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!
Tuesday, Central Florida Women for Winesense hosts a virtual tasting at Digress Wine. Multiple WWS chapters across the country will come together via Facebook live to hear from three women winemakers, from Oregon producers Sokol-Blosser, Brooks, and A to Z. Of course, you’ll taste their wines as well!
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.
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.
If you ask me, it’s always rosé season, especially in Florida, but for those of you who concentrate your rosé consumption around a certain time of year – that time is now!
Tomorrow (Saturday, June 9) is National Rosé Day, and there are a couple ways to celebrate – IF you act quickly. As of this morning, there were a few seats left for both these events:
If you’ve been an Orlando oenophile for any significant period of time, you’ve probably been to a Tim’s Wine Market.
Tim Varan is a cornerstone of Central Florida’s wine community. Since he opened his original bottle shop on Orange Avenue across from Lake Ivanhoe almost thirteen years ago, his empire has grown to six stores sprinkled around Central and North Florida.
Over the past few years, I’ve heard Tim hint at his desire to sell wine by the glass, but nothing came of it … until this spring.
The Wine Bar at Tim’s Wine Market in East Orlando’s Avalon Park celebrates its first-quarter anniversary on Saturday, three months after opening its doors in March.
The summer doldrums have arrived in Central Florida, and the wine calendar has slowed enough to allow all of us to move at a slightly lower pace to match the higher temperatures. But there are still plenty of notable events to keep us sipping, whether in or out of the AC.
Wednesday, meet and taste with Napa winemaker Brandon Allen at Ellen’s Wine Room in Sanford.
Thursday, sample Cesari’s Veneto wines, with food to pair, at Tim’s Windermere.
Saturday, head down to I-Drive in the afternoon for BevFly‘s monthly tasting and/or up to Lake Mary in the evening for a BBQ & Wine event at Tim’s Lake Mary.
George Miliotes hasn’t been spending much time at his home in Orlando’s College Park neighborhood recently.
The Master Sommelier told me he’s been sleeping at the Lake Buena Vista Hilton since last Saturday, the day his eponymous wine bar opened for business across the street at Disney Springs.
Actually, he says he hasn’t done much sleeping, what with the 17 hour days he’s been working to get the long-awaited Wine Bar George up and running.
Tips for First Timers
My husband and I dodged the raindrops last Sunday afternoon to visit the establishment on its first full day of operation (Saturday’s opening started at 5pm). Bottom line, this place is deliciously dangerous for wine geeks. If you are one, here are a few quick tips to make the most out of your experience:
Before I jump into next week’s events, there are a few new events this weekend you should know about.
If you don’t have dinner plans tonight, there’s still space left at a six-course pairing dinner at Highball & Harvest with winemaker Kyle Janzen of Napa’s Bacio Divino Cellars.
Also, if your plans tonight involve K’s Friday Night Flights in the garden, I’m told it will go ahead, rain or shine, with optional indoor or sheltered locations available if necessary.
Tomorrow, Vintage Vino in Kissimmee is holding the first in a series of six classes aimed at expanding students’ wine knowledge and outlining the various wine education tracks available (Court of Master Sommeliers, WSET, etc.) for those who want to take it further.
Wednesday, Tim Varan will provide a wine-soaked overview of his recent trip to Bordeaux at Tim’s Orlando, and Swirlery hosts California winemaker Anne Dashe of Dashe Cellars.
Wine Bar George today confirmed what Orlando Wine Blog first reported a week ago — the long-awaited – and long-delayed – Disney Springs establishment will open this Saturday, May 19 with its full wine list and food menu ready to go. Doors will open at 5pm; regular opening hours (11am-2am) will kick off the following day.
Photo credit: Natasia Lynn
The venue will be helmed by Master Sommelier and Disney alum George Miliotes. Back in the mid-90s, he helped open Disney’s California Grill; he returns to WDW with his eponymous wine bar, boasting what quite probably will be the most extensive by-the-glass wine list in metro Orlando.
The bar-restaurant will offer more than 130 eclectic selections by the glass, representing over 40 grape varietals. Of those, thirty are high-end, rare, and vintage wines that will be available in one- and three-ounce pours too.
Glass prices range from $8 … to $500. Yes, you read that right. If you’re so inclined, you can pay $500 for a glass (or $84 for an ounce) of 1988 Chateau Margaux from Bordeaux. Most offerings, however, hover around the mid-high teens.
Appealing to Disparate Audiences
Miliotes had a fine line to walk when he created this list. He had to satisfy the tourists who’ll stumble in with screaming kids in tow, as well as the oenophiles, wine collectors, and wine industry folks for whom the establishment – Florida’s only Master Somm-led wine bar – will be a destination.
Orlando wine lovers, you’ll need some serious stamina to take advantage of all the events on offer around town in the coming week. The Events Page has all the details, but here are a few day-by-day highlights to keep you jogging along:
Tomorrow afternoon is BevFly’s May tasting, with more than 30 wines and snacks to help soak them up. In the evening, treat yourself to dinner with two Master Sommeliers at Norman’s May Wine Dinner.
Monday, party with three South African winemakers at Swirlery’s Braai (aka, BBQ).
Tuesday, check out one of the newest spots in town with a pairing dinner at Bites & Bubbles. It’s in the former home of Funky Monkey, Restaurant ASH, and Brooklyn Coffee in Mills 50.
Thursday, Tim’s Lake Mary offers a free tasting of wines from the unsung (or maybe lesser-sung) French regions of Provence and Languedoc and from the always singing Rhone Valley.
Saturday, put your feet up, and maybe have a beer. After that wine marathon, you’ll deserve it. But hey, that’s one marathon I won’t mind training for!
For those of you eagerly awaiting the delayed opening of Wine Bar George at Disney Springs, an anonymous source tells Orlando Wine Blog that the tentative opening date is a week from Saturday – May 19 – pending approval from Disney inspectors.
The establishment, helmed by Master Sommelier George Miliotes, will feature 140 wines by the glass (everything from obscure varietals to Caymus), flights, small plates, and more. Stay tuned.
Orlando Wine Blog 