Chilling at New South Tampa Wine Hotspots

South Tampa is blessed with a multitude of options to fulfill your wine drinking needs.  We have mentioned some of the more known spots in .  But there are a few new players when it comes to cool wines in South Tampa, and you should definitely make an effort to go check these places out.

First off is the former Hooker Tea Lounge on the corner of South Howard and Platt, right smack dab in the center of the SOHO party district. Owners Erik Star and Kimmy Boyle have tweaked their concept of offering really cool teas and light fare and have changed the name to Infusions Lounge. 

They still offer an amazing selection of very cool teas but now they offer wines by the glass as well as one of the largest selections of Cigar City beers anywhere outside the brewery!  They also have free Wi-Fi and a very friendly, relaxing atmosphere. 

The wine selections are very fairly priced at $5.50 a glass or $25 a bottle.  In addition, they make a few really neat tea-infused cocktails including the MUST TRY tea-gria, made by infusing select teas with Lobetia Organic wines.  It sounds weird, but trust me, it's awesome and I think it's going to really catch on.

Stop by Infusions on November 4 at 6 p.m. for Lounge night where infusions is transformed into a HIP SOHO lounge.  They will have complimentary wines by the glass, VIP offerings, give-aways and a live DJ spinning cool tunes!

Speaking of our friends at Cigar City Brewing… guess what?  They too have added a few wines by the glass in their “tasting room/bar.” If you have never been to Cigar City, I love this place!

First of all, they are producing world class beers right here in Tampa.  Owner Joey Redner, way back in 2009, couldn’t believe that a city the size of Tampa didn’t have a micro-brewery to call its own.  So he started one and today they employ over 100 people and are booming. 

I will tell you from personal experience, the beers are superb and they offer styles for every type of beer drinker.  But they also realize that many people come to the brewery bar just to hang out and sometimes, people may not want beer.  So they have hand selected high quality wines to offer by the glass, including Lobetia Organic Chardonnay and Palarea Merlot.  Please excuse the shameless self-promotion here. 

Cigar City’s brewery and tasting room is located at 3924 W Spruce Street between Dale Mabry and Lois.  They always have a crowd, so if you haven’t discovered this place check it out.

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