Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Fall into Wine

Looking at the calendar – not to mention the thermometer – you’ll know it’s not really fall in Central Florida yet. But Labor Day does mark the unofficial end of summer, and what better way to celebrate than with wine? Our local wine purveyors are happy to oblige, with a selection of tastings and events next week. A few highlights:

Tuesday, Tim’s Avalon Park hosts a class and tasting focusing on Rhone wines.

Wednesday, hit the books at Tim’s Orlando with the popular “Educated Consumer” class, which helped launch my journey into wine geekery a few years ago.

Thursday, compare Old and New World wines at an educational tasting at Luisa’s Cellar.

Friday, taste an array of wines from Italy’s Marche region at Tim’s Orlando with the export manager from Garofoli Wines.

Saturday, celebrate Swirlery’s third anniversary with a grand tasting.

Find details of all these events and more at the Events Page. Cheers to a great Labor Day weekend, Orlando!

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Wine, Wine Everywhere!

Central Florida continues its slow sip through summer, with a diverse array of wine events in the coming week. A few highlights:

  • Vintage Vino continues its “Road to Ultimate Wine Knowledge” series tomorrow (Saturday) with a class focusing on French wines.
  • Tim’s Windermere repeats its popular Wagner Family tasting on Sunday, with barbecue to soak up the high ABV.
  • DoveCote hosts a four-course dinner paired with Halter Ranch wines on Wednesday – it’s a seriously good value.
  • Also on Wednesday, sample some of Austria’s great producers at Swirlery (maybe clone yourself and go to both?!)
  • Give your wallet a break and sip on budget bubbles at a free tasting Thursday at Tim’s Lake Mary … because all that bubbles doesn’t have to be Champagne!

Get all the details on the Events Page … and while you’re there, start populating your September wine calendar. Plenty of events are already in the works for the first month of “Autumn” in Central Florida. Cheers!

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Wine Safari Saturday, Empanada Pairings & More Orlando Wine Events

“Wine Safari Saturday” is not an official wine event (as far as I know!), but this Saturday, you can make your own oenophile adventure out of the plethora of wine events on tap up and down the I-4 corridor.

The four happenings are spread across time and geography in such a way that it would be physically possible to hit three of the four on a north-to-south safari — provided, of course, that you have a very patient designated driver (or a hefty ride share budget) and that you’re disciplined enough to spit!

The day starts at Cress Restaurant in DeLand with a late morning class on the influence of oak in wines, led by sommelier Jenneffer Pulapaka.

Next, it’s down to Vintages in Baldwin Park for an Argentinian tasting featuring Bodega Lanzarini.

For your final and southernmost event of the day, you have a choice to make:

— attend the Paul Hobbs pairing dinner at Norman’s

or …

— return to Italian wines at Vintage Vino‘s Zonin tasting in Kissimmee.

If you decide to skip the safari – or if you really are disciplined enough to spit – there are plenty of fun events next week too.

The most unusual comes from the folks at Swirlery Wine Bar, where creative pairings are the name of the game. Most recently, they paired wines with music; this coming Wednesday they’ll offer wine with … empanadas! Uncommon Catering is stuffing the Latin delicacies with five different fillings; Swirlery somm Melissa McAvoy is pairing each one with a different wine.

For the more conventional, Bites & Bubbles is hosting a wine-paired dinner to celebrate Julia Child’s birthday on Thursday.

Friday, it’s back to the garden with another edition of K Restaurant‘s Wine Flight Friday, this time featuring wines of Argentina.

There’s no shortage of options on this Back-to-School week in Central Florida. Check the Events Page for details of these and many more. Here’s to new wine adventures!

Judith Smelser Tastings

Back to School, Back to WINE!

Orange County Schools start back in just over a week, and as our students get ready to start burning the midnight oil again, it’s as though Orlando’s wine sellers thought we could all use a glass or three to prepare.

The calendar is suddenly full of events!

BevFly has its August tasting event tomorrow (Saturday), and as I mentioned last week, Tim’s in Sanford-Lake Mary celebrates an anniversary with a free event the same day.

Sunday, there are still a few tickets available for The Wine Room’s Italian Wine & Cheese Festival.

Next week, there’s a lot of red wine going on at a couple of Tim’s Wine Market locations – check out their Wednesday and Thursday events. (Are Tim and the gang anxious for autumn maybe?)

Meanwhile, summer is still in full swing at Luisa’s Cellar in Sanford, where wines for “grill outs” are on the tasting menu at an event next Friday.

Next Saturday is when things really heat up. There are already four events that day, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more pop up! Here are a couple you’ll need to plan ahead for:

  • In the morning, sommelier Jenneffer Pulapaka of Cress Restaurant in DeLand leads an intermediate level class on the influence of oak, exploring oaked versus unoaked wines from the old and new world, with food pairing tips.
  • That evening, Normans at the Ritz hosts a five-course dinner paired with Paul Hobbs‘ Napa and Sonoma wines.

