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

Orlando Wine Blog tasting to feature wines of Missouri, a piece of America’s wine history

I’ve made little secret of the fact that I’m fascinated by wines that are outside the mainstream. Don’t get me wrong – I dearly love great Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Barolo, and even a few California cabs. But give me a grape I’ve never heard of from an unlikely location, and my eyes light up.

When the Missouri Wine & Grape Board invited me a on a press trip exploring the state’s vineyards and wineries last month, I jumped at the chance. I’ve written about Missouri wines in the past, and readers were intrigued.

This time, I was inspired not only to write about the wines, but also to bring some bottles back to Orlando and give my readers an opportunity to try them. I’m partnering with Digress Wine in College Park to host a tasting two weeks from today, on November 8 at 6:30pm, where we’ll sample and learn about these unique wines that rarely make it out of their home state. They’re not distributed in Florida, so this may be your only chance to experience them. Seating is extremely limited, so reserve your spot today!!

Want to know more about the wines we’ll be tasting? Read on!

Continue reading “Orlando Wine Blog tasting to feature wines of Missouri, a piece of America’s wine history” →

Judith Smelser Tastings

Eclectic Wine Events Coming Up

Central Florida is in for a fun streak of wine events next week – a little serious and a little whimsical, a little Old World and a little New, a little something for everyone.

Sunday, sample big California wines from the Wagner family at Tim’s Windermere.

Tuesday, try unique wines from Southern Italy at Bella Tuscany.

Wednesday, Digress Wine hosts its first “Cellar Series” tasting focusing on the many faces of chenin blanc.

Thursday, join the folks at Tim’s in Lake Mary-Sanford for wine and Halloween candy pairings.

Details and reservation info for all these happenings are on the Events Page, along with a couple of unique dinners and tastings farther out on the calendar.

Cheers to a wine-drenched fall, Orlando!

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Tastings Take Central Floridians to Exotic Locales

20181005_070829Next week’s wine events will take you to France, Italy, and South Africa without ever leaving metro Orlando!

Monday, there’s a complimentary tasting of Ruinart Champagne at Wine Bar George. (Yes, that’s free Champagne, and not the kind that has to be spelled with a small “c.”)

Tuesday, choose between a trip to Burgundy with a five-course pairing dinner at Luma on Park featuring producer Albert Bichot, and a voyage to Tuscany with a Brunello tasting at Bella Tuscany.

Thursday, combine two of the three, as Swirlery hosts a tasting of wines from Glenelly Estate, a project in South Africa by a native of Bordeaux.

To cap it all off, it’s worth checking with Tim’s Sanford-Lake Mary to see if there are any seats left for next Sunday‘s bubbles dinner at K Restaurant, because nothing tops off a trip around the world like bubbles!

Details for these and many more wine happenings are on the Events Page.

Cheers to international wine travel, Orlando!

 

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Indulgence, Gratitude, Film … and Wine

Happy almost-October!

Holiday decorations are showing up in stores, and Central Florida’s wine community is starting to kick into gear for high season. The calendar for next week – and for all of next month – is looking packed.

Local wine merchants are wholeheartedly embracing the start of the season of indulgence. Next week offers not one, not two, but four wine events centered around cheese, chocolate, or both.

Tuesday, The Wine Room on Park Ave. kicks off a three-night event series honoring American Cheese Month. Two of the three feature wine pairings.

Thursday, choose between a wine and chocolate tasting at Luisa’s Cellar and the latest Wine, Cheese & Chocolate – Perfectly Paired event at Quantum Leap Winery.

Fall is also the season of giving and gratitude.

Swirlery Wine Bar is teaming up with Uncommon Catering on Thursday to offer a seven-course “Gratitude” pairing dinner benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank.

Something else to be thankful for – Wine Bar George has announced two complimentary (yes, that means free) tastings in October. The first is Monday and features Sonoma’s Smoke Tree Wines with food pairings.

Finally, for those of you following the wine drenched documentary series Somm, the  third installment is out, and Wine Bar George will be hosting a screening next Saturday, complete with a blind tasting, of course.

