By Alexander Britell
With more than 250,000 bottles of wine, Nassau’s Graycliff Hotel and Restaurant is home to the third largest wine collection on earth.
But one of the hemisphere’s great wine destinations just got even better.
Just steps across the street is the brand-new Bahama Barrels — the first-ever winery in The Bahamas.
Housed in a 1937-era convent, it’s a full-fledged winemaking operation, bottling wines blended from grapes from several countries including Argentina and Italy, with everything from more traditional Cabernet Sauvignon to lesser-known varietals like Refresco.
Bahama Barrels has become a must-visit stop in Nassau.
But it’s not just a winery — it’s a haven for wine education, with wine seminars and even wine blending classes, meaning you can even learn to blend your very own bottle of wine.
Of course, there’s also a tasting room and a boutique, if you simply want to enjoy a glass of wine in a lovely historic setting.
And it’s not just grapes, either. There’s even an ongoing project to make “coconut wine.”
And the wine is excellent — it’s thoughtfully sourced, with unique profiles but eminent drinkability.
Even better? The winery is unusually sustainable, with the bottles actually recycled bottles that once lived in Graycliff’s famous cellar.
It’s all the brainchild of Graycliff’s Paolo Garzaroli, who has led the dramatic transformation of Nassau’s West Hill street into a revitalized, culture-filled historic destination in the heart of downtown, a street that’s become the poster child for Nassau’s renaissance.
For more information, visit Graycliff.