Lakeridge Vineyard is known as, "that winery on 27 that produces muscadine wines." But they have so much more like some surprisingly complex dry wines. These are made with three types Florida-grown hybrid wine grapes: Blanc Du Bois, Stover and Suwannee.
Lakeridge is located just 25-miles west of downtown Orlando. It started operating as a vineyard and winery in 1989. It has 80-acres planted with hybrids and native Muscadine grapes. It also use grapes from other vineyards that grow the same types. This means that it can produce huge
volumes of wine.
My favorites were Cuvee Noir Reserve, a dry red wine with
medium levels of tannin, and a rich ruby red color. It is surprisingly complex
and could easily be mistaken for a European wine. This is definitely a wine to
go with food.
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| Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards, Clermont, Fla. |
I went recently for a taste and entertaining tour with Kevin J. Callanan. I got to see a fresh harvest of grapes start the process of converting to wine.
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| Harvested grapes at Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards, Clermont, Fla |
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| Kevin J. Callanan entertaining guests at Lakeridge Winery & Vineyard tasting session, Clermont, Fla. |
My next favorite was Cuvee Blanc, a dry white wine with light oak flavors and aged orange peel. It had a nice tart finish. Its characteristics are something you'd expect more from a Californian or Australian wine.
I tried their Blanc Du Bois, a semi-dry white wine, made
with French hybrid grapes. I wanted to see how it compared to other Florida labels. It was spicier with a bitter aftertaste.
I also tried their Southern Red muscadine wine and found it enjoyable. It smelt and tasted like sweet candied cherries. It was the most aromatic of the muscadine wines because it had the lowest musk flavors.
I bought two bottles of Stover Reserve 2011 without tasting
it. It was risky at $12.99 a bottle but worth it.
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| Showroom at Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards, Clermont, Fla. |
You can buy their wine directly from them at www.lakeridgewinery.com or go to their Store Locator page and type in your zip code. I have found some of their drier wines at Total Wines and More stores.
You also visit the tasting room seven days a week at: 19239 US 27 N, Clermont, FL 34715, Phone (352)-394-8627 or 1-800-768-WINE
You also visit the tasting room seven days a week at: 19239 US 27 N, Clermont, FL 34715, Phone (352)-394-8627 or 1-800-768-WINE
To investigate good wine and champagne, you can still visit the white wine at this website, or you can only examine that.
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