This is by no means a full listing of all the events on offer next week, so check out the Events Page, and make your plan of attack.

Happy Season, Orlando!

 

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences

Piedmont, New York … and a lesson on planning ahead

Plenty of fun wine events are on offer in Central Florida in the coming week.

Saturday’s Women for Winesense New York wines event is still welcoming registrations, as is the latest in Vintage Vino’s “Road to Ultimate Wine Knowledge” series, focusing on the wines of Italy, Spain, Portugal and Germany.

Tuesday, explore some of the lesser known grape varietals of Italy’s Piedmont region, with small plates to pair, at Bella Tuscany in Windermere.

There are a couple of events next week that you can’t attend unless you’ve already guaranteed your seat.

Thursday’s Cambria Wine & Cheese tasting at Tim’s Lake Mary-Sanford is sold out, as is a wine and cupcake tasting at Luisa’s Cellar the same day. I’d say it might be something about those uber-efficient Sanford oenophiles … but the fact is, there are many weeks when I don’t mention an event because it’s sold out.

It’s a good reminder to scroll down a little farther when you check the Events Page for details of all these events. If you see something you like, book ahead!

Cheers to fighting procrastination, Orlando!

Judith Smelser Tastings, Wine Experiences, Winemakers

Big Tastings, Blind Tastings, & More

Orlando’s wine purveyors want you to expand your palate over the coming week, with two opportunities to try and compare a vast array of wines.

Tomorrow (Saturday, September 8), Swirlery is celebrating its third anniversary with a grand tasting of more than 30 wines. Light bites are included.

Next Saturday, September 15, Luisa’s Cellar in Sanford is celebrating harvest with a patio tasting, also featuring more than 30 wines.

Also coming up …

A blind tasting tomorrow with Master Sommelier George Miliotes at his eponymous Disney Springs wine bar;

A dinner with the winemaker from Silkwood Wines in California’s Central Valley on Wednesday at The Vineyard;

And a tasting of Spanish coastal wines at Luisa’s Cellar on Thursday.

Details are on the Events Page, where you’ll also find barrels of new entries for the rest of the month and into October.

Cheers to Almost Fall, Orlando!

Judith Smelser Wine Experiences, Wine News, Winemakers

The Inquisitor Wine Company: How two Orlando friends turned a “pipe dream” into a local importer of private label South African wines

On June 18, 2016, a small group of sommeliers from some of Orlando’s swankiest dining spots sat down for an invitation-only blind tasting. Hosts Laura Fletcher, then 29, and Christie Briscoe, then 23, were good friends and colleagues at Norman’s at the Ritz-Carlton, where they worked in sales and marketing. But this event was about something completely different.

They poured tastes from a few well known, high end bottles alongside samples from a largely unknown South African winemaker, Christian Kuun. His wines got good reviews, sometimes beating out the big names.

“In that moment, I was like, ok it can happen,” said Christie, whose last name is now McLeod.

“We looked at each other,” Fletcher recalls, and thought, “let’s do this.”

Continue reading “The Inquisitor Wine Company: How two Orlando friends turned a “pipe dream” into a local importer of private label South African wines” →

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 News

Franciacorta Consortium chooses Orlando for first Florida masterclass

Franciacorta is a baby, as Italian wine regions go. It wasn’t officially recognized until the 1960s, and its DOCG status was granted just over two decades ago.

But sparkling wine from this region near Milan is starting to turn heads, and its producers are getting more savvy in their efforts to raise its profile around the world.

Franciacorta Rashmi
Rashmi Primlani, Franciacorta’s new brand ambassador

Earlier this year, the Franciacorta Consortium hired Orlando sommelier Rashmi Primlani as a brand ambassador. Last week, she hosted a small group of local journalists and wine professionals at Orlando Chef Kevin Fonzo‘s “La Tavola” in College Park for the Consortium’s first Florida masterclass.

Continue reading “Franciacorta Consortium chooses Orlando for first Florida masterclass” →

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!