Schnebly Redland Winery, Homestead, Florida

“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.