According to those at Keel and Curley Winery, few Florida fruits are as under-appreciated as the peach.
Georgia takes the cobbler when it comes to the fame of the peach, but peaches grow in Florida, including right down the road from Plant City’s center at the rural winery property.
Keel and Curley will be celebrating the crop with a festival Saturday, May 16, just weeks after the Tampa Bay Blueberry Festival. Simply dubbed the Keel and Curley Winery Peach Festival, this one day affair will be attractive to fans of one of nature’s fuzziest fruits.
The Keels are widely known for their blueberry farms and festival, but they are excited to start a new tradition.
“I think it’s time to celebrate a different fruit — something that’s not typical of this area,” Ryan Keel, vice president of operations, said. “It’ll make people aware of the Florida peach. I don’t think a lot of people knew that peaches grew in Florida until they came out here.”
For veterans of the blueberry festival, the setup this time around is very similar: $5 parking, free admission, around 40 food and craft vendors, exclusive drinks and a U-pick.
Peaches, blackberries and whatever blueberries are left from the last festival can be picked from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on festival day. The peaches can be had for $2 per pound, and shuttle transportation to the peach farm, a two-mile drive from the winery, will be provided.
Vendors will be open for business from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the lineup should consist of several familiar faces, such as winery mainstay Smokin’ Aces BBQ, whose smoked gator sausage was a popular item at the recent blueberry festival.
There will also be live entertainment, courtesy of Lakeland-based rock group Munn Park Saints. And, for the thirsty, the winery will feature its peach chardonnay and brand-new peach cider and peach hefeweizen, a German style of wheat beer.
The winery is hoping that the festival can yield some noticeable success. Should everything go well, the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World can count on more peach festivals happening around this time in years to come.
“For me, it’s just an excuse to have some good peach beer, peach cider and peach wine,” Keel says. “But the U-pick is always fun, too.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
IF YOU GO
First annual Keel and Curley Winery Peach Festival
When: Saturday, May 16; U-Pick, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; vendors, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: 5210 Thonotosassa Road
Info: KeelAndCurleyWinery.com