Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences, Wine News, Winemakers

New Events & Two New Places to Wine – The Imperial Winter Park & Eola General

It’s a great time to be a wine lover in the City Beautiful!

The number of wine-focused and wine-aware establishments just keeps growing (details on two brand new ones are below), as does the number of wine events popping up on the calendar. Because of this embarrassment of riches, you may notice a slight change in the level of detail on these regular posts. From now on, I’ll highlight a maximum of two events per day – but I’ll always let you know when there are more, and you can always find the full listing on the Wine Events page.

Without further ado, let’s get right to the highlights of …

ORLANDO’S WEEK IN WINE

Continue reading “New Events & Two New Places to Wine – The Imperial Winter Park & Eola General” →

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Judith Smelser Beyond Central Florida, Tastings, Wine Experiences, Wine News, Wine Reviews, Winemakers, Wineries

Willamette’s Cristom Vineyards Picks Orlando’s Wine Bar George for Exclusive 25th Anniversary Tasting

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.

Continue reading “Willamette’s Cristom Vineyards Picks Orlando’s Wine Bar George for Exclusive 25th Anniversary Tasting” →

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences, Winemakers

Orlando Wine Blog’s first-ever tasting is next week, along with lots more cool stuff!

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.

Continue reading “Orlando Wine Blog’s first-ever tasting is next week, along with lots more cool stuff!” →

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Next Week: Say Cheese, and Oregon Please!

It’s interesting how often a week’s wine events seem to fall into patterns. Sometimes they happen because a winemaker or importer is in town making the rounds … other times, they’re purely coincidental and quite random. The coming week falls into the latter category, with two events each focused on Oregon … and cheese!

Oregon

Cheese!
Tim’s Wine Market is saying cheese on Thursday.

  • Tim’s Lake Mary holds a cheese and wine class that promises “cool and unusual” pairings. Only a few seats left, I hear.
  • Tim’s Windermere holds a wine and cheese pairing featuring Cambria wines and cheeses from Cambria’s “Culinary Center.”

But wait, there’s more!
Not everybody got the Oregon & Cheese memo, but these additional events next week are no less enticing:

  • Tim’s Orlando shares new arrivals from Tuscany on Tuesday.
  • Swirlery celebrates the summer solstice on Thursday with Spanish wines and light bites.

And hey, Tim’s classes always include cheese, and I’m fairly confident cheese will be involved in Swirlery’s Spanish “light bites.” So you can stick with the theme all week!

Check the Events Page for details on these events and and other happenings in the month to come.

Have a cheesy week, Orlando!

 

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Next Week Offers a Wine-Drenched Geography Lesson

I love when the oenophilic (that’s really a word!) stars align and allow us Central Floridians to travel the globe through the magic portal of a wine glass — or rather, many wine glasses. Next week is one of those times.

  • On Tuesday, explore romantic Spain at Cavanaugh’s.
  • Get sparkly with a trip to Champagne on Wednesday, courtesy of Tim’s Orlando.
  • Thursday, come back down to earth at Swirlery with organic wines from Oregon.
  • Finally, end your week in South Africa (otherwise known as the K Restaurant garden) on Friday.

Check the Events Calendar for details on these events and many more in the weeks ahead.

Cheers and happy travels, Orlando!

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences, Winemakers

So much wine, so little time

Next week’s wine calendar is overflowing with dinners, tastings, and classes all over Central Florida.

Kick things off with a bang on Monday in Mount Dora, with a four-course pairing dinner at 1921 by Norman Van Aken, featuring Jean-Nicolas Meo of Burgundy’s Domaine Meo-Camuzet and Jay Boberg of Willamette’s Domaine Nicolas-Jay.

On Thursday, delve into the world of port when Master of Wine Jean K. Reilly leads a class and tasting at Swirlery in Orlando.

Saturday, head to Deland for a mid-day class at Cress focusing on sparkling wines and light reds for the holidays.

Those are just a few highlights from next week’s offerings. Many more new events have been added to the calendar stretching all the way into December, so remember to plan ahead for stress-free sipping!

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences, Wine News

EVENTS: Glasses, Classes & Oregon Wines

As usual, there are plenty of events to keep you sipping this week in Central Florida.

  • Ever wonder whether the rumors about the shape of a glass affecting the aroma and flavor of a wine are for real or a bunch of marketing hooey? Judge for yourself tomorrow at Tim’s Wine Market – Lake Mary’s casual event, “Does the Glass Make a Difference?”
  • On Wednesday, try the famous Willamette Valley wines of Patricia Green Cellars at Tim’s Orlando.
  • Expand your intellect and your wine knowledge on Saturday at a one-day WSET Level 1 certification class taught by Master of Wine Jean K. Reilly.

Get details for these and many, many more wine happenings on the events page!