Did you know there are 27 wineries in Florida? When I found this out, I grabbed my Big Buddha tote bag (thank you, Anthony’s) and stuffed it with my “weekend wine-sipping wardrobe.”
I confess: I love wine tastings. I also love exploring new places in Florida, where the resort lifestyle is all about relaxing with friends, having fun and looking easy, breezy and beautiful.
I told my hubby Marv, “You know how we retired to Florida to enjoy the endless summer? Let’s go to Fort Pierce and enjoy the Endless Summer winery!”
Most Florida wines are sweet because about two-thirds of the state’s production of 628,000 gallons are made with muscadine grapes, a thick-skinned native Florida fruit. The wine grapes you’re used to – such as Chardonnay, Cabernet and Merlot – can’t grow in Florida’s steamy, wet summers.
I loved the surf-themed tasting bar at Endless Summer, and I had just the outfit to look tantalizing while Marv and I tasted: My favorite new Bermuda shorts – the Breezes shorts with tiny rhinestone grommets at the hem and my white Marushka three-quarter-sleeve T-shirt with the palm tree on it.
This outfit says, “I’m in Florida, I love my life, and I’m ready to display my fabulous women's resort wear from Anthony’s.”
I’m also ready to fall in love with the taste of Endless Summer’s award-winning wines. I loved the rose wine called “Marlin Monroe” – described by the winery as “sweet yet sassy and sexy.”
That’s how I feel when I pack my bag with colorful and fun separates from Anthony’s women fashions and set off to explore new Florida destinations.
By the way, Anthony’s is one of Florida’s most fun destinations – and it has been ever since the most fashionable women in America started coming to Palm Beach in 1895! There are 13 stores around the state, including one in Vero Beach, just up the road from Endless Summer Winery.
LOVE WINE-TASTINGS?
Val’s tip of the week: Endless Summer Vineyard & Winery in Fort Pierce is only 2 miles off I-95 (and only 7 miles from Florida’s Turnpike), centrally located minutes between Vero Beach, and Fort Pierce. “While you swirl your glass on the handmade wine barrel tasting bar, you will see vintage surf boards from (owner) Gary’s notable collection, as well as other related memorabilia mounted all around the tasting room and uniquely stocked gift shop, including the oldest belly (boogie) board known in existence, built in 1910,” the site says. They have special events every Sunday afternoon.
