Beer, Wine & Spirits in Gainesville
Recommended Beer, Wine & Spirits by Groupon Customers
For more than eight years, Liquors at the Marketplace has decorated area bar carts and cellars with a staggering selection of hard-to-find liquors and more than 300 varietals of wine. Patrons can take center stage at cocktail parties, mixing up mojitos from bottles of premium 10 Cane rum, pouring glasses of wine developed by golfer Greg Norman, or smash bottles of Kendall Jackson chardonnay on strangers' boats in guerilla-style christening ceremonies. For Friars Club–style tea parties, the shop also stocks cigars and smoking accessories, and stays open on most holidays.
For Bradley and Jennifer Ferguson, winemaking was initially just a hobby. They fermented their first wine in their kitchen using blueberries plucked from bushes on the grounds of their family's farm. Proud of their creation, they shared the wine with friends and continued to make a new batch each year during blueberry season. Years of practice made the wine tastier and tastier. They decided to make their hobby into a profession, naming their company Bluefield Estate Winery.
Today, they brew two versions of blueberry wine—one sweet, one dry—as well as wines derived from fruits such as peaches, mandarin oranges, or snozberries. Visitors to the vineyard can sample the libations, staining their fingers indigo as a reminder of a day spent picking blueberries and grapes straight from vines and bushes.
When Island Grove AG Products found that they had blueberries that weren't able to be used for fresh produce, winemaker Chase Marden stepped in and, to the delight of all, started turning the berries into "Kind of Dry" and "Sorta Sweet Wine". Now, he aids the Island Grove Wine Company at its 10,000-square-foot winery, pressing the fruit of his labor into a lineup of vinos made from blueberries, strawberries, apples, raspberries, blackberries, and peach. While visiting the winery, guests can participate in free tastings held throughout the week, tour the facility, and stock up on bottles filled with wine from tanks just steps from the cash register.
