Island Grove Wine Company

One of my major goals has been to visit all of the Florida wineries. I have had the chance to visit a handful since I turned 21, and I would have to say that Island Grove is one of my favorites (besides Schnebly’s in Miami.) They recently opened their new Tasting House five months ago and it was a very good business move.
Getting there was definitely the hardest part. You can’t really find the Tasting House on Google Maps. Do not try. Do not look up the winery and do not drive to the winery. You will be driving on a dirt road for a while and you will end up at a cemetery. My best advice would be to just hop on the 301 and head south. The address that Island Grove Winery has listed, works to an extent, so it can point you in the right direction. If you are traveling South on the 301, you will eventually see it at the intersection of CR 325 and US 301. The Tasting House is beautiful plantation style home that you will not miss.
Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised by the décor. It had a very comforting ‘country chic’ feel. There was a lot of wood, antique furniture, and wine themed furniture. Everything looked like Pinterest. It was splendid. We were greeted by Barbara, who had to be the sweetest, most attentive, person ever. For $ 5, you can basically taste all of their wine. You can even take home a souvenir Island Grove Winery wine glass (stemmed or stemless.) You are given a lsit of all of their wines, ordered from driest to sweetest. My personal favorite was the Sorta Sweet Blueberry, which is the only wine in which they grow the fruit themselves. All of the other fruits come shipped to the winery in juice form, which definitely does not affect the flavor.
All of their wines were delightfully aromatic. The peach one definitely had a memorable and delicious smell. We were also able to try the Ice Wine, which was made from blueberries that were harvested while frozen. This concentrated the flavor, making it the perfect ‘sipping’ dessert wine. It was very sweet and had a very strong alcohol content. We tried all of the wines. The cranberry wine was a hit! I have never had anything like it.
The service was the most memorable part about Island Grove. Our wine connoisseur Barbara was extremely helpful and attentive. She was knowledgeable about the wines and made us feel right at home. She truly made it an excellent experience.
The Tasting House itself was also stocked with many adorable wine trinkets, supplies, and premium products that Island Grove made as well. We were able to sample their honeys, salad dressings, salsas, and even olive oil. I fell in love with their blueberry wine candles, but did not purchase one since they were pretty pricey. I really enjoyed browsing through the unique wine gifts and art. It made the experience extra fun.
I am so glad that I visited Island Grove’s Tasting House! I would have never purchased the wine if I did not visit otherwise. It is always great to get straight to the source, to learn about the products you are purchasing, and to enjoy the atmosphere each company has to offer. I will definitely be back! I purchased the Sorta Sweet Blueberry and I cannot wait to try more of their seasonal wines. I would also like to tour the winery. They have tours at 11am and 2pm on weekdays at the winery, so I will need to make another trip out to Hawthorne for some more sips.

Stopped on my way home. Great tasting room. Decorated tastefully. Got 3 bottles of wine. Backporch Peach with dinner tonight. Excellent! Will be back.

The tasting room is beautiful — bright, clean, and Inviting! The wines are delicious — many made from the fresh blueberries grown on their own farm. Wines run from dry to sweet dessert. Great variety and flavors! Highly recommend a stop in their tasting room.

Great wine great people.
They have fantastic blueberry wine and an assortment of fruit blends. The plant has tours if you take an adventure down a couple mile dirt road.
Free tastings make me feel warm inside.
Check them out.

I got to try three of Island Grove Wine Company’s offerings at a Sustainy event at Duckweed Market in downtown Tampa and they were great! I look forward to visiting the winery and hope they have a lot of success. Their blueberry wines are delicious!!! And it’s great to be able to buy such tasy beverages from our region.