Uncorking A Niche

Cork & Olive customers check out the merchandise before buying.

Another confirmation of the increasing importance of Florida as a leading wine-consuming state is the popularity of Tampa-based Estate Wine Group's growing chain of Cork & Olive retail stores and its home and catered events offerings. Wine-selling giants regularly schedule wine tastings, and leading wineries are, of course, ready to sponsor vintner dinners with the winemaker present. But Cork & Olive found a new niche, providing the wines in their neighborhood retail shops -- reasonably priced wines typically from modest, family-owned vineyards -- and having available an all-day, everyday user-friendly table of wines to taste. "Try Before You Buy" is their sales motto as is "Trust Your Taste," working customers through the selection process for home consumption or business tastings, where Cork & Olive can help with the catering, providing all the necessary glassware, spill buckets and wine guides to discuss and discourse in a non-stuffy way the virtues of all the wines being poured.

Cork & Olive Locations Brandon* ? 801 Providence Road Clearwater ? 2534 N. McMullen Booth Rd. 727/791-8343 Lakeland ? 1486 Town Center Drive 863/682-8980 Largo ? 861 West Bay Drive 727/581-7392 St. Petersburg ? 944 4th St. N., Suite 500 727/823-8016 Tampa ? 1110 S. Dale Mabry Hwy. 813/251-9098 ? 10019 N. Dale Mabry Hwy., Suite 700* ? 13998 W. Hillsborough Road* Valrico ? 3468 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. 813/661-8999 Wesley Chapel ? 1269 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. 813/907-9900 *Under construction

Clients can complete a Pour & Score card to be used when ordering the wines wanted for individual tastings and also sample extra-virgin olive oils and a variety of blended spices for fresh-bread dipping. As an additional convenience, there are monthly Sip & Dip sessions featuring a variety of wines from various regions, paired with an assortment of complementing appetizers. Local artists and performers are invited to show their skills and promote future performances.

Estate Wine Group hopes to have 15 to 20 Cork & Olive stores in operation by the end of the year, and franchise opportunities are in the works. Uncorking

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Wine & Spirits

RED
Tacama Gran Tinto 2004
$10
Peru
Outstanding full-bodied standard table red from Peru's Ica Valley, home to one of the oldest vineyards in the New World, producing wines as early as 1540 and blending harmoniously French varietals Malbec, Tannat and Petit Verdot.

WHITE
Durbanville Hills -- Sauvignon Blanc 2005
South Africa
$13
Cool Atlantic mists extend the maturation of this intensely fruit forward South African wine with hints of grassiness, gooseberries and figs making it a good friend for light summer eating.

TEQUILA
Don Julio Anejo Tequila
Mexico
$57
With overabundant harvests of agave, prices are friendlier to the budget, but you'll still pay dearly for top-of-the-line, suitable for sipping and savoring in the best tradition of fine cognac

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Tolf's Picks

WINTER PARK
Chef Justin's Park Plaza Gardens
319 Park Ave. S. | 407/645-2475
parkplazagardens.com

Chef Justin Plank produces top-quality seafood prepared a variety of ways, superb luncheon salads and classy desserts, all delivered by a caring and carefully supervised staff, working in one of the loveliest settings in Florida. Brunch, $27. Lunch entrees, $9 to $26. Dinner entrees, $21 to $35.

PALM BEACH
Amici
375 S. County Road | 561/832-0201
amicipalmbeach.com

The Italian standard-bearer with peerless performances of everything from pizza to prime steak, along with a splendid variety of pastas and delicious duckling. Lunch entrees, $13 to $20. Dinner entrees, $20 to $42.

MIAMI
Caffe Da Vinci
1009 Kane Concourse | 305/861-8166
(Bay Harbor Islands)
caffedavinci.com

Owner Alex Portela has enough energy and expertise to run this romantic retreat with superior cheffing and service and outstanding wine list, along with his other winner, Oggi
Caffe in North Bay Village. Lunch entrees, $11 to $15. Dinner entrees, $13 to $35.