Cider and wine tasting room to debut in region

Products come from Michigan vineyards.

By Business Observer Staff
| 7:20 a.m. December 20, 2021
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

Charlotte–Lee–Collier

ESTERO — A couple originally from Michigan has opened the first cider and wine tasting room and store in the Miromar Outlets.

Dubbed R.A.D (Really Awesome Drinks) the location will carry all five current R.A.D products on tap, according to a statement. That includes drinks that are fruity, sparkling and enticing to those who don’t normally drink wine. Additionally, the tasting room will carry a selection of wines from Gravity Winery and Red Top Winery — all grown at owner Rockie Rick’s Michigan vineyards. Classics include Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Bordeaux, along with some unique wines like a Merlot aged in bourbon barrels and a chocolate cherry port, the release states. The store will also feature canned wines and ciders.

Courtesy. R.A.D.'s Chocolate Cherry Dessert wine.

“My wife Allison and I are very excited to open R.A.D Winery & Cidery,” says Rick in the release. “We take pride in crafting exceptional products from our Michigan vineyards such as our bold and robust Bourbon Barrel aged Merlot, classic Pinot Gris and our tantalizing Chocolate Cherry Port.”

Rockie Rick grew up in the 1980s on his family’s southwest Michigan fruit farm. Soon after the couple got married, the release states, they bought a 10-acre peach orchard. Gravity Winery opened its doors to the public in 2011 and over the next five years grew rapidly, planting more vineyards and increasing wine production. “As the closely related microbrewery industry was flourishing, the couple realized a void between traditional wine and the microbrew industry,” the release states.

They filled that void in 2020 with R.A.D., what they call “daringly different styles of wines and ciders.”

Frequent visitors to Southwest Florida, the Ricks landed on Miromar Outlets as the site of their new retail store due to the center’s popularity with tourist and local visitors, the release states. R.A.D. Winery & Cidery is located in suite 172, across from Nike the Factory Store.

Miromar Outlets is at exit 123 off I-75 on Miromar Outlets Boulevard in Estero between Naples and Fort Myers.