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Well now that I got a bit of sprite in the wine posts, let me tell you about something unique and very memorable for all my family.  As said, I love wines since an early age, and everywhere I go I search for them often visiting the winemakers themselves or trying exotic wines of far away lands. This is the case of this post on my new world wines experiences !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I

These are two areas not known for wine but then again as I said, I tried them all!!! Let me tell you a bit about the wines of Florida USA and Cuba!! Hope you enjoy the post as I. Of course, the pictures are wine labels from the bottles I used to collect, and the tasting album I had.

In the early 1900’s, attempts to grow wine grapes in Florida failed due to a bacterial disease.  Hybrids were developed by researchers to produce a plant that would be immune to the disease and yet make fine wines.  No one dared such a risky venture until the Kiser family bought some of the hybrid cuttings in the 1970’s from the University of Florida.  It took them until 1985 to produce a wine fine enough to sell, and in 1986 Eden Vineyards and Winery became official.

The southernmost winery in the continental United States this is just outside Ft. Myers. You traveled down Little Lane, in the town of Alva, and you are transported to Old Florida, and the beauty of the area is so peaceful. This is right off of Route 80. It had a nice winery’s wine and gift shop.

They sold  7 wines which were the : Lake Emerald – Very Dry – A complex and elegant fine wine, fermented in French oak barrels at cold temperatures, has an underbody of ripe fruit. Alva Rouge –  Medium Dry – Beaujolais Nouveau style, perfect with pasta dishes and roast chicken, fresh and fruity. Alva White – Medium Dry – A sipping wine; great with pork, seafood, and poultry; crisp and fruity. Coral Bell – Lightly Sweet – Similar to California Blush wines but less sweet, with full-bodied grape flavors, ending bright and clean. Edelweiss – Hint of Sweetness – Velvety American and Spicy European varietals, honeysuckle flavors. Eden Stars – Lightly Sweet – Serve chilled, similar to California Blush, excellent with light meals, salads, seafood, poultry; flavor from Carambola, the star fruit. Eden Spice – Sweet – People love this popular wine with it’s exotic flavors.

We tried several do not recall which ,but did purchase the Coral Bell which was ok.  Earl and Mildred Kiser decided to retire and closed Eden’s doors for the last time on December 5, 2013. and they are no longer in business. Sadly, nothing to come back to in my former home of Florida!

My reliable YELP review on the former Eden Vineyards and Winery :https://www.yelp.com/biz/eden-vineyards-winery-alva-2

While visiting Cuba on a business trip, was taken to the Marina Hemingway by Santa Fe, and got into the marina store there. To my surprise there wines made in Cuba lol!!  There is a story of this, and selling under the brand name Soroa with vineyard with the red grape varieties Tempranillo, Negro Amaro and Cabernet and white varieties: Malvasía Histriana. 

The result of a mixed partnership of cooperation between Italy and Cuba that emerged in 1996, the planting of 30 hectares of vines from the farms of Gianfranco Fantinel in northern Italy, the firm Vinos Fantinel currently produces white, red and rosé table wines, with its lines Castillo del Morro, Soroa, San Cristóbal and the famous Cortes, These wines are distributed now under the Cuba Ron entreprise.

Havana was an important port for merchandise at the beginning of the 16C between America and Spain, the galleons arrive with excellent wines from Catalonia, Jerez and Malaga in barrels that, after being emptied, will have other uses such as storing water, grains, gunpowder, etc. At the end of the 19C, the sale of wines and spirits in Cuba was reduced, the phylloxera crisis that began to appear in the middle of the century in France reached Spain spread throughout Europe and destroyed almost all of the vineyards. Cuba never had a wine industry as all was imported and mostly from Spain.

The Cuba Ron webpage on Vinos Soroa :https://www.cubaron.com/es/productos/espirituosos-menu/vinos/lineas-vinos/316-vinos-soroa

For reference the official Fantinel in Italy : https://fantinel.com/fantinel/en/

I found me an old picture new to the blog that quite nicely fit this post so rather than create one will add it to this one, this is pure sugar aguardiante Santa Cruz del Norte! Aguardiente is a generic term to designate a distilled alcoholic beverage from several sources such as grapes, cereals vegetables and grains. In Cuba this is mostly done with the sugar cane. The Mayor’s Office of Jaruco, east of Havana processed the authorization to install alcohol and brandy distillery that had been repeatedly denied by the municipal government. In this way, in 1919 the land to the east of the Santa Cruz River were acquired by the American society “Cuban alcohol refining company”, and on September 30 of that same year the Santa Cruz del Norte distillery was inaugurated. In 1927 there was a change of owners and a Cuban corporation acquired the distillery in 1928, then, the company that owns the Santa Cruz del Norte distillery changed its name for that of “Cuban Industrial Alcohol and Refining Company S.A. In March 1937 it was installed a new distiller column acquired from the establishment Barbet et Cie of France, which raised the production capacity, In the 1940s the distillery that until now had dedicated above all to the elaboration of industrial alcohol and brandy began to develop and put on the market new brand such as the pure sugar cane brandy Santa Cruz, The Santa Cruz del Norte distillery was nationalized (as most due to the communist dictatorship still there )on August 8, 1960. On November 7, 1993, the Cuba Ron Ron S.A. Corporation was created, and since then , it manufactures only the Havana Club rum line, which includes the Añejo Blanco, the Light Dry, and the Añejo Reserva.

There you go folks, wines all over even in impossible places; I have tried them all!! In the search for tasting wines I have gone to all corners of the world, and have the priviledge to visit some world famous wineries. And of course, some not so famous as the ones above of Florida USA and Cuba. Do search and try and discover the world of wines! Again,hope you enjoy the post on my new world wines experiences !!! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!