Feature Story & Photos by Larry H. Oskin, South Lake Tablet
Florida is actually the birthplace of American wine. French Huguenots who settled in North America around 1562 made wine from the abundant wild Muscadine grapes they found growing near Jacksonville. This was the first recorded reference to wine made from grapes grown in the “New World”. Since that time grape growing and wine production in Florida has continued to develop as a successful industry. Some historically notable men such as Emile DuBois and the Marquis de Lafayette were once involved.
After the Citrus freezes, Lake County business leaders sought opportunities to bring new agricultural products to the area, and the growing of grapes and the production of wine was reintroduced to Central Florida.
Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards, located right in South Lake County, has been growing grapes and producing wines since 1988. It has become Florida’s largest winery, producing award-winning Muscadine grape wines.
Gary Cox bought the land in Clermont to build the Lakeridge Winery with other buildings and planted the vineyards through the early years. The Vineyard was officially opened by Gary Cox as General Partner, with a small group of investors based out of Lafayette Vineyards in Tallahassee.
There are currently less than 25 wineries in Florida and many of them create blueberry-based wines. Muscadines were selected at the winery as a popular sweet southern wine grape, that would grow well under the local climate and sandy soil conditions. With the positive response from locals and tourists, it eventually started to take hold as a viable wholesale and retail wine business.
It took five years to get their new Muscadines grape vines to mature and to start producing.
With steady growth since 1989, Lakeridge Winery now produces and ships 150,000 to 160,000 cases of wine per year from here in Clermont with over one million bottles. Their wines are sold through their distributor under the Lakeridge and Lakeridge Reserve brands wines at the winery, at major supermarkets and retail wine shops throughout Florida and Georgia. They have a wholesale team that personally visits all retail outlets who carry their labeled brands. Together, these two labels have earned more than 1,400 top awards for excellence in winemaking.
Lakeridge Vineyards: Lakeridge currently has about 75 acres of vineyards planted. Their Muscadine grape varieties are Noble red along with Welder and Carlos whites that flourish in Florida because of their disease resistance and adaptability to our warm, humid climate. The native varieties of the Red Noble, Bronze Carlos and Welder Muscadines are all produced at the 127-acre Lakeridge Winery Estate, along with the vinting and bottling of dry wines such as Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon. To supplement the Lakeridge Vineyards, they contract with growers who specialize in the other grape varieties. This includes an additional 450 acres owned at Prosperity Vineyards in the Florida panhandle and at another 200 acres under contract throughout Florida including the San Sebastian Vineyards near Saint Augustine.
Lakeridge Winemaking! Wines are made from what is grown on the property and other locations, all in the Clermont and Groveland area. The local grapes are grown from March through July, while harvesting usually starts by the first or second weeks of August and continues for about 5 to 6 weeks. The wine grapes are all pressed on properly, with ten tons of grapes at a time. Approximately, 100 tons of grapes are processed per day. The harvested grapes are weighed upon arrival at the winery, while the sugar and acid content are lab checked, as well as the pH. It takes a careful balance of these elements to determine when the grapes are ready to be harvested. Crushing and pressing activities are done outside at their massive crush deck. As the grapes are emptied into the hopper of the crusher-stemmer, sulfur dioxide is added to inhibit the wild yeast. A set of paddles in the crusher-stemmer separates the stems from the grapes and serrated rollers break the skin so juice can flow. To this point, the separated red and white grapes are handled with the same process.
The Southern Red Wine and Southern White Wines account for 60% of the winery’s total sales. Red grapes are handled in a slightly different manner.
The Big Squeeze In Savory Winemaking! Their winemaker inoculates the juice with yeast and adds sugar for the fermentation to take place at a controlled temperature. They ferment at 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit for two to eight weeks. The relatively low temperature and resultant slow fermentation helps preserve the fruity flavor and delicate aromas of the white grapes. The wine is then “racked” several times during the fermentation and again when fermentation is complete. At that time the wine is racked into their huge storage tanks.
