Cocoa Beach Winery – Cocoa Beach, FL

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.

www.FloridaWine.com

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.

www.muriellewinery.com

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

Graham’s Beach Bar – Cocoa Beach, FL

I found a great little hole in the wall bar in Cocoa Beach called Graham’s Beach Bar. It is nothing fancy, but a lot of locals were there enjoying drinks and food. I love finding places like this.

I was a little hungry for lunch, so I order a few things off the menu. I got the cheddar jalapeno poppers. I love the cheddar version more than the cream cheese, but most restaurants only serve the cream cheese. I was happy to see the cheddar on the menu.

They came out popping hot; I needed the cheese to cool a little so I would not burn my mouth. The cheese was creamy and cooled down the heat from the jalapeno. It was the perfect dish to start with.

I also ordered the Buffalo cauliflower. These were breaded and fried pieces of fresh cauliflower. I was a little disappointed because they were plain. There was no Buffalo wing sauce on them like I was expecting. They were crispy and tasted fine with the ranch sauce but I think they would have been better with some tangy wing sauce and maybe some blue cheese crumbles.

This was a nice quick little spot to grab a quick bite. I was also happy to be able to support a local business. Check out their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/grahamsbeach/

Enjoy!

T

Pelican’s Bar & Grill – Cocoa Beach, FL

There is a ton of things to do in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The beaches are beautiful. They have a huge pier that you can walk along, fish from, or pop into one of the many restaurants.

Towards the end of the pier is a restaurant called Pelican’s Bar and Grill. I popped in there to get a quick snack. It was the perfect place to cool off from the Florida heat, and watch the waves crash up onto the beach.

I ordered the crab and shrimp dip because I wanted a quick snack. I was expecting this to come out hot, but it was a cold dip. It was good cold. It made it feel more appropriate for a summertime snack.

They had a generous amount of crabmeat in this dip. They sprinkled in a few baby shrimp throughout. The dip was creamy and a little sweet. They served the dip with tortilla chips. The chips created a nice crispy contrast to the soft dip. This would have also been delicious with some toasted crostini.

The views were great from the restaurant. It was the perfect stop to grab a quick snack. If you are near the pier you should check the out.

www.cocoabeachpier.com/dining/pelicans-bar-grill

Enjoy!

T