and saw a sign on 192 for a Winery. We had some time so we pulled in to check it out.
This is my personal opinion / review of
Island Grove Wine Company and Formosa Gardens
3011 Formosa Gardens Blvd Formosa Gardens, Kissimmee
The parking lot was full but we ventured inside anyway. Lunch seating had a 45 minute wait but the Self-Serve tasting was available.
There is a gift shop and a room with a video playing that tells you about the winery and the owners – the video was interesting. The wines are made with fruits other than grapes – since the video spoke about blueberries the most, those were the wines I wanted to taste. Behind the video room was a open glass area but we only looked through the door because the winery was not operating at the time.
Here is how the Self-Serve Tasting works — the bartender loads whatever monetary amount you choose onto a card. You get the card, a wine glass and head to the wine ‘vending’ machine. After walking around reading the labels and choosing a wines to taste, you insert the card into the machine and choose the amount of wine you would like dispensed. Most of the wines were $2 for a 1 oz tasting. There is also a 1/2 glass option and a full glass option. You can stand there and taste the wine or can take it to a table if you are eating or go outside.
The part I didn’t like: The wines were inside near the tables for people eating. I would not have wanted to be seated at those tables because there were always people walking around looking at the wines and deciding which to taste – lots of traffic near your food table. I missed intera
cting with the person pouring the wine as they usually help make some selections.
The part I liked: I tasted 5 of the wines and liked 3 of them enough to drink a full glass (at a later date). It was a beautiful day outside and we sat at the outside bar while I tasted the wine. It was nice. It looked
like a popular place with both indoor and outdoor seating. I could see spending a nice afternoon with friends here.
#VickieTravelz