Table of Contents:
FLORIDA GRAPES
FLORIDA WINERIES.
SUMMARY.
Florida Spirits, Taste Florida Florida Beers.
Florida Wine.
Was California the first place in the U.S. to plant grapes for making wine?
Hardly. Over 400 years ago, starving French Huguenots (1565) were harvesting grapes at their settlement near today’s Jacksonville.
It appears to be one of the few things they could grow successfully.
Further south, Spanish missionaries are growing vines in St. Augustine for religious reasons only (wink).
Why Florida? Well, in the 1600s, it is one of the few places where there are people who know about wine.
The climate and soil from St Augustine going north are excellent for many grapevines coming from Mediterranian countries.
Unfortunately, many diseases are new to the vines, and many fail. Those that do survive grow stronger. That will come in handy when Europe needs a few Phylloxera-resilient vines.
Florida’s Early Fruit.
Grapes were going in the Florida soil about the same time as the first oranges from Spain.
Wine grapes may not seem a great choice when considering the tropical climate, sporadic rainfalls, and very few hillsides. It is some of the most hostile terroirs for grapes in the U.S.
And as I said, some of the dainty, overly pampered European vines did not survive on the frontier.
Another larger(?) problem is Pierce’s disease, a bacterium common in the U.S. southeast. It can destroy most traditional vines with a glance, and does. States bordering the Gulf of Mexico seem to have significant problems with Pierce’s disease.
Interestingly, it does not seem to affect the Chardonnay and Cabernet grapes Spanish missionaries are planting along the Pacific.
Florida Wine’s Muscadine Grape.
Not out of choice, but strictly out of necessity, the Muscadine becomes the grape of choice. It has a thick skin that can withstand the intense humidity and Pierce’s disease.
The bad side is they produce a harsh and overpowering flavor that is not too tasty on its own. Most vintners add sweetening, making a musty wine with a sweet taste. Not your typical wine profile.
However, when your choices are wine or swamp, then later unsafe fresh water, what are you going to choose?
Free-flowing rum from the Caribbean, and later the British and their beer, push Florida wine to the back burner.
French Influence.
After the civil war, the Marquis de Lafayette receives some land grants around Jacksonville and Tallahassee. He brings vintners from France and their vines ready to conquer the new world. Many of them fail and return to France or move on to French Louisiana by 1831.
Circa 1882, another group of French vintners arrive in Florida. One of them is Emile Dubois, who first buys a vineyard producing concord grapes. He has the largest vineyard in Florida by 1890. He is producing 6,000+ gallons of wine and shipping grapes and vines all over the country.
Along with his business partner, Maxmillian Berlitz, they sell the land when Leon County becomes a dry county circa 1904.
East and Central Florida Wine.
Near Jacksonville, A.J. Bidwell has excellent success with the labrusca grape post Civil War. In his writings, he mentions earlier vineyards along the St John river up until the Civil War.
After the Civil War, the vineyards along the St. Johns river start coming back to life. Thet stretch from Jacksonville to the Orlando area.
Locals are having success growing the Muscadine but are probably not selling any outside of the area.
Outsiders from the Northern U.S. or Europe continue to import grapevines they know.
Haynes, Young, and Bailey, from Rochester, New York, are successful near Orlando with the ‘White Niagara’ grape. This success leads to the founding of the Orlando Grape and Fruit Company.
There are other minimal success stories, including Italian, Spanish, and German grapes.
The grapes they are importing are surviving, but few are thriving, and many are declining. A final knock-out comes in the “Big Freeze of 1895”. Cold temperatures kill everything almost overnight, including the grapevines and citrus groves.
Smaller vintners lose everything and leave with the clothes on their backs. Finally, when things start to get back to normal, the “Big Freeze of 1899” hits.
1900.
The century begins with the Muscadine grapes still doing well. But there are only local vintners growing them, and the market is predominantly local.
