When I was on vacation in Cocoa Beach, I passed by a cute little shop that had signs for wine tastings. I thought I would check them out and see what they had to offer.
This little boutique was set up very different from a typical winery. It was a shop that sold several types of things from jams to juices. The side of the shop that sold wine offered wines from two different wineries on the west coast of Florida.
The friendly hostess offered tastings on any bottle I wanted. This was great because these were brand new wines that I had never seen before. When deciding how to write about my experience, I decided to break it down by each winery. That allows for an easier understanding of everything I tasted.
Florida Orange Groves Winery
This winery is located in St. Petersburg, Florida. All their wines are made in Florida with 100% Florida citrus juices. Many of their wines have won awards across the state.
I started off with the fun wine called Hurricane Class 5. This is a tropical sangria wine that blends pineapple, watermelon, passion fruit, key limes, and mangos. It was sweet. It was served chilled which made it refreshing. The label has the actual image of Hurricane Andrew that hit South Florida in 1992 as a Category 5 storm.
Up next was the Key Limen. It would not be a Florida wine without some key lime. This was a true specialty with fresh key lime juice. It was both sweet and tart. If I closed my eyes, I could picture myself on Duval Street in Key West. This is a true vacation wine.
The third wine was Blueberry Blue. This blueberry wine was semi-sweet. It was full of flavor. The blueberries tasted so fresh in this wine. It was made with 100% Florida blueberries.
White Gold was next up. This was a peach wine. This was served chilled which made it refreshing and crisp. It was a subtle peach flavor. It would be perfect sipping by the pool on a hot summer afternoon.
The final wine I tried was the St. Pete Sangria. This was a red sangria. They used Florida muscadine grapes, citrus juices, and fresh raspberries. I could taste the subtle hint of the raspberries. They also added a little brandy to the wine to give it a little kick. It was a nice touch. All that was missing was some chopped up fruit.
Murielle Winery
This winery is located in Clearwater, Florida. They also make all their wines in Florida. They take their traditional wines and blend them with fresh fruit juices to create updated flavors.
The first wine I tired was the Dragon Fruit Blush. The dragon fruit was infused into a bold Shiraz. It created a unique flavor that was surprisingly sweet.
Staying with the sweetness I tried the 3 Berry next. They took the Shiraz and blended it with raspberry, blackberry, and boysenberry. This wine was lot sweeter than the previous wine. I felt like the taste of the boysenberry really shined through.
The third wine I tried was Raspberry. It was a simple name but there was nothing simple about the flavor. They took their Merlot and infused it with black raspberries. This wine was delicious. It was slightly sweet. It could easily be sipped by itself or with a nice salty cheese. I bought a bottle of this to enjoy at home.
Sticking with the true Florida them I went with the Tropical Storm as my last wine. This was a Pinot Grigio that was blended with pineapples and pears. It was not that sweet but not too dry either. One sip I could taste the pineapple and the second sip I could taste the pears. It was a unique blend. It was not chilled, but I could see it being chilled to enjoy with something salty.
So Cocoa Beach Winery is not a typical experience. It was a great way to try different wines from around the state in a relaxing environment. The owner of the shop was sweet and friendly. She was very knowledgeable about the wines she was serving. She really liked what she was doing.
If you are in the Cocoa Beach area you should check them out. Visit their website a www.cocoabeachwinery.com to see everything they have to offer.
Enjoy!
T
