In a region where beaches often get top billing over Bordeaux, a tight-knit community of sommeliers, collectors and philanthropists has cultivated a wine culture that punches well above its weight.
To navigate the region’s world-class cellars and evolving wine lists, we turned to three of the people who know it best: Bruce Nichols, a consultant to private collectors and trustee of the world-ranking Naples Winter Wine Festival; Zach Bingham, managing partner and wine director at Old Vines Supper Club and Old Vines Mercato in Naples, where he champions bottles from lesser-known regions; and Nick Kattman, sommelier at Angelina’s Ristorante in Bonita Springs, home to a 6,500-bottle cellar. Below, they discuss the forces that have shaped the local wine culture and the adventurous spirit that’s changing the conversation.
Unlike many established wine destinations, Southwest Florida’s reputation wasn’t built around a famous wine region or a nationally recognized restaurant scene. Instead, it grew out of a community of blue-chip collectors and restaurants with deep cellars (the most recent Wine Spectator Awards honored 28 restaurants across Lee and Collier). Ask the people shaping the culture where it all began, and they point in one direction.
NK: It has to be the Naples Winter Wine Festival.
BN: Hands down, it’s created the greatest interest in wine here. I arrived in Naples in 2004, and it was a cultural wasteland when it came to wine. With the exception of a few restaurants, like Bleu Provence and Ridgway’s, no one had a real wine list. You had stores like Peter Rizzo’s funky little back-alley shop, and Sukie Honeycutt at Tony’s. Everywhere else, wine was treated as an afterthought to spirits. The festival brought a vibrancy to wine.
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Brian Tietz
swfl serious wine destination Bruce Nichols
Local wine consultant Bruce Nichols (pictured here) pins Clement Cariot and his Bleu Provence team (pictured next) as the authority on restaurant wine culture.
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Photography by Brian Tietz
swfl serious wine destination Clement Cariot Bleu Provence
Launched in 2001, the festival has long been backed by influential vintners who winter in the region. Among its trustees are founding members Jeff Gargiulo and Valerie Boyd, of Gargiulo Vineyards in Napa, and Kelley and Jim Bailey from Sonoma County’s Knights Bridge. The event draws heavy-hitting first-growth houses and cult labels, with ticket prices of $17,500 per couple. Though it remains out of reach for most, its influence ripples out.
BN: Most of the wines poured at the festival dinners are either so rare or priced out of the purses of the general public, but those vintners also offer a wider portfolio. Every year, we bring 40 to 50 wine professionals to the festival. People read about these world-class vintners visiting Naples; restaurants sell more wine, and the general public gets to taste wines they might not otherwise have been exposed to.
Wine brings people to the table long after the last auction paddle drops. Restaurants anchor their calendars with wine dinners and tastings, clubs recruit advanced sommeliers to expand their cellars, and collectors host intimate dinners centered on shared bottles and conversation.
ZB: Wine dinners are a primary avenue for our community to connect with and through wine. I’ve also seen a distinct rise in at-home dinner parties and informal gatherings centered on wine. The most important conversations aren’t happening about wine; they’re happening because of it.
Photography by Christina Bankson
swfl serious wine destination old vines zach bingham
Old Vines Supper Club’s Zach Bingham suggests Nat Nat and The Wine Merchant for stocking the home cellar.
BN: The customer drives a lot of what we see here. They’re wealthy. They’re well-traveled. There’s a vibrant collector community. I manage cellars ranging from a few hundred curated bottles stored in garage wine refrigerators to custom, glass-enclosed showpieces. The wine community covers the spectrum, but the one thing they all have in common is an appreciation of wine as a beverage to be enjoyed.
In keeping with the region’s laid-back character, the wine community here is generous. Instead of snobby sommeliers or intimidating lists, you find hosts eager to pour, educate and explore. Increasingly, the push is to diversify the local palate beyond the trusted California cabernets that dominate it.
BN: It is still Napa cabernet country. It’s not a bad thing, but there are other wines out there.
NK: My wine list is about 70% Italian. Half the time, someone will say, “I really like Napa cab, what can you recommend from Italy?” What’s interesting is the younger demographic moving to the area. Some of our best guests are under 30 and very interested in absorbing wine culture. They can be open-minded to try just about anything, which is really exciting as a sommelier.
ZB: We are rocking 34 to 36 wines by the glass. It follows the same spirit: If you like X, try Y. From November to July this year, our top 10 wines by the glass at Mercato included Napa cabs and Willamette Valley pinot noirs, but also negroamaro coming out of Puglia and baga from Bairrada in Portugal. It took a while for Naples to warm up to that, but now, we’re known as a place to stop in for something weird and wonderful.
NK: If the guest is curious about something within reason, I’ll free pour. Nine times out of 10, they feel empowered by their choice and like it. On the off chance they don’t, the staff can taste and get familiar with it. That’s something I build into my budget because without that curiosity, nobody’s palate is going to expand.
ZB: Nat Nat has been good about opening interesting stuff. There’s also vibrant wine discourse at local retailers. Naples Fine Wine, Ambrosi & Sons, The Wine Merchant and even Kaleidoscope come to mind.
Courtesy Au Bon Climat
Photography by Anna Nguyen
Photography by Anna Nguyen
Courtesy Au Bon Climat
Photography by Mila Bridger
Courtesy Marchesi di Grésy
Courtesy Angelina’s Ristorante
Courtesy Au Bon Climat
Recent years have brought a new level of sophistication to wine programs across the region. Bruce points to Marcello Palazzi’s deep dive into Italian wines at Tulia Italian Steak in Naples, while Nick praises the global by-the-glass list at Palace Pub & Wine Bar in Cape Coral. But one restaurant still stands in a class of its own.
NK: Bleu Provence. They’re the only restaurant with the [Wine Spectator] Grand Award.
ZB: Even if you open a restaurant with $10 million tomorrow, you couldn’t get the depth they have.
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Photography by Anna Nguyen
swfl serious wine destination angelinas nick kattman
Nick Kattman, sommelier at Angelina’s Ristorante in Bonita Springs, sees local palates broadening beyond traditional California cabernets. “Without that curiosity, nobody’s palate is going to expand,” Nick says.
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Photography by Anna Nguyen
swfl serious wine destination angelinas wine bottles