Details for all these events and many more are on the Events Page. Happy sipping and back-to-school shopping, Orlando!

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Two Anniversary Parties, a Rosé Fest, & More Cool Wine Stuff!

Two Orlando wine institutions are turning four years old, and they want you to help them celebrate!

In the “Other Cool Stuff” category …

There are many more events coming up, so check out the Events Page for all the details. Happy celebrating, Orlando!

 

 

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Cycling, Cheese, & Spain on Tap at Next Week’s Wine Events

I’ve been on a whirlwind tour of Texas this week, hitting some great wine spots – check out my Instagram and Facebook feeds for all the details!

I’m back in the City Beautiful now, though, and as always, I’ve got you covered for everything you need to know about Orlando’s upcoming week in wine. No theme this time – next week’s events are all over the map!

All the details are on the Events Page, along with a great lineup  of events for the coming month.

Happy wine-ing, Central Florida!

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences, Winemakers

Chocolate, Grilled Cheese & Music – Wild Week of Wine Pairings ahead!

Looks like the summer holidays are over for the wine community here in Central Florida! Tomorrow is awash in vin-soaked Bastille Day celebrations – check out the highlights in my previous post. (LATE ADD: The PinkNIC event at Tim’s Windermere has been rescheduled. Check the Events Page for details.)

Next week’s theme is all about creative pairings.

You’ve heard of pairing wine with all kinds of food – what about wine and music pairings? Two events next week aim to engage your ears along with your nose and taste buds.

  • Thursday, Swirlery’s co-owner Damian Roman (aka, DJ Collaborator!) is pairing ten tunes with ten wines, each chosen by one of Orlando’s top Sommeliers, for a “Wine & Vinyl Top 10 Listening Tasting.”
  • Friday, Hard Rock Universal’s “Wine Riffs” series hosts BV winemaker Trevor Durling and features his wines alongside a five-course meal and a specially chosen soundtrack.

Next on the list of crazy pairings is Swirlery’s Wine & Grilled Cheese Night on Wednesday. Uncommon Catering will supply four gourmet grilled cheeses, to be paired with four wines chosen by Swirlery’s Advanced Somm Melissa McAvoy.

Finally, you can’t go wrong with a classic – Champagne and chocolate. The Vineyard Orlando is hosting winemaker Gilles Dumangin on Wednesday and pairing his Dumangin Champanges with chocolates by chef & chocolatier Luis Mendez.

If you’re not into pairings, there are many more events next week where the wine stands alone. Check them out, along with a robust list of happenings over the next few weeks, on the Event Page.

Cheers, Orlando!

 

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences, Winemakers

Happy 4th … and 14th!

Most of our local wine establishments seem to be taking their own July 4th holiday from hosting events next week! They’ve been busy, and I don’t blame them!

But there’s a great option next Saturday, after you’ve recovered from the festivities — a dinner paired with wines from Oregon’s Domaine Serene at Norman’s.

That kicks off a week of events dominated by the national holiday of perhaps the world’s most famous wine producer – France’s Bastille Day. Orlando does love to celebrate Le Quatorze Juillet!

But before those Champagne corks start popping, keep celebrating American wines a bit longer with a late-night party at Wine Bar George on the twelfth of July, featuring Napa winemaker Michael Honig of Honig Winery and local Master Somm George Miliotes.

On the 14th itself, you can start off quite appropriately by expanding your wine knowledge. Master of Wine Jean Reilly holds the first of a two-day WSET Level One course at Tim’s Orlando that morning.

After that, you have your pick of Bastille Day festivities across the region, from Swirlery in Orlando to Luisa’s Cellar in Sanford. And while it’s a Bastille Day event per se, I’m sure Provencals would approve of the PINKnic rosé extravaganza at Tim’s Windermere.

Details of these events and many more are on the Events Page.

Cheers and Santé!

***

NOTE: You won’t see an events post here next week, as I’ll be in the UK, tasting a bit of British bubbly (and perhaps some still wine too)! Follow my adventures on Instagram and Facebook!

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Italy, Washington, & a Grand Opening!

Next week is a little quieter than last, but there’s still plenty of wine-ing to do.

Tuesday, importer Mediterraneo Italian Wine hosts a wine dinner at Francesco’s in Maitland with some fun wines from Italy.

Also Tuesday, another Tim’s location – this time Tim’s Avalon – gets cheesy with a wine and cheese pairing class.

Thursday, Tim’s Lake Mary offers a free tasting of wines from Washington state’s Kestrel Vineyards.

And Saturday is the opening night party for Louisa’s Cellars, a new wine bar in downtown Sanford.

As always, details for these events and more happenings in the coming weeks are on the Events Page.

Stay cool, and drink up, Central Florida!

 

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!