In winemaking, the first step is to make must. You must make must, to make wine. You also must visit Must Wine Loft to experience some dandy wine and cheese offerings in downtown St. Pete!
Must Wine Loft opened in March this year, which as we all know, is when COVID-19 sparked. Throughout this exotic year, Must Wine Loft has been offering contactless curbside pick up and take out of their decadent wines, freshly made paninis, charcuterie and more. Plus, every Wednesday, they hop on Facebook live for a unique wine and cheese flight pairing experience.
This charming wine shop stands out because of its virtual wine and cheese flight pairings, their simple yet delicious food and cheese menu, and their overflowing amount of wine options.
If you’re ever at trivia night, I have you covered with a quick and juicy wine fact (pun intended). In the context of winemaking, one of the first steps is to make must. Must is the unfermented grape juice produced by crushing or pressing the grapes. The must then goes through the fermentation process and voila! It’s wine time baby!
The owner of Must Wine Loft, Jessica, is especially kind and a great resource for finding the perfect wine. With an array of wine options here, it never hurts to ask for recommendations and Jessica has led me in the right direction each visit.
Here’s a bundle that I picked up with Jessica’s help. I loved all of the wine selections for different reasons.
To start, I gravitated towards rosé because the weekend was coming up and who doesn’t love to sip on rosé on a Saturday afternoon? This Pablo Claro Rosado from Spain has a wild fruit aroma and is very fresh with light fruit flavors. Easily a great choice for something a little funky for those weekend vibes.
This Tuscan red from Italy is a typical go-to whenever I see it. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese grapes make it so that it pairs nicely with meats. It’s a great weekday dinner sip. Frico is super reasonably priced, I think it was around $12.
The wine and cheese pairing that I attended sold me on this one. The Prunotto Fiulot Barbera d’Asti is delicious. It’s smooth and bold with dense flavors. This is the wine you want to sip on with spaghetti and meatballs, or a pepperoni pizza. This wine compares to a lighter pinot noir, but it is much more complex.
Fun fact, the word fiulot actually means “young fella”!
This Silk Road KindzMarauli Semi-Sweet Red is a lovely summer red wine. If you like a sweeter red wine, give this one a try.
Must Wine Loft has a food menu that offers charcuterie, salads, a Daily Panini, little snacks, and more. One night for dinner I placed a to-go order and I tried a little bit of everything with a Ham and Cheese Daily Panini, Vegetable Man Salad, Chocolate Covered Almonds and Berries, Almonds, and a lovely Chardonnay.
The Daily Panini was fabulous with truffle ham, dijon mustard and cheese. The warmth from the press melted the cheese and made it completely mouthwatering. The side of almonds were smothered in hot paprika for a little spice, which I loved too.
The Chocolate Covered Almonds and Berries were necessary as I can never pass up anything chocolate. I’d also highly recommend the Vegetable Man Salad for a fresh and healthy mix of marinated roman artichokes, pickled asparagus and carrots, roasted piquillo peppers, pickled fennel, atop organic greens with aged balsamic and organic feta cheese. It was very tasty. The Mâcon Villages Chardonnay was light and dry with an apple and pear nose. Very good.
The Prunotto wine and cheese flight pairing was a lovely experience.
Every Wednesday, Must Wine Loft hosts a wine and cheese pairing where customers pick up their flights and head home to tune into Facebook Live. On the Facebook Live event, Jessica and Raymond discuss each wine and the food pairing. This is such a great idea for a fun date night in with quality wine and food, and you’ll easily take away some knowledge along the way too. You need to purchase your flight pass by 9pm on the Tuesday before, and then pick up your flight on Wednesday between 4 – 6pm. Click here to purchase your next flight.
The Prunotto wine tasting was an eye-opener to some great wines that I’m so glad I was able to try. From left to right in the above picture is Prunotto Roero Ameis which was paired with Black Truffle Burrata. This bolder and fruitier wine was a crisp and refreshing sip. The Truffle Burrata was soft and amazing. I kept going back for more. Next up, the Prunotto Fiulot Barbera d’Asti 2018, which was my favorite, paired with truffle ham. See the above pictured description for more details. I ended up buying this one to take home. Next up, Prunotto Occhetti Langhe Nebbiolo. This red wine is bold, dry and acidic. I really enjoyed this one and it paired so nicely with a Truffle Pecorino. I wasn’t a huge fan of this cheese, but that’s a personal preference. Lastly, the Pronotto Moscato d’Asti paired with Truffle Mousse Paté. This Moscato was the perfect ending to the tasting as something light and chilled.
The wine pairing that I attended was their 24th flight, featuring Prunotto with a special truffles pairing. Anthony Gardner was the special guest and gave an incredible amount of insight for each wine. I loved how friendly, natural and intelligent everyone was that was presenting, it made the vibe very laid back and enjoyable. I will definitely gift this flight to a few friends this holiday season as it’s a fun experience to do in a socially-distance manner. Plus, wine and cheese are always a good gift idea.
Must Wine Loft in downtown St. Pete is a lovely wine shop, loft, and cafe that meld together to create a delectable fusion of wines, charcuterie plates, and more.
Must Wine Loft is an appellation-driven Wine and Cheese loft in downtown St. Petersburg, FL.
PLEASE NOTE: Reviews reflect a certain moment in time. Some restaurants stay extremely consistent over many years, and some change for the better or worse. Some things that may change are: chefs, recipes, food suppliers, ingredients, philosophies, ownership, etc. We always hope that you have the same good, or great experience we had.