Best Part of the Key West Wine Festival
Key West, Florida, USA
Tasted in January 2016
By Sean Overpeck (CFE)
The Island of Key West is one of many places of paradise in Florida. Great beaches, bars, and when Jimmy Buffets in town some ballads. The restaurant scene is just as impressive. The home of Ernest Hemingway and the summer getaway at the Little White House for President Harry S. Truman, are just some of the highlights that the island offers. Straight down Duval Street on the opposite end of where the bars like Hogs Breath Saloon are, and nearer to the Southernmost Point in the United States is the Cork and Stogie, a small wine and cigar shop that was participating in the Key West Food and Wine Festival.
Scroll down to read the main review, accolades, and tasting notes
So many great wines in this world, here are a few of my favorite tastings:
|
Stellenbosch, South Africa
|
Napa, California, USA
|
|
Santa Barbara, California, USA
|
Franschhoek, South Africa
|
|
Willamette, Oregon
|
Yarra Valley, Australia
|
|
Asheville, North Carolina, USA
|
Willamette, Oregon
|
|
Alexander Valley, California, USA
|
Constantia, South Africa
|
|
Yountville, California
|
Napa, California, USA
|
You can also use these sites for reference on the top wine categories:
Wine Spectator top 100, Food & Wine worlds best wine tasting experience, the Best Wines of the World list, uncorked.com worlds best list, Wines of the World best list, Forbes top wine list, weekly wine buys by Robert Parker, the Tasting Panel’s best wines list, the Wine Enthusiast top 100 list, Kens Wine Guide top 100, best Chilean wines list, Matthew Jukes top 100 of Australia, Top French Wines list, top California wines list, top Oregon wines list, The Italian Wine Connections top list, Taylor and Norton best German wine, best Spanish wines list, best 10 wines from Argentina.
Follow Wine, dine, and Play:
From the home page:
Cork & Stogie is family owned and operated. After moving to Key West from Columbus Ohio, we opened the Southernmost wine and cigar shop in September of 2009 and we have been welcomed into the community ever since.
Our specialties are wine and cigars. Our customers particularly value that we personally approve all of the products that we carry. Come see us and enjoy the most intimate porch on Duval Street!
Main review:
Cuba is ninety miles to the South, and just starting to open up, but it is still going to be along time before regular unaccompanied tourism and trade happen. Until that time, why not visit the closest cigar store to Cuba! With 20 types of cigars for sale, 75 types of beer with 11 on tap, 42 bottles, and 22 canned, plus an extensive wine list and outdoor patio comfort, why not visit the Cork and Stogie instead of Cuba for your next trip?
My fiancé and I were on our third day in Key West and had come down primarily for the Key West Food and Wine Festival. The first day and welcome party was wonderful and set the tone for the events that would come. Unfortunately the tone turned sour as by the second event it was going down hill. We were ready to participate in the third event, called Duval Uncorked where you travel down Duval Street and drink wine with the local merchant and shop keepers. It sounded great, except the invite and documents did not mention where it all began.
So we were at one end of Duval near Mallory Square, but unbeknown to use, the event was starting at the opposite end three miles to the South near the Southernmost Point. So we were walking down the sidewalk, and ever so often would run into a wine or art gallery and ask them if they knew where this event was. No one had any idea as they were not participating in the events. Finally we started to see people with the event passes around their necks and figured we were finally heading in the right direction. We arrived at the Cork and Stogie and the owner Dave Bevons was very helpful in letting us know where the event was located.
We continued on our way, but Dave did invite us back for a drink, to which we gladly did. Especially when we arrived, to discover that the tastings were over and mostly everyone had left. We got our money back from the event, then headed back up to visit Dave at the Cork and Stogie. He and his wife were very kind and we struck up conversations with them, a few wine representatives and some locals, enjoying our time as we drank a few wines. It was by far the best part of the Key West Food and Wine Festival that day. I’m not a cigar person so I did bypass that portion but I still appreciate Dave’s kindness and hope that you stop by his store when you visit Key West next.
My fiancé had a few glasses of a rosé called Whispering Angel by Chateau d’Esclans which is located on elevated land on the Gorges de Pennafort, near the ancient Roman City of Fréjus on the Mediterranean coast. Château d’Esclans lies in the center of the Department of the Var, where the majority of Provence AOC rosé is produced. The château is known for its old Grenache vines which produce grapes that offer greater concentration of flavor than do the younger vines. As the elevation to where the lots are situated increases, so do the age of the vines. At the highest elevated lot vines are as old as 90 years.
