V is for Viticulture in Florida
When we lived in southern Illinois, one of our favorite weekend activities--besides hiking--was
visiting various vineyards and wineries located throughout the region.
Viticulture has burgeoned into a
vim-and-vinegar enterprise in Illinois over the past few decades. Here's a
link to a YouTube video that explains some of the history behind the phenomenon. Quite a lot of the credit for the tremendous growth goes to partnerships established between industry leaders and university researchers. A great deal of public funding in the form of grants and low-interest loans has been made available over the past several decades for entrepreneurs to try their hand at winemaking. You might say it's a
vin-vin situation for everyone concerned, including consumers like us.
Once we moved to Florida, I began to miss our weekend
visits to the countryside to sample the fruit of the
vine. Our first home in Florida, a rental place on Anastasia Island, afforded us a chance to stop by
San Sebastian Winery in St. Augustine. There we discovered fine wines, yes, but a
vineyard with rustic ambiance? No.
Grapes obviously flourish here in Florida. You see wild
vines thriving in just about any patch of woods you care to explore. And cultivation is certainly not a problem. There are
vast resources available to help someone grow a business. One of the local universities in Tallahassee, FAMU, even has a
Center for Viticultural Sciences and Small Fruit, which has been in existence since 1978.
So why is there a
veritable vacuum or
void of any
viable vineyards close to Tallahassee? The consumer base is here, believe me. The student population alone could drain a thousand casks an hour or more if given the chance.
I guess lately the economy has placed public funding in peril or over a barrel. The think tank is in place. It's just missing someone with the
vision to make it all happen here like it has in southern Illinois. A certain joie de
vin--along with
vast amounts of cash--is all that's required. So is anyone out there interested in
vineyard investing?
