Meet Lexi Murray | Managing Partner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lexi Murray and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lexi, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
Consistency will eventually lead to success. I have come to realize in my day to day operations that our personal success is a combination of consistency, integrity, passion and hard-work. My dad and grandfather used to joke and say that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My family owns and manages a Florida Certified Farm Winery in Central Florida. We have a muscadine vineyard and produce all our wines on site. We are boutique and all our wines are handcrafted. We value the opinions of our guests so we will let a handful of our regulars and family test the wines before we bottle. They love being a part of the experience.

I think what sets us apart from other wineries is that we really want our guests to feel at home. We created a really cozy atmosphere for them on our farm and we take the time to make sure they comfortable and enjoying their experience and listen to their suggestions. We are constantly looking for ways to improve or create a unique atmosphere for our guests and visitors.

I’m most proud of how far we have come in just 2 years with our wines and our farm. We currently have 10 different flavors and variations of sweetness. Muscadines have gained a reputation for being a sickly sweet wine and not every one’s favorite, but I think our winery has found unique ways to appeal to most wine lover’s palettes. In addition to the muscadines our Elderberry Wine and Blueberry wines are quite popular.

We defiantly have overcome a huge challenge this past year, being a new business in a pandemic. We defiantly had days were we didn’t know what the future was going to bring, but we really tried to be accommodating and creative to stay in business. We started delivering and even started preparing fresh made sangria for pick up for our regulars.

I think the biggest lesson I have learned thus far is to be okay with making mistakes. As long as you are being Authentic and willing to learn and grow along your journey, you will succeed. We have to all remember that we are all human and we will make mistakes, but own them and learn from them.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Haha I mean the winery is pretty awesome, but Lake Placid & Sebring have some other pretty cool hidden gems.

My breakfast or lunch go to is Morty and Edna’s in Lake Placid Journal Plaza. (It’s a must)
I think a nice walk or adventure in Highlands Hammock State Park. I love doing the different trails and they are dog friendly so I can bring my two pups with me.

Also Faded Bistro off the downtown Sebring Circle really has quite the unique atmosphere. It’s an open air restaurant with a menu of delicious selections and libations.

& Sunday Funday calls for the Sips, Suds, and Soda Trail which is a new digital passport that takes you to all the craft beverage places in highlands county.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Growing up, I was obsessed with reading. I actually based ideas for the winery from Frances Hodges Burnetts novel “The Secret Garden.” I loved the film growing up and when I found out it was based on a book, I was elated.

My parents have always supported my curiosity and my eagerness to travel and learn. It was a big honor to trust me to back me on this huge undertaking of opening a winery and name me managing partner. I’m honestly very blessed to have them; not only back me emotionally but also help my dream come to life.

Website: www.secretgardenswinery.com

Instagram: @secretgardenssebring

Facebook: www.facebook.com/secretgardenssebring

Image Credits
Jamie Tremps, Street Dreams Photography