S.W. and Rich Hermansen
Guest Writers
wine@lbknews.com

The tourist season in Sarasota has downshifted to a lower gear this month. Major League Baseball spring training has ended as the teams begin their regular season. Golfers and tennis and pickleball players are returning to their home courses and courts. Snowbirds have returned to the north for school graduations, weddings, reunions, and tours of Europe and Asia. Traffic delays have for the main part disappeared, and parking seems less of a hassle.

We find May one of the best months here in Sarasota, with great weather in the early mornings and evenings and water warm enough to soak in the Gulf midday. We enjoy spending time exploring the wealth of wine and dining opportunities in the areas close to to the Main Street in the center of downtown Sarasota. Margaritas and tacos attracted a crowd at Circo on 2nd Street to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Fork and Hen, in its new location on Main Street near Washington Blvd, has a full bar and an eclectic menu, including craft cocktails and a smashburger stacked with more than enough Triple D food for two. The Origin Pizza Café and Craft Beer in the Rosemary District offers until midnight the Best Beer in Florida 2024, Calusa Zote draft beer, and a Quinoa Tab’bouleh Salad with balsamic vinaigrette. Close by Origin in the Rosemary District, the Toasted Mango Café is opening a new location to replace the one the chain closed on Tamiami Trail.

A favorite wine bar in the same neighborhood, Vino Bistro on 5th Steet behind the Spice Station Thai Restaurant on Boulevard of the Arts, has a unique offering of a house wine and a possible solution to a common problem of many wine drinkers: finding a California Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that one can afford to serve with dinner every evening. Vino Bistro pours the 2022 Auspicion Cabernet Sauvignon as its house Cab. Grapes in this inexpensive Cab ($11) come from the Napa Valley. It reminds us of a Caymus Cav ($90) of the same vintage.

When someone asks for a glass of the second most popular house wine in the USA, Chardonnay, the 2023 Domaine Bardet & Fils Petite Chablis at $14 for a generous pour would be an excellent choice. Chablis, the northernmost area in the Burgundy region of France has made Chablis wines of the native white Chardonnay grape for centuries.

Only fifteen minutes across the Ringling Bridge by bike, St Armand’s Circle and Lido Key have made a remarkable recovery from the devastation of the Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The restaurants and shops on Ringling are either back in operation, or in the case of Tommy Bahama’s Restaurant and Store, on the way to an elevated and expanded presence on the Circle. The watchword on the Circle is “resilience”: renovations and infrastructure that will allow vulnerable areas to recover quickly from future weather disasters. Shoppers, diners, and beachgoers have returned to the Circle in good numbers. Sadly, some of the favoroite shops and stores have closed or moved away, yet many have re-emerged and are doing well. The outlook of residents and business owners in the Circle has improved from despair in November 2024 to guarded optimism in May. 

S.W. Hermansen has used his expertise in econometrics, data science and epidemiology to help develop research databases for the Pentagon, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Agriculture, and Health Resources and Services. He has visited premier vineyards and taste wines from major appellations in California, Oregon, New York State, and internationally from Tuscany and the Piedmont in Italy, the Ribera del Duero in Spain, the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in Australia, and the Otego Valley in New Zealand. Currently he splits time between residences in Chevy Chase, Maryland and St. Armand’s Circle in Florida.
Rich Hermansen selected has first wine list for a restaurant shortly after graduating from college with a degree in Mathematics. He has extensive service and management experience in the food and wine industry. Family and friends rate him as their favorite chef, bartender, and wine steward. He lives in Severna Park, Maryland.