Orlando - Fine Wines in Orlando ?

Im interested in visiting the top places to buy fine wines in Orlando... wonder if the resident experts can point me to the best places to buy high end wines and wine related gadgets. Thanks.

I don't live there, but visit regularly and collect wines too - so I've checked out a few places. My favorites:

-Cavanaugh's Fine Wine at 1215 Edgewater (take Ivanoe exit from I-4) - A nice little shop with a fairly good selection and often some treasures in the back room. Sadly, they have morphed form a wine shop to a shop/tasting room over the last 2 years, which has led to a decrease in stock giving way to tasting tables. Slightly high pricing, but excellent staff.

- ABC (caution!!, there are about 10 ABC shops in Orlando.) The best ones I have found: 1 a few blocks east and north of WWWP (see next) in Winter Park (not sure of address, but it's on Orange, north of the Y-intersection with Mills.) A strong selection, with some great finds in the rare wines cave.

The other good ABC is 399 Semoran (at Fairbanks) which has a rather large rare wines room. Pricing at ABC locations is uniform, though stock is highly variable. Prices are fair and appropriate. Staffing at the 2 noted locations is very knowledgeable.

-Wine Warewhouse of Winter Park at 959 Fairbanks. Unassuming from the outside, it's a discount place with a superior, ever-changing selection. Very good staff, and the pricing ranges from fair to outstanding (ex: 1998 Zind-Humbrecht SGN Pinot Gris for $120 with a retail price of $200 -but most are more pedestrian discounts.)

I find Orlando to be a great place to find highly sought after bottles or things that were highly rated "last year" by Robert Parker or by Wine Spectator, but now largely forgotten. People don't really visit MCO to go wine shopping and the native population is big enough to demand a share of the best, but not large enough nor with enough cash to eat up everything as soon as it arrives (unlike in Houston where I am or in other primary cities. Here in Houston, it's not uncommon to watch a case or 2 of $100/bottle wine evaporate over a weekend as the vultures descend on "Spec's" to buy for cellars, parties, and barbeques!)

Likewise, I've found fabulous goodies in a few other secondary cities: ABQ/Santa Fe, Kansas City, Austin.

I was in MCO over New Years, and the Winter Park ABC had a half dozen or so bottles of 1982 1st and 2nd growth Bordeaux. Albeit not cheap at $400-800 per bottle, it was nonetheless impressive to find them there. WWWP had the gamut of Gaja 2000 Barbarescos and Barolos at or below market price and a great selection of Aussie wines including the entire current Clarenden hills line. Didn't hit Cavanagh's that trip.

LW-- many thanks for the excellent intelligence. Being a Wine Merchant myself I always like to look at what different retailers are doing, and of course pick up the rare bottle or two here and there.

Thanks again,
Gaucho100K

Try Gran Cru at 7730 West Sand Lake Road. I personally have not been there, but I have heard good things about it. It is located in a high end strip mall that has the best shops for everything else you could want. My favorite cigar shop is next to it. This shop is close to I drive. Just west of I-4 on Sand Lake Road.

Try Gran Cru at 7730 West Sand Lake Road. I personally have not been there, but I have heard good things about it. It is located in a high end strip mall that has the best shops for everything else you could want. My favorite cigar shop is next to it. This shop is close to I drive. Just west of I-4 on Sand Lake Road.

Great tip... thanks!! ^

I need to buy a couple of books related to wine. In Europe, many high end wine shops have a good selection of literature, Im not sure this is the case in the States.

If anybody has tips on where I can locate a good bookstore in the Orlando it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!!

There are SOME books about wine in the Germany and Italy pavilions in EPCOT. It's hardly a wide selection of literature, but you may find something to your liking.

A website with links to many wine stores in the Orlando area is located at http://www.orlandospirits.com. Tim's Fine Wines is the leading wine store in Orlando although there are a number of other good stores as well.

not a good store, but a restaurant with an amazing wine list is the Seasons 52 on Sand Lake Road in SW Orlando

I was in Winter Park yesterday. It's about a 10 minute drive north of downtown Orlando.

After dinner, I 'accidentally' discovered these 2 wine bars-lounges/stores.

Eola Wine Co.
136 Park Ave

and

the Wine Room
270 Park Ave
www.thewineroomonline.com

Both offered 1 oz pours of multiple multiple wines. Mostly better wines. Limited 'junk'.
You buy a credit type card that you load with a $$$ amount. Then, all you do is insert that card for the wine you'd like to drink.

The retails seemed fair. At Eola Wine Co, wine was priced a few dolars more 'to stay'.

The Wine Room had plenty of couches for seating.

This is my 7000th post.

I've been to pretty much all of these stores, and they are good recommendations but have to say the assistant at the ABC at Orange/Semoran is much better than at any of these other locations.