Chateau Le Coeur — Attraction in DeFuniak Springs

We had a lovely visit at the Chateau Le Coeur winery. We learned about them through the Harvest Host RV camping program. They have 4 nice, level sites with full hook-ups - a real treat for a Harvest Host location. They have additional sites without hookups that are free for HH guests. We paid $45 for our hookups, about the same as RV parks in the area charge. It was a reasonable amount to pay for the site and hospitality.

Although the winery was closed on the day we visited, owners John & Gwendolyn hosted a wine tasting for their Harvest Host guests. We were given generous pours of several wines and Gwendolyn made us a tasty charcuterie platter to snack on as we tasted our wines. We enjoyed the wines and ended up purchasing two glasses after the tasting and we picked up a bottle of the Merlot, which we both liked very much. It was nicely aged and had mild notes of smoke.

This winery is in the early stages of becoming a very nice destination stop. They will also be building a bigger tasting room and wedding venue. They have been making wines in Oregon for several years and decided to relocate the business to FL. We saw some of what they have planned for the future - if they can work through the county bureaucracy!

This will be a nice addition to the DeFuniak Springs area for people who...

Was I surprised to find a new local winery serving high quality wines made from vinifera grapes in my area! I am thrilled Chateau LeCoeur has decided to make its home in Defuniak Springs, less than one hour from where I live. They are just starting construction on their winery, but they have a small tasting room where you can sample and purchase their wines, enjoy a charcuterie board and artisan chocolates, and purchase lavender products. They will be offering artisan pizzas when the construction of their pizza oven is completed next week. They offer Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Roussane, Pinot Gris, Port and Dessert wines. All were balanced, delicious, and well made. John is a knowledgable and skilled winemaker. Wine Club members receive a 15% discount on wine purchases and their wine tasting is complimentary with the purchase of a bottle of wine (I couldn't purchase only one, they were that good). I was happy to become a club member, so I can support their efforts during the construction of their permanent venue. Truly a diamond in the rough and well worth a visit. I'm looking forward to watching this gem become what I believe will be the premiere winery in the...

This is a great hidden gem with big things happening. Not only is it a wine tasting room with great atmosphere, it's also a nice quiet place to stay in your RV, as we did through Harvest Hosts. They do have electrical hookups, but we didn't require them. The best part though, was our hosts, John and Gwen. They are very experienced winemakers who came to Florida from Oregon. Let me just say, the wine tasting was outstanding. All of the wines were delicious (and they don't do muscadine). We opted for the charcuterie board, and it was a perfect pairing with the wines. We bought a Chardonnay, of which I'm not usually fond. This one is actually really good. It was hard to decide which wine to get. They are also Chocolatiers, and they have a beautiful selection that includes chocolate stiletto pumps! That's not all, there are very high quality lavender products, estate honey (shout-out to the beez), spices and a lovely flock of chickens. We can't wait to...