The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper


Vol. 16 No. 41 - August 10, 2016

Time to take a tour

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

submitted

A great pairing during wine tastings.

In a recent column I had talked about taking a winery tour when I was a wine salesman years ago. The company had sent 10 of us to California and each day we toured three wineries and were able to observe how wines were made. It was educational and a good deal of fun at the same time. The only problem now, it costs an awful lot to fly to California where there are hundreds of vineyards to visit.

Now for the good news – we have a winery less than an hour away right here in Manatee County. It's called Rosa Fiorelli Winery. Back in 1998 an older Sicilian gentleman named Antonio Fiorelli retired from the restaurant business and bought property outside Tampa to grow his garden. He ended up with an acre of grapes just like when he was a kid in Sicily.

The only difference was the kind of grapes that were growing here. In the southern U.S. you don't find the grapes we normally associate with wine, such as chardonnay, cabernet and riesling. Here, with our high temperatures and our sandy soils, you successfully grow the muscadine and scuppernong grape varietals. Working with the University of Florida to hybridize his grapes to grow in these conditions and produce grapes to make wine, Antonio's wine garden grew to eight acres.

Antonio passed away in 2013, and the wine making has been passed on to his wife, Rosa, and their son, Salvatore. Today they successfully make 10 different varieties of wine and make about 12,000 bottles of wine a year. Using the hybrids of the local muscadine grapes, you can taste a dry noble red, a medium dry pink rosato or sweet white dessert wines. All of the wines are available to purchase in the winery.

You can tour the winery every Saturday (11-3) and Sunday (12-3), and the lunch tour and tastings cost $10. With advanced notice, you are able to upgrade to a cheese and cracker, a sandwich and salad or an Italian buffet dinner tour. There are several other special events during the year as well, such as the Harvest Festival on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 27 and 28, where you can pick and stomp your own grapes. There are also Wine Down and Paint dates, which I hear are a blast.

Last, but not least, you can enjoy Wine and Dine in Vines. Once a month, you can enjoy a fabulous gourmet dinner in the vineyards paired with the wines of Rosa Fiorelli. Some of the most successful meals were catered by Anna Maria's very own The Loft 5, owned by our friend A.J. Lattieri.

Rosa Fiorelli Winery is located about a mile south of State Road 64 (Manatee Ave.) on State Road 675, which is about 25 miles east of the Island. It is about a mile up the road from Hunsader Farms, so you might consider stopping there during your day and picking up some fresh produce to enjoy with the wines you will get at the winery. Sounds like fun, so I hope you make a day of it, and until next time ...

Caramelized Onion Tartlets

Ingredients:

• 1 box frozen filo sheets

• 1 lb. Brie, cut into cubes

• 2 large sweet onions, diced

• 3 oz. extra virgin olive oil

• 3 oz. sherry wine

• Salt & pepper

Directions:

Over medium high heat, caramelize onions in a large sauté pan by adding onions, then right after add olive oil, giving a good stir every 90 seconds until onions are translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and stir every 5 minutes for 20 minutes. Add sherry wine, raise heat to medium high and simmer until sauce reduces. Set aside to cool.

Cut filo into two-inch squares. Line small oven safe bowls, ramekins or small dishes with filo squares, 8 to 9 layers, working tenderly with the dough. Push to form the shape of the bowl and add cubes of Brie to fill. Adding a tablespoon of caramelized onions to each.

Bake at 350º for 12 to 14 minutes. Serve with your favorite balsamic glaze or make your own.


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