- Do you know one of the worst places to store wine? Florida. Dreadful conditions. They’re not all that great for humans, either. But good wine at least helps make the climate more bearable. So four locals — Adam Chilvers and Erin Allport of Winter Park’s Wine on the Way retail delivery service; Gary Chapdelaine of CRU Custom Wine Cellars; and Dr. Greg Schroeder — have teamed up to open Winter Park Wine Storage. The new business will offer climate-controlled storage lockers at temperatures between 55 and 65 degrees and humidity at 60 to 70 percent. (Sorry, it’s for wine only.) WPWS will have lockers for 10, 20 or 30 cases of wine, with prices of $35, $70 and $140 per month. It isn’t scheduled to open until the end of summer. What should you do with your wines in the meantime? Ice, ice, baby.
- Sixty Vines, a restaurant that features wine on tap, will take over the vacated Kona Grill space in Winter Park. According to a press release, Sixty Vines features “seasonal cuisine inspired by the wines of Napa Valley,” so you won’t be surprised to learn that it’s based in Texas. In fact it has only two other locations, in Plano and Dallas (that’s a photo of the Dallas restaurant at top), with another planned for Houston. Winter Park’s will be the company’s first outside Texas. It won’t open until at least next spring.
- Quantum Leap Winery, which is also known for its wines on tap, is offering a Paint & Wine Tasting. Hang on, let me check my notes…Yep, that’s what it says, Paint & Wine Tasting, Wednesday, July 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. I think what it means is that participants will try their hand at artistic painting while sipping wines. But I could be wrong. After all, some paints could be described as coating the palate and having a good finish. And I’ve certainly had a few wines that tasted like turpentine. Tickets are $45 and available at Art of Escapes.
- My guest bathroom needs painting and I have a jug of chardonnay for anyone who’s interested.
- Looking forward to our sold-out Supper Club tonight at Christner’s Prime Steak & Lobster, featuring the wines of Chalk Hill Estate. Christner’s recently celebrated its 26th anniversary with a special dinner on June 14 and donated all the proceeds from that day — $19,851 — to the Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families.
- The folks at Monsieur Paul, the upstairs restaurant at the France pavilion in Epcot, is offering a Secret Special Discovery Menu that they’d like everyone to know about. It’s a four-course dinner for $59 per person, plus tax, but you have to ask for it, preferably with a wink, wink and a nudge, nudge.
- In news that will come as a surprise to absolutely no one, Dexter’s of Windermere has closed. As you know, the four Dexter’s were split up and sold off last year. Ever since, I’ve been getting notices from former customers that the Windermere location’s quality had flagged and its end was imminent. By the way, the Thornton Park Dexter’s recently went through a renovation and has reopened. I’ll have a review of it soon.
