Key West Insider’s Guide: UVA Wine Shoppe

Smathers Beach, Key West, FL. By lunamarina @ Shutterstock.com

I hope you’re looking forward to being with family and friends this Easter. If you’re in Key West, stop by and see our friend Mark Gambuzza at UVA Wine Shoppe.

Originally posted on December 28, 2023.

Your Survival Guy wants you to get away from it all this winter. A tropical break, if you will, to my home away from home, Key West. You can read my insider’s guide here, and I’ll have plenty of updates along the way.

Having spent a couple of weeks in Key West over Thanksgiving, we had ample time to stop in and visit our friend Mark Gambuzza at his wine shop, UVA Wine Shoppe, located on the corner of Simonton and Southard. Inside, you’ll have much to choose from to make your southernmost visit a better one and you’ll leave with the word on the street from Mark.

Go to Mark’s website at: UVA Wine Key West – Boutique wines, artisanal cheese, Olive oil (uvakeywest.com)

LOVING KEY WEST

My name is Mark Gambuzza. I was born in Brooklyn and raised in and around the NY area. Like many, I got my start in the restaurant business; juggling my studies for a degree in Business Management, while commuting to Manhattan for my bartending job.

Fortunately, in the mid-90s, I was hired away to Red Bank NJ, where I was able to receive a free education to some of the finest wines in the world—thanks to the wine distributors’ classes and seminars held to educate their sales reps. After a few years, a co-worker and I pooled everything we had and opened a Tapas Restaurant, two blocks from the steak house that we managed. That experience of opening a restaurant, dealing with construction, financial, marketing, and negotiating sides, all made for valuable learning experiences. After nine successful years, I was burned out by the hours and sold my share to my business partner.

In 2007, I met the love of my life, Dina. She was crazy enough to hop a plane with me in 2008 and elope, right on Smathers Beach, across from the Key West Airport. When we returned for our 1st anniversary, Dina, too, got the bug to relocate, so two years later, we sold our home and moved to the Southernmost City.

Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.