Grown on the Gulfshore

Eden Vineyards also produces the only wine in the country made from star fruit, otherwise known as carambola, a tropical fruit plentiful in Southwest Florida. Keiser began making the wine in 1991, after a Pine Island grower showed up in his back yard with 10,000 pounds of star fruit.

"He said, 'Earl, it's going to make a wonderful wine,'" Keiser relates, "and I said, 'Why do you say that?' And he said, 'Because I've got so damn much of it.'" And in fact, the wine was an immediate hit. "I thought it was going to be like the hula hoop," Keiser says, "but it remained popular-it's popular today."

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Come and Get It

Master Johne's Truffles are sold in both Bacchus restaurants in Fort Myers, as well as Ellington's and Shannon downtown. They are also available at Bountiful Baskets on Plaza de Leon in downtown Fort Myers. Or you can order directly from Phelps via phone or e-mail. Call 344-4428 or e-mail masterJdom@hotmail.com.

Planet's Gourmet Pickles are sold at Champ Planét's Matlacha home on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Call 980-8002 or fax your request to 283-0336. You can also order by mail at 4311 Pine Island Road, P.O. Box 36, Matlacha, FL 33993.His products are sold locally at the Blue Pepper on College Parkway in Fort Myers, and at various green markets throughout Fort Myers and Cape Coral.

Harvest for Humanity provides Oakes Farm Market and Wynn's Market in Naples with their blueberries in season.. In April, they open the blueberry u-pick and store on their premises in Immokalee. Call 657-4888 for directions and details.

Everglades Fish Company is located in Everglades City, about 25 miles south of Naples. The retail market operates during stone crab season, roughly from mid-May to mid-October, every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The on-site restaurant is casual and open-air, concentrating on a lunch crowd. Call 695-3241.

Walker Farms honey is sold at Oakes Farm Market in Naples and Ada's Natural Foods in Fort Myers, as well as at around 20 other local shops, and at vegetable stands throughout Lee and Collier counties. Contact Walker Farms for local vendors, or to order direct, at 543-8071, or via e-mail at charmedbee@aol.com.

Eden Vineyard is located at 19709 Little Lane in Alva, and offers conducted tours and tastings. Contact the winery at 728-9463.