Nocatee’s Splash Water Park lit up the night Sept. 24, when the master-planned community held its popular semi-annual “Nocatee Uncorked” wine tasting event.
Five hundred tickets were available for the sold-out event, which gave Nocatee residents an opportunity to sample nearly 60 different wines while enjoying appetizers, bands and entertainment in two different sections of the water park amid palm trees bedecked with lights. Attendees had a chance to learn something about each wine from experienced wine experts such as Steve Lourie, who along with wife, Shawn, served samples from their newly opened Nocatee shop, Coastal Wine Market & tasting room.
“This event has proven to be so popular,” Nocatee Community Manager David Ray said. “The water park in the evening is just so beautiful and we wanted to have an adult-focused event that took advantage of that.”
Initially intended to be an annual event, Ray noted, the inaugural “Nocatee Uncorked” was so successful that the community decided to hold it twice a year.
While many attendees reported being regular attendees at “Nocatee Uncorked,” several guests were new residents who had recently moved to Nocatee, which currently ranks as the third fastest-growing master-planned community in the nation. They gave both the event and the Nocatee community as a whole high marks.
“We love it here,” said Carol Bogue, whose family recently moved to Nocatee’s Cypress Trails neighborhood from Massachusetts.
Michael and Jan Pierre recently moved to Nocatee’s Kelly Pointe neighborhood after living in Orlando and Maryland.
“This is so much better than Baltimore,” Jan Pierre said, praising the number of events and activities Nocatee offers residents.Her husband agreed. “We have two little kids and it’s just been great.”
