With Thanksgiving and Black Friday behind us, the sprint toward Christmas has begun.
This year’s truncated season means there’s a lot to pack into just three short weeks, so strategic planning is a must. Without further ado, here’s your guide to …
Napa to Germany, Burgundy to New Zealand – A Whirlwind Wine Week in Orlando
What a smorgasbord of events our local wine establishments have in store for you this week, Central Florida! You can tour the world through tastings, get an education through wine classes, and so much more. Read on for the highlights.
ORLANDO’S WEEK IN WINE
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Ashes & Diamonds: Napa Wines That Bring Back the Joy
Like many people who get bitten by the wine bug, my journey into the world of wine has taken me in many different directions. The more serious I’ve become about my wine education, the more I’ve learned to appreciate the nuances wine has to offer … and yet, sometimes I fear that path may take me away from the joy that inspired me to start the journey.
That’s why I appreciate all the more those times that bring back the joy – the times when I’m reminded that wine is about more than acid and tannin, more than determining whether the nose has aromas of roses or violets, more than whether a wine is aged in French or American oak or whether it’s filtered or fined.
Wine is about community. It’s about good food, good music, good friends old and new. It’s about a day that starts out gray and ends up sunny – literally, figuratively, or both.
Today, Florida-based Progress Wine Group hosted a trade lunch to introduce Orlando’s wine professionals to Kashy Khaledi and his wines from Napa’s Ashes & Diamonds Winery.
For me, everything came together at this event to bring back all the joy.
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Magic Hosts First Orlando Wine Festival; Lots of Events Coming Up This Week
This weekend was a big one for Orlando’s wine scene, with the inaugural Orlando Wine Festival on Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes. The Orlando Magic organized the event and invited me to attend the al fresco grand tasting.
It featured mostly Napa wines, and while those big reds were a little challenging to drink outside on a warm day, it was worth it to taste some of the classic wines on hand – Dunn and Heitz were among the biggest names. I also enjoyed making a few new discoveries, including one of Argentina’s first GSM Rhone-style blends from Corazon del Sol, a project of Napa’s Revana Family Vineyard. All the winery representatives were lovely and informative too.
My only regret is that the festival’s high price tag (the cheapest package was $2500 per couple) kept many members of Orlando’s robust and active community of wine lovers away. Of course, the Magic sees the event primarily as a fundraiser for its Youth Foundation, but it would be nice if the team could find a way to make it more accessible to Orlando oenophiles who regularly support local wine establishments.
There are plenty of wine events coming up this week with significantly lower barriers to entry, though. Read on for the highlights.
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Orlando Magic’s Inaugural Wine Festival Targets Big Spenders, Napa Lovers
Orlando is leaping into the high-end wine festival game next month.
After almost three decades, the Orlando Magic is trading its annual Black Tie & Tennies fundraiser for a wine and food extravaganza modeled on similar events in Naples, Destin, and Napa. Ticket sales end in less than a week.
The Orlando Wine Festival and Auction weekend kicks off on Friday, March 15 with twelve themed vintner dinners at private homes around the area, where attendees will rub elbows with winemakers over meals cooked by celebrity chefs from near and far. The main event takes place the next day at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes, featuring a three-hour al fresco tasting, followed by a live auction and a dinner. Some packages also include tickets to the Magic’s game against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
The festival’s participating wineries are almost exclusively from Napa, including high end heavy hitters like Dunn, Heitz, Cliff Lede, and Rudd.
The price of admission is also on the high end, with packages starting at $2,500 per couple – for admission to Saturday’s events – and going up to $18,500 for four people. There are no a la carte ticket options.
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British Bubbles, a Whole Lotta Napa, and a Feast on a Farm
There’s a lot for Orlando wine lovers to get excited about in the coming week. We have a few more winery visitors in town, including Lisa Broman of Napa’s Broman Cellars – she’s doing three events in as many days at Luisa’s Cellar, Regency Wine & Liquor, and Tim’s Lake Mary-Sanford, respectively. Plus, an event this weekend offers the opportunity to sample food from Disney restaurants paired with wines chosen by a Master Sommelier … on a farm!
Read on for more highlights.
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Orlando’s Parade of Winemakers Continues
UPDATE: Thursday’s tasting with Daniel Cohn of Bellacosa Winery at Tim’s Lake Mary has been cancelled.
‘Tis the season for winemakers and other visitors from wineries around the world to show off the fruits of their labors to Florida’s wine lovers. Franco Massolino (pictured above) visited from Barolo a couple of weeks ago and presented his lovely wines at Digress in College Park.
Last week, we had three more winery visitors at events around town; this week we’ll have six! And they’ll have competition from a plethora of other wine events on tap too.
Once again, you have some tough decisions to make, so pour yourself a glass of Sunday Champagne (they say it’s good for your brain), put your thinking cap on, and feast your eyes on the smorgasbord that is …
ORLANDO’S WEEK IN WINE!
3 Winemakers, 2 Dinners, and some Oysters
One of the three out-of-town wine stars visiting Orlando next week is actually an owner of a winery, not the winemaker – but that’s still cool!
Without further ado, here are the highlights from Orlando’s wine agenda in the coming week.
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Two Free Events & a Bordeaux Dinner
Whether you’re pinching pennies to save up for a big summer vacation or in the mood to splash out, you’re in luck with this week’s wine events.
For the savers, there are two free tastings on offer:
Tomorrow, Swirlery is offering complimentary tastes of Napa cab and sauvignon blanc.
Thursday, it’s a free rosé tasting at Tim’s Lake Mary.
For the big spenders, check out Norman’s five course Bordeaux dinner next Saturday, hosted by Master Sommelier Laura DePasquale.
Check the Events Page for details on these events and many more tastings, dinners, and classes.
Cheers!
Celebrate Spring with Two Napa Winemakers and Seasonal Tastings
Spring has sprung in Central Florida (even if not officially), and next week offers several ways to celebrate with a sip or two.
First, there are two opportunities to taste wine with the people who make it.
On Tuesday, Christophe Paubert from Stags’ Leap Winery leads a tasting at The Wine Room on Park Ave. I had the opportunity to taste with Christophe at his winery last fall as part of the Wine Bloggers Conference and to hear about his non-interventionist winemaking philosophy.
Wednesday, Stonestreet winemaker Lisa Valtenbergs will host a tasting at Swirlery.
Tim’s in Lake Mary-Sanford is in a springtime mood next week, with a free tasting of wines for spring on Thursday and a Low Country Boil with wine pairings Saturday.
Check out the Events Page for all the details.
Cheers to this beautiful season!
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