“Wine
make every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, every day more
civilized.”
Andre
Simon
After
our drive and day exploring the Florida Everglades, we wanted to go
relax at a tropical paradise and we found it when we pulled into
Schnebly Redland Winery. It is surrounded by farms and all kinds of
tropical fruits, neither Joe or I could identify. We were fascinated
by seeing the all the tropical plants. Even before we entered this
winery, we knew we found what we were looking for. The front of the
Winery has beautiful tropical plants, trees, and a gorgeous fountain.
The entry way beckons you to come inside. There was so much
attention to details here from the door handles to the light
fixtures.
When
we got inside, we saw the tasting room which is a large open room
with a really unique bar made of wine barrels in a partial circle
looking out to their beautiful outside gardens. Above the bar was a
glass wine rack that looks as if it is a tree covering the bar.
There is also a beautiful colorful mural in the ceiling. We sat down
and we both did a tasting. The wines are all made of exotic fruits
from their farms. There was wine made from Mango, Lychee, guava,
passion fruit, avocado, lemon, coconut, and carambola (star fruit).
They use only the finest fruits though they are mostly the blemished
fruits that are not marketable but are definitely great fruit for
making wine. The wines are quite nice with one of our favorites
being Cocovino. Since we were going on a cruise we only bought a
bottle to take with us to enjoy on Homestead Air Force Base where we
were staying. We enjoyed our tasting and bought a glass of wine to
take outside with us.
When
we walked out through the doors, the scene was breathtaking. Wow,
what a beautiful natural looking landscape they created with
gorgeous tropical plants and flowers and water features. The pond
with Koi was amazing; complete with coral waterfalls gently spilling
into the water. There was a green grassy courtyard with tables,
stone bridge, and really nice covered area completed with a thatched
roof. We walked the boardwalk area over the pond and sat on the deck
under the thatched covered roof and enjoyed the evening overlooking
the pond and waterfalls. There were plenty of huge colorful Koi to
watch gently swimming by. There was another large area that looked
like it could be rented out for a special occasion in the back. There
were comfortable places to sit with wonderful views of the pond all
around. We also saw iguanas walking around which completed the
scene. We had found our tropical paradise.
Peter
and Denisse Schnebly have lived in southern Florida for 37 years.
They have farms that grow tropical fruits and they wanted to be able
to use the fruit that wasn't marketable. A friend, Bill Wagner who
owned a winery in New York inspired them to use that exotic fruit and
make wine. Another friend, Doug Knapp, a former owner of another
winery in New York provided them guidance in making wine. Peter
started by experimenting with making wine in his garage in 2003.
Now look at what he has made. They have tours on Saturday from 1 to
5 and Sundays, 1 to 4. We were there on a weekday so we missed out
on the tour.
In
2011, he started his beer business and founded Miami Brewing Company.
This was the first commercial brewery in Miami Dade county. He
uses his delicious fruits in the beer also. The brewery wasn't open
when we were there. We did read some of the names of the beer and I
liked some of the names like Big Rod Coconut Ale, Shark Bait, and
Gator Tail Brown Ale. We will have to see that on our next visit.
Peter
and Denisse now have opened a restaurant called the Redlander
Restaurant at the winery which serves some very nice looking foods.
We did not eat when we were there but everything looked great. We
were very excited we found this place to relax and enjoy the day.
We do recommend it and hope to get back there one day. This is a
nice stop especially returning from the Everglades.
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