Beginning on March 1, 2021, Tour and Travel for Foodie Fans Owners & Experience Guides Bryce Morrison, a veteran of the United States Navy, and his wife Carla Rhodes are launching their newest business venture: Winter Park Wine Walk, a walking food and wine tour in the historic Park Avenue area.
The food tour lasts 3.5 hours and consists of taking a brisk walk down Park Avenue with many tasty stops along the way, sampling delicious food and wines from a variety of restaurants while learning some surprising history about Winter Park and their many small businesses.
Park Avenue is uniquely qualified to represent Central Florida with foodies who enjoy wine. During your guided visit, they will take you on a journey through the heart of Winter Park in search of great wine spots with a few surprises along the way.
If this is your first time in Winter Park, you will fall in love with the European feel of brick streets and canopy trees. If you are a local, this tour will work to share new delights and interesting stories to help you fall in love all over again.
The tour is available every Monday from 12:30pm – 4pm for $65 per person, ages 21+. A nighttime tour will be available every Monday starting at 5:30pm for $85 per person, ages 21+.
$5 from every tour will be donated to the Shift Colors Project to help veterans and their families adjust to civilian life together through extensive guidance, education, and shared experiences.
I had the opportunity to attend a private preview of the tour and enjoyed sampling some light bites from local small businesses while learning a lot of interesting history about the area.
We begun our tour at our first stop: Boca for appetizers.
Boca’s menu is based on the local food movement and sources ingredients from nearby farmers and specialty food purveyors wherever possible. Boca believes everybody wins with farm-to-table fare, from farmer to chef to diner. A high-quality, locally-sourced meal benefits all.
House Cabernet
Zucchini Fries with Green Goddess dressing, incredibly addictive.
Flatbread of the Day – Maple sausage, grandma’s house sauce, oyster mushrooms, caramelized onion, broccoli, manchego cheese. Delicious!
Second stop: The Ancient Olive
We explored and experienced this gourmet food shop where you can sample Spanish olives, French mustards, award-winning preserves, dry-cured sausages, nuts, hand-crafted pastas, unique cocktail mixers and so much more.
Third stop: Dessert at Pannullo’s. A favorite of Winter Park locals for more than twenty-five years. Pannullo’s serves a wide variety of Italian cuisine with a creative flair as well as traditional favorites.
Cannolis & Espresso
Located on beautiful Park Ave and overlooking Central Park, Pannullo’s offers sidewalk, patio or indoor Tuscan themed dining.
Last stop: The Wine Room.
The Wine Room showcases 150+ hand-selected wines from around the world that can be sampled in either a 1 oz., 2.5 oz., or 5 oz. pour size, on their state-of-the-art Enomatic wine dispensing machines, plus artisanal cheese & tapas.
Every guest gets a card for the wine room so they are able to sample around and enjoy.
Their wine selection has received The Wine Spectator’s “Best of Award of Excellence” six years in a row. All wines are also available for purchase, to either enjoy on-site or to take home.
The Rare Room which has all of their rare bottles.
Downstairs is the Vault Lounge which used to be a bank which held all of the money for Central Florida. When The Wine Room took over the space in 2006 they redid everything downstairs and made it into a lounge seating area for guests. Since it is located in a secluded area, I would have not known about the Vault Lounge had it not been for the food & wine tour so I am grateful for the VIP experience.
They also have lockers downstairs for their members. Every member gets a locker of their choice, discounts on products, and no corkage free which really helps out when you are opening bottles.
Tour and Travel for Foodie Fans will soon be offering their wine walk to additional cities in the Central Florida area including: Mount Dora, Winter Garden, and Sanford.
In addition to the walking tours, Bryce and Carla will also be hosting exciting foodie meetups every month. Be sure to visit their website to stay up to date with their latest events.
For more information, visit: tt4ff.com
