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Florida’s Oldest Restaurant’s Private Label Wines Benefit Athletics and Education at USF
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| 11/16/2011 |
Richard Gonzmart, fourth generation founding family member of Florida’s Oldest Restaurant –The Columbia – has combined his love for wine, education and the University of South Florida “Bulls” to create a private label wine called RG, based on his initials.
Purchase of this wine helps to raise a minimum of $50,000 annually to benefit the “Columbia Centenario” Endowed Scholarships for minority students and athletics at the University of South Florida.
After a trip to the wine rich Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina, Gonzmart visited with friend José Manuel Ortega, owner of the world-class winery O. Fournier to select these private label wines.
RG white wines include Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, and a red wine is offered in Malbec Tempranillo. These three wines are served in all eight Columbia locations in Florida, and also sold in gift shops adjacent to the Columbia in Tampa’s Ybor City, and in Sarasota on St. Armands Circle.
Gonzmart is proud to add these private label wines to the extensive wine collection offered at The Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City. The 240+ page wine list of the Columbia has been recognized by many of Spain’s leading winemakers; including Miguel Torres of Torres and Pablo Álvarez of Vega Sicilia as having the most complete and the world’s best collection in the world of wines from Spain. The Columbia''s wine list contains more than 1,056 wines with an inventory exceeding 50,000 bottles. The collection also contains a large selection of verticals from some of California’s leading family-owned wineries.
The original Columbia Restaurant was founded in Tampa’s Historic Ybor City in 1905 by Cuban immigrant Casimiro Hernandez, Sr, and is Florida''s oldest restaurant. It began as a 60-seat corner café known for its Cuban coffee and authentic Cuban sandwiches, frequented by the local cigar workers. Additional locations include St. Armands Circle in Sarasota, the Historic District in St. Augustine, The Pier in Downtown St. Petersburg, Sand Key on Clearwater Beach, Central Florida''s town of Celebration, the Columbia Café on the Riverwalk in Tampa and the Columbia Restaurant Café at Tampa International Airport. All Columbia locations are owned and operated by 4th and 5th generation members of the founding family; except for Columbia Restaurant Cafe at Tampa International Airport which is operated in partnership with HMSHost. Please see www.columbiarestaurant.com for more information.
• About the label artwork: a watercolor rendition of an original photo captured when Gonzmart was in Pamplona, Spain running in the legendary San Fermín Running of the Bulls in 2007. It marked the second time he attended and ran in this annual festival. He was accompanied by fellow USF Iron Bull Athletic Boosters.
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