All Lakeridge wines are kept on the property until fully processed in clean, sanitary and safe stainless-steel tanks. Everything is constantly lab-tested to ensure consistent quality and cleanliness.
Many wines are better when young. All table wines lose their freshness and fruitiness if kept too long. It is said that 75% of the wine produced in the world is as good when it is one year old, as it is ever likely to be. It will then only deteriorate and not improve, after its third-year birthday. Lakeridge recommends that their wines be consumed within two years. Their fresh light style does not require aging. They advise that when you store your wine prior to consuming it, they recommend you keep it in a cool, dark location at a constant temperature.
Lakeridge Winery’s sister San Sebastian Winery is ranked a close second. Both wineries are now structured under the private corporation of Seavin, Inc. with Gary Cox as Founder, Board Chairman, with Charles Cox as President, Carole Cox as Secretary and Mandi Enix as Treasurer. The family has always had a strong commitment to producing quality wine while providing a fun and educational experience for everyone and continues to remain ‘Dedicated To Your Good Taste’.
Barry Hus has been the Chief Operating Officer for the past 6 years, supervising all wine making, the vineyards and all expansion to what has grown to become a successful 22,000 square foot facility with a very talented team of wine professionals. Hus started working as an expert resource with Lakeridge and the Cox Family over 22 years ago. Hus shares, “My goal is to continually make some new improvements for Lakeridge, while also making someone’s life better every single day!” His team includes Jeanne Burgess, who has been a winemaker for the past 35 years. She supervises all of the processing, quality control, and government regulations, as well as makes the wine. Hus notes, “She is the single greatest resource this company has and one of the key reasons we have done so well!” Ron Guzzetta is their Vineyard Manager, overseeing the vineyards and the grape production 24/7 at all locations. Rich Wojcik is a bottling line and refrigeration specialist, with extra talents as a mechanic.
Most importantly, Cox created the Muscadine juice that became a unique and popular wine, with grapes that are only grown in Florida.
With steady growth since 1989, Lakeridge Winery now produces and ships 150,000 to 160,000 cases of wine per year from here in Clermont with over one million bottles. Their wines are distributed through wholesale as Lakeridge Winery and San Sebastian Winery. They are available at major supermarkets and retail wine shops throughout Florida and Georgia. They have a wholesale team that personally visits all retail outlets that carry their labeled brands. Together, these two labels have earned more than 1,400 top awards for excellence in winemaking.
Entertainment, Food & Fun: Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards holds an array of free live entertainment with wines, drinks, foods and small celebratory festivals every weekend throughout the year. Every family-friendly event runs from noon through 4 PM. Picnic tables are available on the vineyard grounds. You can check their website and follow their Facebook pages to learn about each weekend event.
Free Winery Tours & Wine Sampling: More than 160,000 people visit the winery annually. Complimentary winery tours and free wine tasting opportunities are offered 7 days a week, Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM and on Sundays from 11 AM to 5 PM. On weekends, they do a walk-through wine tasting in the production area. Tours start every 15 minutes and include a brief audio-visual presentation along with a guided walking tour of the facility. Your Tour Guide will show you the production area and then outside to the balcony to see the view of the vineyards where the grapes are grown and harvested. The Wine Tastings are held afterward downstairs at the large tasting bar counter on Mondays through Fridays. Varieties of award-winning and unique premium wines ranging from dry to sweet with sparkling are offered.
VIP Wine Enthusiasts: The private VIP Wine Tasting Room is available for small parties up to 8 people for an extra fee. These private VIP reservations must be booked online.
For More Information, visit Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards, located at 19239 U.S. Highway 27 North in Clermont, Florida 34715. Phone: 800-768-9463, Email: info@lakeridgewinery.com and visit: www.lakeridgewinery.com. You can like and follow them on Facebook to keep track of their ever-changing weekly events at: https://www.facebook.com/LakeridgeWines.