In California, T.V. Munson has excellent results from hybrids of California vines.
The vinifera (imported) vines are dying in Northern Florida. But are hanging on in Central Florida. After the second freeze, many citrus and grape growers leave Northern Florida to move further south.
Circa the 1920s, a new wave of enthusiastic wine growers are moving into Florida. Ignoring the success of the native Muscadine, they choose to start growing the California hybrids. Can you guess where this is heading?
The Second Florida Wine Boom.
At first, the Munson Hybrids do well. The “Beacon,” “Carmen,” and Beacon hybrids “Florida Beacon” and “Csaba” are the most successful. Not only are Florida vintners producing wine, but they also have a very successful table grape business. Many large scale growers pop up between Ocala and Lakeland. With the help of Henry Plant’s recent rail expansion, shipping grapes and citrus is now much more accessible.
Even real estate ads promote how easy it is to get rich quick in Florida growing grapes.
And while the wine is flowing, many counties in Florida are “drying” up. Many begin prohibition as early as 1908 (Miami), and by 1920, the state is officially dry. Although Florida does not take it as seriously as other parts of the country, winemaking is hard to hide.
Beer and rum-running will make fortunes for the gangsters. Wine will all but disappear, and the vintners without a table grape market will begin to disappear.
Then Pierce’s disease starts showing up in the hardier (from California) hybrids. Vines begin declining. What else could go wrong?
On the eve of the stock market crash, the USDA announces that grapes are susceptible to Mediterranean fruit fly infestation. They stop the shipping of fresh fruit. Then the depression hits. That’s what can go wrong.
Grape and citrus growers who could afford the machinery became makers of juice.
1968.
The Research and Education Center of the University of Florida begins crossing Muscadine with other grapes. Specifically the Vitis vinifera grape varieties of the Mediterranian. They score some hits and some misses.
But they did not start their research in 1968. Almost from the end of the second boom, Florida’s state was supporting research into growing healthy grapes.
Many growers are not willing to give up producing easy to grow crops and try grapes for the third time.
It will be another twenty years before Florida vintners produce enough of these hybrids to make a bleap on the wine radar.
The Grapes.
Hybrid.
- Blanc Du Bois – is one of the hybrid grapes from 1968. It is one of a growing number of vine types that can create marketable wine and withstand Pierce’s Disease. It produces dry to sweet white wines with melon and citrus character and crisp acidity. The name is in honor of Emile.
- Stover – is a golden grape suitable for eating or making wine. It produces a dry white wine. The name is in honor of Lorenzo Stover, who developed this disease-resistant grape variety.
- Swanee – is a golden green grape in color good for eating or wine. The flavor has a slight muscat note.
- Miss Blanc – has large white to green grapes. It produces intermediate white wine and also juice.
Although there are two hybrid red wine grapes, Conquistador and Spanish Black, they do not seem prevalent in Florida.
Because Hybrids have smaller bunches of grapes, they are somewhat labor-intensive to harvest.
They are popular with home vintners. Outside of a winery in Claremont and St Augustine, most vineyards only use the Muscadine grapes.
Muscadine.
This species of grape is native to the United States, predominantly in the southeast. As a fruit, Muscadine grapes have high levels of antioxidants and ellagic acid.
They use them to make red and white wines. Unlike most wines, the first thing you notice about a muscadine wine is the aroma.
The whites give off a ripe/brown bananas with slight notes of lime or honeydew.
Reds can have small hints of cranberry.
The grapes produce dry to sweet wines with a medium body. The acidity is noticeable. Best while still young as they do not age well.
- Scuppernong – are Muscadine grapes originating in North Carolina. They are famous for making dry white or sweet dessert wines.
- Carlos – is one of the popular white Muscaline wine grapes. It has almost a bronze color and usually produces a sweet wine similar to a fragrant Riesling.
- Welder – is a bronze-green color grape they use for whites. It has a high sugar content, which is also suitable for juice.
