1. San Sebastian Winery
Recently I took a day trip to St. Augustine, Fl. I love to travel and I love food and wine. So
naturally I had to make a stop at the San Sebastian Winery. Founded in 1996, this winery offers a
great selection of wine. The winery is conveniently located a few blocks from downtown St.
Augustine.
I started my trip to the winery with a tour of their facility. I was amazed to find out that this little
winery had already won numerous awards for their wine. Not bad considering they’d only been
around for a little over 15 years. We got to see the how they made and stored their wine. Of
course naturally the best part was still to come, the wine tasting.
As we gathered around the bar with our glasses ready, we were given a list with their complete
wine selection. They offered 9 varieties of wine to sample. With each bottle we would be told a
little bit about the wine, what foods they were best paired with and whether you should serve it
chilled or room temperature. For the novice wine drinkers in the group, it was a great way for
them to learn about wine.
The wines offered at San Sebastian Winery include:
 BLANC DE FLEUR – this is a fruity yet sweet wine that is along the lines of a sparkling
wine. The taste that rolls across your palate is wonderful. This would make an ideal
dessert wine.
 BLANC DU BOIS – this is a semi-dry wine that we were told goes well with poultry
and seafood.
 CASTILLO RED – this one of my favorites. It had a slightly spicy flavor and I was told
it would go well with meat or rich foods.
 PORT – this wine was not one of my favorites but my brother loved it. This is
considered a dessert wine. The first taste for me was strong and full of flavor. We were
given a piece of chocolate and told to bite the chocolate and then take a drink of the wine.
This enhanced the flavor and made it taste better in the end to me. It still wasn’t my
favorite wine but it was ok.
 RESERVA – this dry wine had a smooth flavor to me. It was said to accompany fish and
poultry well.
 ROSA- this was in my favorite’s category. Slightly sweet, this wine pairs well with a
variety of foods. It’s made from Florida Muscadine grapes.
 VINTNERS RED – this wine goes well with pasta dishes and we were told it should be
served slightly chilled for optimum taste. It has a great fruit flavor.
 VINTNERS WHITE – much like its red counterpart, this win boasts a great fruit flavor
and pairs well with a great selection of fruit and cheese.
 CREAM SHERRY – this wine was said to pair well with desserts.
I was amazed that the highest priced bottle of wine was around $17 which is quite a bargain for a
wine lover like me. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at this winery. Between the tour and the wine

2. tasting, it was a great stop on my trip. Naturally I walked out with a wide selection of wine to
add to my stash at home.
In addition to their great wine selections, they offered a variety of wine gift baskets as well as a
great selection of some really beautiful wine glasses and wine stoppers. One great thing I notice
was they also have The Cellar Upstairs Wine, Jazz & Blues Bar. Open on the weekend you can
enjoy some great live music as well as have a sampling of appetizers to pair with your favorite
San Sebastian wine. It brings a beautiful environment alive and makes the wine experience one
to truly remember.