island grove winery

We took advantage of a Groupon offer. Went winding through some dirt roads and through some old Florida houses, and had reached our destination of Island Cove winery. They had signs very clearly marked from route 301 all the way to the front door of the winery. As you walk in someone is there to greet you. We sampled 12 different wines and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Afterwards we went for a short tour in the plant. Our group and included one bottle of wine per person and had no trouble selecting your favorite lines. They have a small gift shop with a lot of humorous signs. It was a very delightful afternoon.

Had a great time sampling the different wines, many made with the blueberries grown on the property. Grab a friend or two and enjoy!

Received a groupon certificate for a wine tasting and tour for 2 for my birthday. It's located off of 301 in Island Grove, Florida about 20 miles north of Ocala. We were the sole visitors and the hostess"Jen" explained every wine and then proceeded to give us a sample. After many samples we were escorted to the back area where "Travis" gave us the complete tour and explained the entire process. We learned a lot. The fun part was getting off the highway and worming our way on dirt roads to the vineyard. Bring your camera for some surprising photos. The wines are mostly blueberry or fruit. Some are dry and some are sweet. We found them very tasty and smooth. A bit of a ride but they are building a tasting room right on 301 and should be open by the spring. We will go back.

Great place, lovely wines, and interesting tour, but it's located in Island Grove, about 10 miles south of Hawthorne.

After tasting most of their wines, which I personally didn't particularly like, but my friends did we went on a tour of the plant which was very interesting. I thought their wines were watery and thin, almost watered down tasting. And the sweet wines - like drinking Kool-Aid. And I prefer a sweeter wine.

Half the fun in the visit is the travel. Take roads less traveled and arrive at a friendly little winery. Once there, the knowledgeable staff will tour you through the whole operation. Then they walk you through a taste of everything they have in stock. Everyone in the group found something that they liked. We had a wonderful time and this was a highlight of our stay in Florida. Check them out! You won't be disappointed.

We made a brief stop today after wanting to stop here. Staff is the greatest so friendly and helpful. Nice variety of wines you shouldn't be disappointed. They will be opening a new location right on 301 in the near future. Is a must stop if you like wine with a little twist!

Island Grove Winery is about a 30-40 minute drive east of Gainesville. It's in the town of Hawthorne and off of 301. The drive off of 301 is mostly dirt roads and can get a tad confusing, so be sure to follow the signs for Island Grove Winery. I followed the directions from their website vs using my Iphone just in case. Which worked out since I did lose service at one point on the dirt roads. However the drive is a beautiful drive on the dirt roads. Once you are on the property of the winery it is just adorable! There is a great big building you come to which is where the wine is made as well as the Tasting Room.The staff is extremely knowledgeable and friendly. They provide tours for free and even allow samplings of all of their wines!! You are able to then purchase any of their wines right there. The tour and explanation of the wine making process is really neat. Their tasting room is also part of a really cute gift shop. They have tons of unique sweet gifts available for purchase. I highly recommend checking out this winery if you are in the Gainesville area. It's a pleasant drive 30-40 minutes east of town, but the "cuteness" of the winery is certainly worth the trip!!!