If you are looking for somewhere different to visit on your next trip to the Orlando area why not take a trip to Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards.
If you thought that California was the only state in the U.S to produce wine think again. Lakeridge is situated near Clermont on highway 27, thirty miles north of the junction with highway 192 in the beautiful rolling hills of South Lake County. This award winning Vineyard has something for all the family.
There are complimentary tours of the winery which include a video show to explain the art of wine making in the humid central Florida climate along with a walking tour of all the major areas of the winery. Here your guide explains the different stages of wine making from tending the vines to the harvest, the pressing of the grapes and the bottling.
The tours start and finish in the Lakeridge shop which sells Florida made gifts, gift baskets, books, kitchen gadgets and accessories as well as specialist food items and of course wine. This is a great place to pick up a present for your family gourmet.
To make sure you know which of the large selection of their wines you want to buy each tour finishes with a free wine tasting where the very knowledgeable staff members are on hand to talk you through a selection of their wines, offering advice on which go best with which foods etc as well as pouring the wine!
I’m not a wine drinker but found the tour interesting and informative a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Hubby likes the odd bottle of Rioja and bought a couple of bottles of red to try, his verdict, “a little on the sweet side but drinkable”.
The winery tours and wine tasting are held daily but if you have children in your party you might want to plan your trip to coincide with one of the many events that are held throughout the year. These range from Jazz concerts to arts and craft festivals to Vintage car shows not to mention the wine stomp held in August where you get the chance to try your hand or should I say foot at treading the grapes in the traditional manner!! That is something I’ve always wanted to do but unfortunately we were there in November.
All the events are either free or involve a minimal entrance fee of around $2 with free parking and they usually feature some form of live music, food and of course wine.
If you do want to buy anything look out for the advertising leaflets around the shop area that offer 10% off your total purchase...
Opening times.
Monday-Saturday 10-5
Sunday Noon-5
Or call (904) 394-8627 or Toll free 1-800-768-WINE