Flagler Beachfront Winery, Flagler Beach, Florida

 

“Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it.”

Anonymous

Who doesn’t like having a delicious frozen wine slushie or a glass/bottle of wine with an unobstructed gorgeous beach view. This winery not only has great wine but many delicious flavors of 100% all wine slushies. We were out and about when we saw this attractive winery, so we stopped to check them out. When we walked in, we notice there was a small bar for tastings and many tables with chairs set strategically next to the windows all with great ocean views. They also have a good size patio with tables with umbrellas in the front of the building facing the ocean. We choose to be inside because there were no seats outside when we arrived and was less crowded.

When we went inside, a lovely lady working at the counter greeted us with a smile and asked what we would like. We told here we had never been there before and asked to do a tasting. Unfortunately, she explained, they were not doing tastings at this time because of COVID. What a shame but understandable. The owners were not there that day but we heard they were fun loving, energetic people. Maybe on our next visit there we will have the pleasure to meet them.

They had a great menu offering many varieties of wine including, a chardonnay and oaked chardonnay made from the grapes from their Ohio vineyard, Riphide – which is a sweet wine made from Florida grapes, Shades – sweet rose, Sauvignon Blanc, made from the grapes from their Ohio vineyard, Sangria on tap, Gewurztraminer from the grapes from Washington State, Riesling which is mildly sweet from their Ohio vineyard, Elation, a white blend, and Pinot Gris from the Ohio vineyard. They have so many choices of wines, it made it hard to decide which one to try.

They also offer luscious flavors of 100% wine slushies. You could either order a 6 ounce glass of slushie for $5, 16 ounce for $12, or a “Got Slushed Tumbler” filled for $10 that they will fill so you take it to the beach to keep the slushies super cold. Joe decided just to order a glass of their dry red which he loved and I ordered pina colada slushie. It was a hard choice as they had Pinot Gris, Concord, raspberry, blueberry, watermelon, and a few more flavors that day. You can mix the flavors too. The slushie was fabulous and I thought to myself how dangerous this place was for me. I could sit and sip all afternoon. While relaxing with a drink, you can also order appetizers and tapas like cheese platters, flat breads, cakes and other desserts.

Ken and Kelly Tarsitano opened this lovely winery was opened in 2013, a year after they decided to move to Flagler Beach from Ohio and bought the little blue building on North Ocean Shore Blvd. Ken’s grandfather taught him the love of wine and everything that either bubbled, pickled, or brewed. Ken was involved with the family winery and vineyard just outside of Cleveland, Ohio which is called Certified Organic Vineyards and Winery. Ken is very active in both places going back and forth from the 100 acre Ohio vineyard to Flagler Beach to help with the vineyard and making wine also at the Flagler Beach location. Ken is the winemaker but his wife, Kelly came up with the great idea of frozen wine drinks and bought their first slushie machine to give it a try. He was not sure about it at first but came around to thinking it was a great idea and they proved to be a hit.

They get grapes from all over the US for their 40 plus varieties of wine. The grapes are sent in from from Washington, California, Oregon, Florida, and Ohio. They are getting great relations with many other vineyards across the United States. Right now he is making about 10,000 gallons of wine at the Flagler Beach Winery. He ferments and presses the wines on site and then ages them in oak barrels. When COVID is not around, you can get a tour of how his bottling process works and how the wines are produced.

While sitting and enjoying your choice of beverage, their is a section of the winery that sells bottles of wine, decorative bottle stoppers, t-shirts, and other unique wine accessories to explore. While we sat there, many beach goers come across the street to fill up one of their tumblers to take to the beach. This place kept busy the whole time we were there. This winery is open from noon to 9 pm on Thursday, and Friday and Saturday they are open from noon to 10 pm. This is a great place to spent a couple hours relaxing inside or sitting on the patio listening to waves crashing, the sea gulls sailing over, and breathing in the salty fresh smell of the ocean jut feet away with a great drink in hand. Cheers!

Till next time. Bye for now.