juice had received such an honor. In the past three years, the winery has racked up 27 medal awards, including six gold medals, among its 30 entries in the Indiana competition. The winery also received gold medals for its grapefruit, tangelo and cranberry wines at the 1999 Florida State Fair wine competition. History of Wine Making in Florida A century before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock; three hundred years before California became a state; wine was being made in Florida. "Florida" was the name given by Spanish explorers in recognition of the state's beautiful fruits and flowers. And among that rich vegetation, lush native grapevines were discovered on Florida's east coast. Following the lead of the French, Spanish settlers harvested the wild grapes; and, applying the same traditions of their homeland, converted Florida's wild muscadine into the first American wine. Through the centuries, Florida's rich soils and rolling hills have supported both vineyards and wine making. The success of muscadine wine is the byproduct of Old World traditions and new world production methods. The muscadine; it evokes memories of sleepy summer afternoons in the deep south. Smooth, aromatic and nostalgic muscadine wines are a southern specialty produced nowhere else on earth.
Scientists concerned with developing hybrid bunch grapes and improving the native muscadines, have created a wider variety of wine grapes. For Florida wineries and vineyards are scattered throughout the state, with harvest times ranging from May to September. This conveniently coincides with the most popular time of year for Sunshine State tourists and visitors. Visiting a winery or vineyard in Florida is a fascinating experience for the whole family. It's a part of Florida beyond the beaches and amusement parks. Florida's vineyards, wineries and flavorful wines are interesting parts of Florida history that few people know about, but one which more and more people are discovering. You can stroll through a vineyard, view a harvest, watch the wine making process, the corking, bottling and labeling of delicious wines, and sample the wonderful and distinctive varieties of delicious Florida wines. Some vineyards even let visitors pick grapes right off the vines. It's a wonderful way to take home a sample of Florida's finest, if you can resist eating the fruits of your labor before you get them home! If the grapes do make it, you can try your own hand at home wine making or create a delicious jelly, jam or gourmet meals with the fruit.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Interstate 10 and Highway 331, 
14365 U.S. 19 N, 
19709 Little Lane 
157 King St.|
|
