Schnebly Redland's Winery & Brewery - Homestead, FL

I have known about Schnebly Redland's Winery for quite some time now and have always wanted to go, but the desire to drive an hour to remote Homestead never allowed me to do so. One Friday night, I decided to take the trek south convincing myself that a winery in South Florida was a sight to be seen and that wine tasting, music and karaoke will be well worth it. I must say I am not a city girl; I grew up in the suburbs but I am definitely not a country girl either and a late night drive to the winery was out of this world. It reminded me of the classic horror films when the characters break down in the middle of nowhere and the only person around is the crazed serial killer whose house you stop at and ask to use their phone. It was that kind of drive. But no fear, we rode through the dark lonely night likes G's and finally made it there.

I was relived to see the parking lot was packed. After driving for so long and not seeing any cars, I was excited to see that the winery was on and popping. As we entered, music was playing, people were dancing and everyone was having a great time. We decided to head straight to the tasting area to do the Ultimate tasting of five different types of wine and it was jam packed inside. They had two small serving stations; one for wine and one for beer. My only issue was that only about 4 people were serving so things moved slowly. People were also crowding around the stations so it took some time to get in but it was well worth it (unless you are a very impatient person). It was my boyfriend and I, so we decided to taste both the sparkling and table wines. I was not a fan of all of them, but I did love the Category 3 Hurricane Vino and the Lychee so we ended up purchasing a bottle of each; one to drink now and one to take home.

After the tasting, we went back outside to find a table. We sat back, jammed to the music, laughed at some of the karaoke singers, got drunk, you know the usual. I had a fun time, got a glass and bottle to take home, and didn't have to spend too much cash. Sure, South Beach is always a good time, but for Friday night fun, this was so much more low key and just as much fun. Plus for "non-wine", wine, it was some pretty great stuff!

Schnebly Redland's Winery & Brewery
30205 SW 217th Avenue Homestead, FL 33030
(305) 242-1224
www.schneblywinery.com