Between holiday parties this weekend, you’ll have plenty of tasting opportunities, as Orlando’s wine purveyors continue to pull out all their holiday stops. The fun continues into the week too. Here are some highlights!
Continue reading “Holiday Wine Overflows in Metro Orlando This Week!”
There’s plenty of Central Florida wine-ing to be done this weekend. In case you missed the highlights in last week’s post, all the info is still on the Events Page!
Now it’s time to plan for next week, from a trip to the Iberian peninsula, to two Napa wine dinners, to wines for gift giving – no worries about wrong sizes there!
Here are a few highlights:
Happy Black Friday!
Whether you’re shopping, watching sports, or sleeping off yesterday’s turkey, I hope you’re having a wonderful, wine-filled weekend of gratitude.
After a slight lull in Orlando’s holiday wine calendar, things take off again next week. There’s a Burgundy tasting, a dinner featuring Spain’s Toro region, and an extraordinarily geeky tannin class, to name just a few. Here are some highlights!
I’ll admit I’ve always felt a twinge of sticker shock at the prices for the events and tastings at Wine Bar George. I know, I know, it’s at Disney Springs, and it’s helmed by a Master Sommelier. But still, it’s tough to part with $70-100+ for a tasting (plus a hefty Lyft fare), when standard tastings at most local wine establishments cost half that amount.
Earlier this month, however, Master Somm George Miliotes and his team invited me to attend an event as their guest, and I can tell you, this was no standard tasting.
Cristom Vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills region of Oregon’s Willamette Valley is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The festivities include a road show featuring an exclusive tasting with owner and winegrower Tom Gerrie comparing multiple vintages of the winery’s single vineyard pinot noirs.
When I say “multiple,” I mean we sampled nine pinot noirs from four single vineyards and six vintages.
When I say “exclusive,” I mean Cristom is presenting this tasting in only six cities around the country, including New York and San Francisco. Orlando was the only city in Florida to make the list.
There’s much to be thankful for as we approach next week’s food-and-wine-centered holiday.
One reason for gratitude is the bubbling up of of several free (or almost free) Bordeaux tastings at two Tim’s Wine Market locations between now and Sunday. (The first one starts at 3pm today!) Check the Events Page for details.
The festive wine season continues apace in Orlando, both before and after Thanksgiving. Here are a few highlights for the coming week:
‘Tis the season for celebrating, and what a festive wine-filled week we have coming up in Central Florida!
The calendar is brimming with tastings and dinners. You’ll be faced with some tough choices, but the good news is, it’ll be hard to make a bad decision. There’s not room here to even begin to list every event, so here are some highlights, but be sure to check the Events Page for the full list.
Continue reading “Orlando’s Holiday Wine-ing Gets into Full Swing”
Note: It is customary for wineries to waive tasting fees and host complimentary events for wine writers. Some wineries mentioned in this post extended that courtesy.
Last week, we toured tasting rooms in charming downtown Walla Walla, Washington. Turns out, there’s much more to this hub of Washington State winemaking than just the downtown core.
I was in the area last month to attend the 2018 Wine Bloggers Conference, and while I didn’t have much time to explore beyond downtown, I did venture out to a few special spots.
This coming Thursday, I’ll host what I hope will be the first of many Orlando Wine Blog events – a unique opportunity to taste and learn about the wines of Missouri. That state played a major role in America’s early winemaking history and is home to the country’s first AVA. We’ll compare some of Missouri’s current wines with more familiar grapes and wine regions. I hope you’ll join me at Digress Wine for a geeky good time! (Seating is very limited, so get your tickets now.)
That tasting is in great company, coming during a very full week of exciting wine events around the region! Here are a few highlights.
Note: It is common practice for wineries to waive tasting fees for wine writers. Some of the tasting rooms reviewed in this post extended that courtesy.
Washington’s wine regions sprawl widely across this diverse and beautiful state, but when it comes to wineries and tasting rooms, there are a few main centers of gravity.
Walla Walla is one of the biggest.
I just returned from my first trip to this small-town-turned-major-wine-destination. I was there to attend the 2018 Wine Bloggers Conference, but I spent some time checking out a few of the area’s 120 wineries too.
Some weeks, Orlando’s wine events seem to magically align around a theme, as though Bacchus himself were guiding the hands of our local wine merchants.
Other weeks, it’s utter chaos. Next week falls into the second category … and it looks like a great time!
Monday, you can test your blind tasting skills with Master Sommelier George Miliotes by day and hobnob with a Chilean winemaker courtesy of Central Florida Women for Winesense by night.
Tuesday, taste and learn about the wines of Bordeaux at Tim’s Avalon or combine blind tasting practice with wine-and-Halloween-candy pairings at Swirlery.
Thursday, learn about the building blocks of wine at Tim’s Lake Mary-Sanford or celebrate with Digress Wine as it mark its first anniversary. (The Digress party continues on Friday, so you really don’t have to choose!)
Saturday, get your Level 1 WSET certification with Master of Wine Jean K. Reilly, and then celebrate with an Orin Swift wine dinner at Norman’s or a deliciously self-explanatory event at Tim’s Lake Mary-Sanford called “A Man, A Lamb, and A Plan.”
Details for these and many, many future events are on the Events Page. Wherever you end up next week, you’re sure to learn something new about the wonderful world of wine.
One more thing: in case you missed it, Orlando Wine Blog is hosting its first-ever tasting event on November 8 at Digress featuring the wines of Missouri, home of America’s first AVA. More information and tickets are at the links above. Seating is extremely limited – hope to see you there.
Cheers, Orlando!
Orlando Wine Blog 