- Champanel – is almost a blue grape and is suitable for grape jelly or fruity red wine.
- Nobel – are black grapes that produce a fruity red wine that tastes like grape jam.
These are the most popular of the Muscadine grapes growing in Florida. Other southern states grow these as well as different varieties.
Florida Wines from Other Fruit.
What do you do when you have quirky grapes that don’t want to grow and excess citrus fruit? You could make lemonade, but in Florida, they make wine.
It is not the grapes that make wine; it is the yeast, sugar, and fermentation. Substituting orange, lemon, or lime juice in place of the grape juice gives you wine with a different flavor.
Some are sweet, like orange, tangelo, strawberry, blueberry. Others can be tart: lemon, key lime, and more.
Today in Florida, there are over forty different flavors of fruit wine. Some include berries, tropical fruit, and even honey in addition to juice.
The Vineyards.
Florida has almost twenty wineries producing wine from grapes that belong to the Florida Wine and Grape Growers Association.
Most of these wineries are open to receive guests.
There are also many smaller vineyards not producing enough to be a member.
Many of these you will never know about unless they have a sign out by the road.
Many vineyards are seasonal due to only harvesting part of the year. It is always wise to check ahead.
Here are some of them:
Panhandle
- Old Oaks Vineyard – Bonifay, Florida.
- Chautauqua Vineyards – Defuniak Springs.
Northeast – North
- Island Grove Wine Company – Hawthorne
- San Sebastian Winery – St. Augustine.
Central
- Flagler Beachfront Winery – Flagler Beach.
- Oak Haven Winery – Sorrento.
- Strong Tower Vineyard & Winery – Spring Hill.
- Lake Seneca Farms – Eustis.
- Hutchinson Farm Winery – Apopka.
- Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards – Clermont.
South
- Rosa Fiorelli Winery – Bradenton.
- Catania’s Winery – Englewood.
- Summer Crush Vineyard and Winery – Fort Pierce.
The wineries above focus on wines from grapes. Not all grape juices are from Florida. Click on an orange link to go to their websites and learn more.
Florida Wine from Other Fruits.
- Panama City Beach Winery – Panama City.
- True Blue Winery – Davenport.
- Keel and Curley Winery – Plant City
- Florida Orange Groves – South Pasadena (St Petersburg).
- Secret Gardens Winery & Farm – Sebring.
- The Naples Winery – Naples.
- Schnebly Redland’s Winery – Redland.
- Key West Winery – Key West
Some of these wineries may also include wines from grape juice or a combination of grape and other fruit. Click on an orange link to go to their websites and learn more.
Florida Wine Summary.
Wine has had a rough go of it in Florida. Although there was a wine industry before prohibition, the French were importing wine from the homeland.
Early settlers were happy with rum, then whiskey, and local beer.
After prohibition, no one jumps on the wine wagon.
A wine business takes a while to establish. The breweries and distilleries were already there. All they had to do was add ingredients.
So Florida just does not become a wine-drinking state.
Why make wine in Florida? There’s too much competition, and it’s too darn hard.
A New Way.
But in the 1970s, something else happens. Agricultural schools in the south start seeing new ways to deal with diseases and pests. All of a sudden, it’s not as hard to grow grapes in Florida.
By the 1990s, there are some brave souls taking baby steps. Some fail, but with each passing year, knowledge and experience are building a Florida wine industry.
There are also several mom-and-pops selling fruit wines in rural areas and even in the big cities. They are planting the seed of Florida wine in people’s thought processes.
Are any of them ready to go up against a Super Tuscan or Bordeaux? Probably not. But with each harvest, they are improving.
Don’t you deserve to have a local wine with your Florida seafood or southern Cracker meal?
Most of the wineries are seasonal and are not open every day of the week. Check their website by clicking on the orange links above or contacting the wineries. Some are by reservation only.
If you get the chance, taste and support Florida wine.