Beer, Wine & Spirits in Lake Mary

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.

With its exposed bricks, arched doorways, and dim lighting, The Wine Room on Park Avenue evokes a medieval monastery. That may be why the sleek, Italian-made Enomatic wine dispenser, which controls bottle temperature and prevents oxidation, looks so much like a Star Trek-era gadget within the pleasantly rustic walls. With the push of a button, the metallic nozzles pour out precise 1-ounce sample-size, half-glass, or full-glass portions. To ensure spouts remain untainted from customer to customer, it cleans itself after every pour.

The Enomatic is one reason The Wine Room earned the title of Orlando's best wine bar from Orlando Magazine. Though the technology is impressive, the shop backs up their gadgetry with a staff of actual human wine connoisseurs. These friendly staffers help customers navigate the selection of 148 wines, and offer wine classes throughout the year. They can also recommend bottles to pair with The Wine Room's selection of cheeses, flatbreads, and yachts in need of christening.

Brew delights malt and hops lovers with an expansive drink list of more than 120 international and domestic beers in bottles and on draft in addition to a storehouse of liquor such as Jack Daniel's, Patrón, and Bacardi. Far-flung brews pack up their bags and make the journey to the bar, where Japanese pale lagers hobnob with German hefeweizens alongside homegrown brews from Orlando. Weekend socializers take in live music on Friday and Saturday, relax at the hookah bar, or sing a spirited round of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony around the pool table.

Starting from humble roots in his farmhouse kitchen, Keel and Curley’s founder, Joe Keel, started his winery in 2003 with just 10 gallons of homemade blueberry wine, made from the leftover crop of that year’s berries. Today, the company has grown to produce more than 20,000 cases of fruit-based ambrosias, including blueberry, blackberry, and seven fusion wines forged from a blend of fresh fruit and classic grape-based red and white varietals. After touring the winery's facilities to learn about the winemaking process, guests may sample vintages crafted from strawberries, key lime, and peaches while perched on tall wooden stools behind the bar area of the tasting room. They may also steal away to the outdoor wooden deck, which offers panoramic views of the green vineyards, tree-lined pond, and white gazebo, which plays host to wedding ceremonies and re-enactments of wedding ceremonies. The after-hours wine bar keeps guests entertained throughout the night with UnCorked events featuring live music, appetizers, and happy hour specials.

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.

The wine connoisseurs at the independently owned Cork & Olive Lake Mary franchise introduce visitors to international wines, most of which originate from small, family-owned vineyards. In addition to pouring samples at a broad, wooden table, Cork & Olive’s team hosts events that range from in-home tastings to the monthly Sip&Dip, where wines come paired with select appetizers. Besides the many bottles of wines, the shelves also display craft beers, sake, chocolates, and cheeses, as well as gourmet olive oils and spices. Specialty services include custom wine-bottle labels for events, special orders for hard-to-find wines, and gifts such as wine aprons and holders and memoirs from picked-over grapes.