I'll be the first to admit that I don't know much about wine, but I thought I knew two things: wine is made from grapes, and Florida isn't thought of as a winemaking region in the same way that, say, Bordeaux is. Now it looks like I might even be wrong about that. The New York Times points out in an interesting article that Florida Orange Groves and Winery has been making delicious wines in St. Petersburg from fruits such as mango, orange, tangerine, peach, and cherry since 1997. The article mentions that owners Gladys and Ray Shook decided to try winemaking after a trip to California wine country. Realizing that wine grapes aren't easy to grow in Florida, they opted to use locally-grown produce instead. Their wines are divided into categories such as tropical fruit wines, citrus wines, Florida specialty wines, berry and stone fruit wines, vegetable wines, and sparkling wines. What began as an experiment has turned into a success: several of Florida Orange Grove and Winery's bottles have won awards at wine events, including three "best of show" awards for their Coco Polada, Florida Grapefruit, and Florida Sunset Pineapple wines. Of course, their experimental side is still evident in varieties such as Hot Sun (spicy tomato wine), 40 Karat (Florida carrot wine) and Midnight Sun (coffee and orange wine). Guests at the nearby Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel who are curious to try some unusual flavors of wine might want to stop by for a tour and tasting.
[Image via Florida Orange Groves and Winery]
