by PAUL CATALA
Sponsored by Visit Central Florida
For the Myers, Wednesday and Friday mean lunch and Saturday, it’s dinner.
Three times a week William Myer and his daughter, Wendy Myer, walk from their Davenport home to True Blue Winery to relax, eat, and enjoy the winery’s ambiance, wine, and food.
True Blue, which Howard and Fatima Gill opened in 2012, is Polk County’s first and only winery. The venture started as a hobby farm in 2008 and has since grown into a local dining-and-wining destination known for its homemade blueberry wines and on-site bistro.
The Myers have been visiting True Blue since it opened.
“I like the food, and I like the people running it. My daughter loves their wine, and we go when they come down to visit,” says William Myer. “We’ll either sit outside at a table or a lot of times we’ll sit by the bar. If it’s not busy, we have a nice conversation with Howard and Fatima.”
Fatima Gill says she and her husband’s foray into blueberry growing and winemaking started as an “accident.” Howard Gill, 79, says he thought blueberry farming could be a source of income and a diversion for Fatima, who worked in the City of Winter Haven utilities department.
“I told her she could stay home if we got some blueberry plants. She could maintain them and give her something to do and try to make a dollar with those. It started as a small hobby,” says Howard, who is retired from his own mechanic and metal fabrication business.
The Gills, who have four grown children, bought their initial stock of blueberry bushes and began their venture into the blueberry and winemaking business. Currently, True Blue’s berries are all grown on the farm. Howard says the yield fluctuates, with some for wine and some for u-pick during blueberry season, which is mid-March through the first of May. He says his crops are regularly replaced and rotated.
“So, it really varies a lot. We harvest between 3,000 to 4,000 pounds a season,” says Howard, who’s lived in Davenport since he was 5 years old.
The Gills offer nine varieties of wine at True Blue with help from part-time employees during the weekends. Three of those are variations of their blueberry wine — sweet, semi-sweet, and semi-dry; the other six wines come from Louisiana: orange, peach, cranberry, white muscadine, red muscadine, and blackberry. The Gills say they buy 30 to 40 cases of those per year and produce 50 to 60 cases of wine per year at True Blue. Each case contains 12 750-ml bottles.
Fatima says True Blue focuses on the farm-to-table business model, and they’re always finding ways to improve.
“Every day we learn, too. We learn from people who talk to us who have blueberries. We’re learning everyday even though we’ve been in business 15 years as a winemaker,” she says.
Besides the wine and bistro, True Blue Winery is available for wedding ceremonies, wedding receptions, and private parties, including catered events. It features 6,000 square feet of interior space and different outdoor venues with full catering service. The winery staff can take care of details for “all-inclusive” wedding packages.
The winery’s ambiance is set by its rustic decor, including a table made from a vintage BMW and custom-designed butterfly chandeliers. The on-site bistro serves food made from scratch, including homemade blueberry, pineapple, and mango jams.
“Our winery itself is an atmosphere that most people don’t see because it’s very unique,” Howard says. “I think we’re successful because of our personal enjoyment with people. It’s one of those places when people come in here, they don’t want to leave; it’s too relaxing.”
“People should visit if they want to have a neat place to come, relax and have some good wine.”