Florida Wineries and their Wines

Wineries in Florida create a wide variety of wines, including traditionally and well known wine grapes from a variety of grapes, fruit wines, and even vegetable wines. The most common “Florida Grown” wines are made from the Muscadine grapes which grow naturally through the southeast including Florida. Muscadines are resilient to the warmer temperatures and are also naturally resilient to many diseases that will destroy traditional grape crops such as Chardonnay and Merlot grapes.

Though the traditional grapes are not easily grown in Florida, wineries such as Lakeridge Winery in Clermont Florida produce wines from grape products purchased from areas outside of Florida including California and other states. The grapes and grape products purchased are used for producing those varieties of wine as well as blended wines using those products. Other wineries such as Florida Orange Grove Wineries and Bunker Hill Vinyard produce wines from non-grape products in addition to traditional grapes including various fruits and even vegetables.

The Naming of Wines in America – Variety Labeling

The naming of wines in Europe is based upon the name of the region or appellation that the wine was produced in. An “Appellation” is a legally defined and protected geographical area. After the “New World” settlers in America began producing wines, they would name the new wines they produced often after the same areas such as in France, Spain, or Italy. Wines could also often be named using generic or other names which would create confusion.

In the 1960s American wine producers, with the leadership of names such as Chef Julia Child and winemaker Robert Mondavi the naming process began to change to the use of the grape to distinguish the wines. In fact – This naming convention came to existence before the establishment of American Viticultural Areas in 1980 which functions similarly to the regional areas identified in Europe. For a wine to be labeled with an AVA, at least 85% of the grapes that make up the wine must originate from that AVA, though in some states that percentage will be even greater. In California 100% of the grapes to produce a wine must be from within the state and production must be completely from California. Currently there are over 276 AVAs established within the United States within 34 states, with over half of these (154) located within California. An AVA can cross county and state boundaries.

This naming process differs from European naming and establishes a more unique way of identifying American wines, though additional labeling provides the added uniqueness of the winery and specific location and vintage. There was resistance to this naming process though support came from European control boards. This naming process is not completely used in the United States with a few holdouts still naming their products otherwise, but the general naming process does follow this convention. The naming convention has become so popular along with the high quality and popularity of American wines that European wine have recently adopted the varietal naming convention.

“New World” Wine Labeling

“New World” wines will have additional information on the wine bottles that will or may not appear on wines from other countries or Europe. This information

Labels for New World wines include:

  • The Winery name or estate name
  • Vintage year of the wine
  • The Region or AVA where the wine grapes were sourced and grown
  • Type of wine
  • Bottle Volume
  • Alcohol content
  • A Health warning
  • A message about Sulfites in the wine

Blended Wines and Fruit Wines (Some) labeling

Often wines will be blended wines, meaning mixed wines with sourced from various grape or fruit sources. When a wine does not contain at least 75% of a particular variety of grape it cannot hold the name of that grape on the label, per U.S. Labeling law. The other 25% of the wine in a blended product can be made up of any other combination of grape or juice without being listed on the label. This depends greatly upon the winery. Some wineries may include non-fruit juices. Others such as Florida Orange Groves Winery ( https://floridawine.com/) in St. Petersburg and Bunker Hill Vinyard and Winery (https://www.bunkerhillvineyard.com/) in Duette pride themselves on producing their products with 100% fruit or vegetable juices.

More about Specific Grapes and Wines

In the sub-menus of this site you will find specific information about many of the more popular grapes and wines produced with those grapes.

Oak Barrels vs. Stainless Steel for aging

For the storage and aging of wine, both Oak Barrels and Stainless Steel can be used which produce differing results. Oak barrels will add the flavor and aromas of the barrels which they are stored in for aging while Stainless steel will create a cleaner, neutral and fruitier taste depending upon the wine.

References

How California Winemakers Changed How Wines Are Named
https://robbreport.com/food-drink/wine/why-new-world-wines-named-after-varietal-1235856552/

AVA – American Viticultural Area – A designated wine growing region in the United States as designated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury. These regions were created following petitions for viticultural areas, wine production and labeling.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Viticultural_Area

What’s in a Name: Wine Names Explained
https://www.marketviewliquor.com/blog/wine-names-explained/?srsltid=AfmBOoprEoC_KSi6FWt9Is6tIRY1QfwiWv5eB2pPQv8vAC4nz4R3J1BW

Wine Spectator – Blended wines and labeling
https://www.winespectator.com/articles/45035

A Taste of History In New York’s Finger Lakes Wine Country
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelking/2024/06/30/celebrating-finger-lakes-terroir-a-sip-of-history-at-heron-hill-winery/

Is it True that a wine with only one grape on the label may not be made from just that grape?
https://www.winespectator.com/articles/45035