Wine Bar George Preview for Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining Month 2018

Hi everyone!

I attended a media preview of Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining Month dinner at Wine Bar George. Magical Dining Month begins on August 24th and ends September 30th, 2018, so it is actually 5 weeks of delicious dining around the Orlando area for a prix fixe, $35.00 3-course dinner (not including gratuity and tax). A number of restaurants at Disney Springs participate, and this year one of the newest Disney Springs dining establishments – Wine Bar George – has been added as well. Wine Bar George is a lovely wine bar with over 140 different wines, and the food here is excellent. The restaurant specializes in small plates and a few family-style plates for dinner and there are some lunch choices now as well. The Magical Dining Month menu focuses on those small plates.

Before diving into our Magical Dining Month dinner preview, I wanted to mention that Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining Month also benefits two local charities. One dollar of each meal goes to Best Buddies and Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida. Last year, the meals raised over $200,000! So guests save money, have a great meal and donate to two local charities all at the same time.

Wine Bar George is located in The Landing area of Disney Springs, across from Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar. The two story building is hard to miss, and there is also a lower level to-go area called The Basket. It was a little busy when I arrived for a long shot, but I do have an article here from a restaurant preview just before it opened.

We started with a charcuterie board. This is not included as part of the $35.00 menu, but it is something that is very popular at Wine Bar George. There are several different types of boards that can include meat and/or cheese, and the presentation and quality are fantastic. It reminds me of being in France.

Grilled bread and crackers were also offered to us.

We received a wine pairing with the meal, and guests can order one of 4 different pairings. Each is three 3 oz. pours, and the prices are $12.50, $15.00, $25.00 and $42.00. We received the $15.00 version, which included Raats Chenin Blanc, Horizon De Lynch Cabernet Sauvignon and La Perlina Moscato. We also started with a welcome pour, but otherwise the wines were on the $15.00 pairing. And honestly, that price point was really nice choice and won’t break the bank.

Wine Bar George is named after Master Sommelier George Miliotes. He is at his restaurant a lot, and he spoke with us about the different food and wines. There are only about 275 Master Sommeliers in the world, so he’s one of such a small group of top-rated wine experts. He also opened the California Grill, and was pretty well known at that time for being there – and now for being at Disney Springs.

We tried everything on the menu. The first choice is pretty straightforward, Hummus with cucumber, olive oil, naan bread and chipotle. I like hummus and both the fresh cucumbers and naan bread are perfect for it. The nice thing about the Magical Dining Month menu for Wine Bar George is that if you have two guests, you can try everything. There are two choices for the first course.

The second choice for the first course is Jicama-Kohlrabi Salad. This was a big portion, and I wasn’t sure what to expect – but it has a mint vinaigrette and pickled jalapeno and was really popular at our table. It is crunchy and delicious!

Upstairs in the room we were in, there is a nice counter with great lighting through the windows for photos.

For the second course, guests can choose two of the four small plates offered. When I said that two guests could order a full menu, that is how. These are the Crispy Mac & Cheese Bites, and this dish seemed to be the most popular item with our group for the second course.

My favorite item was probably the House-Made Meatballs. This comes with a triple-cheese polenta and tomato sauce. This is also the second time I have had these, and the meatballs are tender – it is easy to forget there is a bed of polenta underneath, it is really good too.

Burrata is a soft Italian cheese and there was quite a lot of it on top of grilled bread with San Marzano tomatoes and olive oil. I asked and was told each portion size is correct. We sampled everything in more of a family style, which I expect a lot of guests will do and share the different items.

The Chicken Skewers with togarashi and Asian slaw is, as you’d expect, spicy with quite a kick to them. They are on the edge of too spicy for me – but not quite, with this being the second dish I would personally order if we make it to Wine Bar George for Magical Dining Month (the other is the House-Made Meatballs). Don’t forget the Asian Slaw either, just like the polenta with the meatballs it is easy to forget there are more edibles on the plate.

We shared the four different items on the table.

With this course, we were drinking the Horizon De Lynch Cabernet Sauvignon. With the $25.00 pairing, it would be the Duboef Gamay, for the $42.00 it would be a Bindi Pinot Noir and for the $12.50, it would be a Macedon Pinot Noir – just to give an idea of the wines that can be part of pairings.

The last course was dessert, and there are two choices – Olive Oil Cake and Key Lime Pie. By far, the group favorite was the Key Lime Pie, it is a creamy take on a classic dessert. However, I think I had a little more of the Olive Oil Cake.

Here is a closer look on the Key Lime Pie. This was really soft and – perfect.

The Olive Oil Cake comes with candied olives and lemon marscapone. I like this option quite a lot. It is a cake, more of a drier option but very tasty. This is the second time I have had it and it would be my choice for the meal. But if you are looking for a more decadent, soft dessert, the Key Lime Pie would better fit the bill. This is where having two guests helps!

Up close on the Olive Oil Cake.

Wine Bar George seating is both inside along with this terrace outside. It gets humid here in Florida all summer so the terrace wasn’t as much in use on this night, but it is my favorite location for relaxing.

Wine Bar George is very homelike, with this area being where we were seated but one room has couches – it can feel like kicking back in a cozy living room.

There is a wine for just about every budget at Wine Bar George, I definitely recommend a stop here whether during Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining Month or at a different time. Visit Orlando’s Magical Dining Month allows for dining at over 100 restaurants around Orlando for a reasonable set price. There are other restaurants at Disney Springs to choose from as well, you could actually make almost a full week of it dining at them!

Thank you to Visit Orlando and Wine Bar George for having us out!