Safety Harbor Wine Festival

Last night, Krista and I got a babysitter for the boys and headed out to spend a couple of hours at the 8th Annual Safety Harbor Wine Festival, sponsored by our favorite local wine store, Ed's Fine Wines (http://www.edsfinewines.com/)...It was a beautiful, comfortable night in Safety Harbor. The temperature was in the low 70's with no humidity. We had a great time tasting wines and people-watching. We especially enjoyed the nuts who were bundled up in sweaters, jackets, and sweatshirts. Just because it's below 90 degrees, doesn't mean it's quite time to pull out the winter gear.

We started with the Ironstone Old Vine Zinfandel, which retails for about $10-12...We both really enjoyed this wine. It was medium-bodied and smooth, with really good balance. The flavors were mostly red fruits and blackberries. I think we had the 2005, but I'm not 100% sure. It was good enough to pick up a bottle in the near future. A very good start to the night!

We also tried a couple of Mark Davidson wines, the Mark Davidson Shiraz and the Mark Davidson Cabernet/Merlot blend. We've had the Shiraz before and really enjoyed it. The glass we had last night was also very good. The Cab/Merlot blend was also very enjoyable. We've been very impressed with all of the Mark Davidson wines we've tried. We especially enjoy his white blend, which I've posted on this site in the past. Most of the Mark Davidson wines retail in the $10 range.

The last wine I tried last night was the Dante Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This was a delicious fruit-forward cab, with red berries and blackberries on the nose and in the mouth. It wasn't a big, bold cab. It had a more easy-drinking style with good acidity and versatility. I really liked this one.

Krista really liked the Sangria that she tried...I think it was called Toro or El Toro...We'll have to remember to check with Ed's to get the right name.

Next year we need to remember to bring our own glasses like many of the more serious wine drinkers were carrying around. It's hard to get a true sense of the wine when you're drinking it out of small plastic cups.