

In cooler climates, their rinds change color as the green color - from chlorophyll - fades. In the tropics, citrus fruits remain green, even when ripe. In commercial orchards, most citrus is grown by grafting branches of a particular cultivar onto a tree trunk chosen for its hardiness.ĭuring their early development, citrus fruits have a green rind. In the United States, the main citrus growing regions are in the southern parts of Florida, Texas and California. Most citrus trees do not respond well to prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures, and thus most live where frost is a rarity. Botanists place citrus trees in the family Rutaceae. The fruit on these trees are actually a type of berry called a hesperidium. Citrus trees grow to 15 to 50 feet (5–15 m) at maturity, sporting wide, evergreen leaves. Vincent could not share everything about this winemaking process, but he pointed me in the right direction to create some of my own citrus wines.Ĭitrus fruits - including oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes and grapefruits - come from citrus trees. and Winery, Vincent Shook, to see how they were made. I was so impressed by these unusual wines that I contacted the owner of the Florida Orange Groves Inc. Each wine was deliciously sweet and each tasted unique.

These included such wines as Cocoa Beach (made with oranges and chocolate), Cracker Hammock Grapefruit (a sparkling citrus wine), Cracker Hammock Tangerine (another sparkling wine), Florida Grapefruit, Key Limen (key limes and grapefruit), Midnight Sun (orange and coffee), Orange Sunshine, Tangelo and Tangier (Tangerine). This was my first experience tasting citrus wines. and Winery that offered citrus wines - wines made from oranges, key limes, tangerines and grapefruit. What I found was a tasting room at the Florida Orange Groves Inc. What I found in the guide, however, was very unusual. I was looking through a local visitor’s guide and decided to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes, wine tasting. When I returned, it was still as warm and sunny as I had remembered growing up with in my youth. It had been a while since I had visited the Sunshine State.