I enjoyed a nice glass of cabernet sauvignon from Domino winery based out of Manteca, California. Domino winery is a collection of contemporary, smooth-drinking wines from Merlot, Cabernet, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and moscato.
After our wonderful conversation and wine, we bid our hosts goodbye and went off to eat dinner. We were in the mood for some sushi, and had seen a Japanese restaurant two days before when going to the first wine festival event, so on we went to Ambrosia.
Bouquet & Palette Notes:
Wine & Grape:
|
Nose (Bouquet):
|
Palette Experience:
|
|
|
Winemaker: Strikingly pale pink in color, the aromas are fresh and fruity Unoaked blend of Grenache, Rolle, Cinsault, and Syrah. hints of orange, berry’s and spice |
Winemaker: On the palate, it is bone dry through the finish. The name really suits the delicate nature of this wine. Well Balance, and very dry, citrus flavors and moderate tannin, with a long finish |
|
|
Winemaker: Blackberry, black cherry and violet A rich cabernet with subtle oak, plum, berries, and coffee |
Winemaker: flavors of jammy black fruit compote with notes of clove and spice The plum and oak carry over along with some cinnamon and all-spice flavor. Very rich and medium tannins with subtle silky finish. |
Wine selections by region:
|
6 of 10
Old world:
A). Bordeaux: (Haut Médoc, Cotes de Castillon, Médoc, Pessac Leognan, Sauternes, St. Estèphe, St. Julien, St. Émillion, Pauillac, Pomerol, & Margaux).
B). Bourgogne: (Chablis, Puligny Montrachet, Chassagne Montrachet, Macon Villages, Meursault, Pernand, Pouilly.
C). Other: Côtes du Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
New World:
A). Marlborough: (Wairau Valley, Awetere Valley, Waihopi Valley)
|
Other Key West reviews on Wine, Dine, and Play:
Store Owner:
Dave Bevons
Store Address:
1218 Duval Street
Key West, Florida
33040
GPS Coordinates:
24.548489
-81.797552
Tasting Room Information:
|
Hours:
Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5:00)
|
Monday - Sunday: 10:00 am - 11:00 pm |
|
Contact:
|
+1 305.517.6419 |
|
Website: |
The Cork and Stogie |
|
Email: |
Contact |
|
Social Media: |
Facebook Link |
|
Twitter @corkandstogie |
|
|
Pinterest |
|
|
Cork Board |
Reviewed by:
Sean Overpeck (CFE)
Picture below was taken at the Cork and Stogie with Dave Bevons
About Sean:
I am based out of St. Petersburg, Florida working in the food service industry for the past twenty years, and am currently with the American Embassy as the Executive Chef in Basra, Iraq. Formally I have worked with groups contracting in Afghanistan, Dubai, and Antarctica, also working in restaurants in and around Atlanta prior to the wars. I have also owned a catering company and served proudly in the United States Army Food Service Program. The idea for the Wine, Dine, and Play started in late 2012 after a trip to Jordan, when I was asked by friends to write down the experiences from a few Jordanian restaurants, plus the wine from the region that I tasted, and locations of interest such as Petra, and the culture. Since that time, over 200 articles have been written on restaurants, including fifteen from the worlds top 100 lists of San Pellegrino and the Elite Travelers Guide; exotic world locations such as Dubai, Petra, Victoria Falls, and South African Safari’s; food recipes & Grand Food Dictionaries; country cuisines such as Afghan and Peruvian; and of course wine from vineyards in California, Oregon, the Carolina’s, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia
Who is John Galt?
“I like cooking with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.”
Other articles of interest on Wine, dine, and Play:
Shark Cage Diving in South Africa
Fugitives Drift Lodge in Kwa-Zulu-Natal
A Taste of Dubai
Leopard Hills Lodge in South Africa
Gulfport Tuesday Market, Florida
United States Marine Corps Birthday 2013 in Herat, Afghanistan
A Taste of McMurdo, Antarctica
Netflix Movie Codes, search for your favorites
Burj Khalifa Tower Dubai, UAE
Red Hills Market in Willamette, Oregon
Petra, Jordan
Wine, Dine, And Play’s Top 100 (coming soon)
TTFN
